ORIENT EXPRESS ORIG '69 pressing Mainstream sitar psych

$

114

Original 1969 album by the Orient Express, in STEREO on the Mainstream label.  Little did we know that when George Harrison first set foot on Indian soil, it would have two major effects on the world – 1) it would introduce such instruments as the sitar, dobro and oud to the landscape of rock music, and 2) it would cause the world to wonder in unison, “Who invited Mia Farrow?”  Well, in the vast pantheon of pseudo-mystical Western bands, the Orient Express at least SEEMED to be the real deal.  They certainly LOOKED exotic, and their music so embraced the Eastern sounds that traditional rock stylings often seemed like an afterthought.  This was not so much rock music with Eastern touches, but rather Eastern music pitched to a rock music audience.  You’d be surprised how much of it works as rock music, though – the fast hand drum rhythms and intense sitar plucking make this more frenetic than a Monks concert – I can’t see how anyone could bellydance to this without throwing out her spine.  Much of this is instrumental, but when the vocals do come in, the music adopts a more traditional rock format – “Train to Bombay”, for example, rides a backbeat of actual real Western drums, yet the oud and sitar race by at light speed – clearly this train is trying to make up for some lost time.  And if you listen to the lyrics through all the hookah smoke and flying tablas in “For A Moment”, you’d be surprised just how conventional and rather UN-mystical they are:  “Oh, how I love to spend my life with you…every second, every hour.”  That’s a far cry from “the farther one travels, the less one knows” now, isn’t it?  Of course, if you dig deeper into the backgrounds of the three musicians who make up the Orient Express, you’ll find that only ONE is an authentic Middle Easterner – the other two are from France and Belgium.  But no matter – the sound they create is simply some of the finest expansion of Eastern sounds into Western music in the Mainstream label catalogue – just as exciting, and more authentic, than David Lindley’s Kaleidoscope too.  And best of all, Mia Farrow wasn’t even invited to the recording session.  This album is still in the original shrinkwrap!  It's been opened, so the cover's in NEAR MINT shape, the vinyl looks shiny and new with no marks visible - plays EXCELLENT or stronger.   Winning bidder pays $4.50 for media mail shipping plus tracking in the US, $8 air mail to Canada, $14 everywhere else.  Paypal, Bidpay, cash, checks and money orders accepted.  And please be sure to check out my other auctions for more vinyl obscurities, and I will combine shipping costs on multiple wins.