Studio/Live [LP]

Savvas - Studio/Live [LP]

Savvas Christodoulou was born in Cyprus in 1949 and moved to Melbourne in 1950 as part of the great wave of Greek immigration following WW2. His story is long, involved and fascinating, and the liner notes and interview contained within the LP's four-page insert tells the whole story. Perhaps more briefly, what you need to know is that he released the Savvas studio LP in 1974 in an edition of 300 copies, and enjoyed such a strong local following that he sold out the 2,000-seat-capacity Dallas Brooks Hall two years later. The album has long been a collector's item for its unique and beguiling mix of Greek and Middle Eastern sounds, bouzouki jams, modal jazz and especially the cult synth-funk track "A Dream Of Zeus." Golden Debris was set to reissue the LP as it was, but surprisingly came across the original reels from the Dallas Brooks Hall show and decided that mixing the best of the studio and live material was a better option. Some of the live materials are tracks previously unreleased, like the cosmic synth wonder of "UFO," the quirky electronica of "Can You Remember" and the extended piece, "Space Dream," which slowly and beautifully evolves into a spacious, hypnotic jazz jam, and yes, there are three versions of "Zeus" here, the original studio version, reprise and live one, but they're all wildly different and all worth hearing. The four-page booklet is beautifully designed with exclusive photos and an extensive interview with Savvas telling his life story. The studio material features contributions from a young Nicholas Aitkin AKA Wilbur Wilde on saxophone, and Celeste Howden of Lygon Street punk rock and rollers, Stiletto, on bass. A very special slice of Australian music history is reborn! 01. A Dream Of Zeus (Studio) 02. Song Of Bacchus (Studio) 03. Medieval Maid (Live) 04. Catapult (Studio) 05. A Dream Of Zeus Reprise (Studio) 06. Can You Remember (Live) 07. UFO (Live) 08. Space Dream (Live) 09. A Dream Of Zeus (Live)