To call Bülent Ortaçgil (pronounced Boo-lent Or-tach-geel) the Turkish Cat Stevens would be an oversimplification, but it is a good indicator of what to expect from this album.
About two and a half years ago my friend Will gave me the track "Suna Abla," which within about a week was played over a hundred times (that being from whenever I finally got around to listening to it.) Naturally, I had some trouble acquiring any more of the artists work until I was lucky enough to find an actual CD copy of this at Amoeba in Berkley (notably, I also found a vinyl copy at Amoeba in Hollywood which I somewhat regret not buying.) After that purchase the same kind of obsessive rotation occured because this album is a masterpiece. Every tracks is a hypnotic winner which more than just language to distinguish it from English language folk of the same era. Unlike some of his later work made years later after his return to chemistry the arrangements are very simple usually just with acousitc guitar, and some piano and bass. Some *heavier* tracks like the wonderful "Olmalı Mı Olmamalı Mı" and "Şık Latife" do add a bit of a change of pace. Despite the exotic language Ortaçgil conveys not only remarkably powerful emotion but a rare kind of childlike innocence in both vocals and instruments. Simply put this is an album of transcendant beauty, even if you are for some reason put off by music in other languages. Along with the others previously mentioned, the title track and "Dört Kisili Düs" are just otherworldly gorgeousity. The album is brilliantly structured with bookend tracks that pull you in and in most cases leave you ready for yet another spin.
Bülent Ortaçgil - Benimle Oynar Mısın (1974)
In other news, Jeff Hanson, one of the few recent artists that I like died recently. It was some kind of freak accident - I don't know what, that occurred in his apartment. He was only 31. I recommend his self-titled second album from 2005. Maybe I will put it up later.
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