Sunday, April 1, 2012

Orhan Gencebay | Leyla Ile Mecnun

First, you sort of need to take a quick peek at this page. Yeah, now's fine. Right. [Dead air, 12 secs.] Okay. Are you back? Yes? No, no, that's fine. I'll wait. Yeah, no--I encourage you to, uh. Right. Great. Okay. [Crickets, 35-40 secs.] So. We good? Kay. Now, with the after-burn of all those mustaches smoldering in your retinas, take a sweet, long listen to this:

Listen to the title song of this CD

I'm almost positive I found this much-sought-after CD at a Turkish music store in the lower east 20s of Manhattan in, like, 2000 or thereabouts. The poet and translator Murat Nemet-Nejat took me there and I'm almost pretty sure he encouraged me to pick up this CD, because (a) he knew I liked what little Turkish arabesque I'd previously heard and (b) I remember him detailing the Layla and Majnun story that, clearly, this album is named after.

I don't listen to this album often, but when I do pull it out, I'm always amazed by the ethereal guitar work and the smooth soulfulness of Gencebay's voice. A really nice way to begin a lazy Sunday morning. 

Get kit and caboodle here.

6 comments:

Crafty C said...

Looking at 50 pictures of that guy's head was doin it for me big time - but then the groovy music was the icing on the cake!

Anonymous said...

Hi!

I'm a new reader of your blog. I just spent the weekend going through all of your back posts. Nothing to say in specific - I just want to let you know how great I think this blog is. I read a lot of music blogs, but few that are still around post quality music as consistently as you do. I don't think there's anything where I thought "this guy is full of BS, this is crap."

Holly said...

That mustache... it's..it's...alive!

My upper lip is twitching.

Gary said...

Carol! Holly! Doesn't he, at one point, kinda look like Burt Reynolds?

Kutsuwamushi! Thank you for the kind words. Given the extent to which even *I* would admit my tendency toward hyperbole, I'm glad to hear not everyone thinks it's BS hyperbole. :-)

Anonymous said...

that is not a guitar man. it is an amplified (elektro) baglama. there you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA4g345vurU&feature=related

Gill said...

Every week or so I come here, thinking, this is the week that I'll be let down by you... Every week I am WRONG! Thanks, and Peace Gill.