Kostis, A. – “Jail’s a Fine School, The” – [Mississippi Records]

Cousin Mary   12/30/2015   12-inch, A Library

Greek music from the tough harbor area of Athens – with themes of crime, jails, and hashish dens – was recorded in the 1930’s for voice and guitar. The booklet details how they figured out recordings by A. (and K.) Kostis had been performed by Constantinos Bezos. Very clean sound, wonderful guitar work, and appealing vocals remove any barriers that odd-to-Western-ears meters and harmonies might cause – there is much more on music theory in the LP’s documentation. A few instrumental-only tracks, very enjoyable, highly recommended.