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Various Artists
Hot Women: Exotic and Spicy
(Kein and Aber)
1. Cleoma Falcon – "Blues Negres" (Louisiana Cajun, 1934)
2. Lidya Mendoza y Familia – "Mexico en Una Laguna" (Mexican, mid 1930s)
3. Tona La Negre – "El Cacahuatero" (Mexican, early 1930s)
4. Grupo de "La Algeria" – "El Tambor de la Algeria" (Cuban, 1928)
5. Leona Gabriel with Orch. A. Kindou – "Liva" (French Caribbean, 1932)
6. Araci Cortes with Orch. Brunswick – "Quero Sossego" (Brazilian, 1931)
7. Las Cuatro Huasas – "La Papa Araucana" (Chilean, early 1930s)
8. La Nina de los Peines accompanied by Nino Ricardo – "Sevillanas No. 2" (Spanish, 1927)
9. Rosina Trubia Gioiosa – "Lu Fistinu di Palermo" (Sicilian, 1927)
10. Rita Abadzi – "Mime Stelis Mana Anastin Ameriki" (Greek, mid 1930s)
11. Maria Vasileiathou – "Arostisa Manoula Mou" (Greek, late 1930s)
12. Cheikha Tetma – "Guenene Tini" (Algerian, 1930)
13. Aicha Relizania – "Khraifi" (Algerian, 1938)
14. Julia Marsellaise – "Yama N'chauf Haja Tegennen" (Tunisian, 1929)
15. Ayda Sonmez – "Neva Hicaz Gazel" (Turkish, 1946)
16. Hamsa Khalafe and Ali Atia – "Ballali Madja" (African, circa 1950)
17. Hadija Binti Abdulla – "Bina Adamu" (Swahili, early 1930s)
18. Maboudana and Badolo – "Chant d'invitation a la Dance" (Middle Congo, 1933)
19. Noforonin-Dratsiambakaina, Hirain-Drazaivelo and Christine Zanany – "Miverena Rahavana" (Madagascar, 1931)
20. Miss Nilahm Bai – [Title in Hindustani] (Hindustani Indian, 1928)
21. Yadana Myit – [Title in Burmese] (Burmese, early 1930s)
22. Co Ba-Thinh, Kham-Thien – "Hat Du" (Vietnamese, 1930)
23. Emma Bush with Johnny Noble and His Hawaiian Music – "Lei E" (Hawaiian, late 1920s)
24. Chants Populaires Tahitiens – "Chant d'Amour" (Tahitian, 1931)
An avid collector of rare and unusual 78RPM records, famed artist Robert Crumb has assembled a 24-track compilation of female performers from the 1920s to the '50s directly from his private collection, immersing both the like-minded collectors and the curious in a world where music was once so innocent in creation yet provocative in performance. Don't know anything about the femmes of the '20s through the '50s? Neither does Crumb. But the mystery of the origins of both the songs and the ladies who performed them is a large factor in what makes Hot Women: Exotic and Spicy so damn exotic and spicy.
Crumb's eight pages of liner notes – packed with as much detail as possible despite Crumb admittedly knowing very little about any of the songs – provide sketchy blueprints for each artist's history and, most interestingly, the impact their careers had on each of their local communities. Not much of the information is concrete (Crumb did most of his research on the Internet, and you can't trust those Internet journalists), but his not-so-vivid storytelling helps set the appropriate tone for the historically cloudy atmosphere that the music creates – uncharted, but for some reason, immediately cozy territory.
Though all of the songs originated in different parts of the world and span a thirty-year period, the selections lead into each other with a familiar continuity – largely due to the vintage analog hiss (thankfully they didn't destroy the vibe with any noise reduction or editing). Hot Women contains a fascinating collection of female voices that have been lost over time – unknown to the masses, faintly remembered by 20th century music historians, but appreciated endlessly by their neighbors and families during a time when music still had individuality and integrity. You already know as much as you need to know about these lost and forgotten players – that is, nothing. Just sit back, appreciate it for what it is, and admire the pride, heritage, self-respect and culture that these musicians never took for granted. The notes in the songs aren't important, it's the spirit and the heart that resonate so well. After all, that's what it's about… or at least that's how it used to be.
- Erik Fong
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