Edip Akbayram

Edip Akbayram is part of the holy trinity of Turkish Psychedelic warriors of the early ’70s. If you wished Funkadelic had stayed in their Maggot Brain/Standing on the Verge groove forever, then ladies and gents, you must sample Edip Akbayram’s wares. "Sample” is right; there are a ton of prog-rock-solid breaks awaiting deconstruction on this mostly brilliant compilation of his work from the early to mid-’70s. Born in 1950, Akbayram was afflicted with polio from a very early age — his constant bodily pain feeds the intensity of his vocals. His approach is partway between Ozzy's channelled psychosis and Jim Morrison’s detached authority and he’s bathed in reverb throughout. The sheer rock god posturing overcomes any language barriers here. His initial rock recordings on disc one are post-hippie 12-string guitar/electric saxophone workouts with heavy beats, fine to be sure, but he gets his thing together on disc two, which finds him in the mid-’70s. In fully experimental prog mode, he layers electric sax, ARP keyboard, intensely fuzzed-out guitars and studio trickery to rival the studio craft of any major rock artist of the time. And — unlike ELP — it’s funky. Great song titles too, like "Because Of Your Black Eyebrows,” "Don’t Touch My Sad Soul” and "My Car Broke Down” make me want to Berlitz my way through Turkish. It’s the classic rock riffs in 5/8 that’ll stay with you for days, though. This is an essential addition to anyone’s psychedelic rock collection.