Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974

Vibrantly cool music by any criterion, unmistakably cognate with the harder acid rock of the era (as noted) but charged with its own distinctive creative flair and spark--or sparks, as over a dozen singers or bands are featured in this nicely curated album. For many of the selections, maybe it's the lingering influence of sweet old sentimental ballads modulating these newfound driving rhythms and strident electric guitars in a mutually accentuating complementary groove, I'm not sure, but whatever it is sure inspires repeated listenings. And considering the tumultuous situation Vietnam was undergoing when these songs were recorded (poignantly reflected in some of the lyrics), what an example of grace under pressure!Sound quality is sometimes less than purely crystal clear, of course, for the obvious reason that this album, a precious time capsule documenting an otherwise forgotten world of vital informal cultural interchange, has been pieced together from fragments and remnants that barely escaped oblivion due to urgent political expediency as well as the less sinister but no less inexorable disposability of pop music more generally. So rocking to these gems while unfolding the profusely illustrated and concisely explanatory liner notes thrills rather like uncovering buried treasure.

I got this as a Christmas present for my grandmother and when I opened it the case was broken I cant open it because my grandma would cuss me out but if the case it broken that could mean the disk doesn't work and if the disk doesn't work then I wasted my money. I'm sure it's fine but it couldn't be yk.

Reminiscing is sweet as it colors one's recollection with a golden tint, evoking all the strikingly strange, yet also very familiar sounds of yesteryear. The Saigon Rock & Soul does exactly that. The piece by the duo Hùng Cường & Mai Lệ Huyền is fabulous. There are also the haunting voices of Thái Thanh singing the very danceable "Bừng Sáng" and Phương Dung singing a modernized folk song "Đố Ai". The CD did wrongly label two songs: the ballad "Sao Biển", attributed to Lệ Thu but it's actually the voice of Hoàng Oanh; the other, "Nỗi buồn con gái" is sung by Connie Kim but mistakenly identified as Carol Kim. It's certainly a great disc to savor and appreciate the avant-garde and innovations of Vietnamese music in South Vietnam (The Republic of Vietnam) prior to the communist take-over 1975 which imposed the crushing ruthlessness of socialist "patriotism" on a once vibrant music scene.

Nice spin on traditional Vietnamese music. Really inspiring to hear different genres of Vietnamese music. The songs were straight bops!

This is a really good CD. The music and singing are tops of those years gone by. Maybe the war went to hell. But, the people knew music. I have made this one of my all time favorite CDs. I like foreign groups.

Good compilation of a Vietnamese take on rock and roll. For a collector, it could be a good addition to have.

As I expected except the plastic cover that was broken!!! ;(

Hypnotic, wild, otherworldly, and very sexy. Highly reccomended to fans of the CAMBODIAN ROCKS series or anyone looking for awesome party music. Throbs with incredible energy...don't be afraid to blast this one LOUD. Quite simply, the best thing I've heard in quite a while.

'Saigon Rock & Soul' documents the influence of western Rock music on Vietnamese musicians during the Vietnam war. As such the music is immediately familiar with few genuine surprises other than many of the singers are female and the players sound as if Rock 'n' Roll was borne in the paddy fields of South East Asia. Unlike the Japanese bands of the same period whose mission statement was to play the loudest, heaviest rock music on the planet and succeeded, the Vietnamese bands, many of whom were just as fierce, dosed their fuzz with sweaty, sexy funk you could move your hips to as well as your head. Room enough amongst pyrotechnic guitar displays and machine gun drums, for garage style organ fills, bursts of soulful brass and yearning vocals.The travesty is, at least for western ears, is that much of the music made during this period was destroyed when the Viet-Cong took over, or discarded by music store owners in favor of the latest sound. Ironically, it's of no consequence to the Vietnamese themselves who show scant interest in music made yesterday, let alone 50 years ago. This being the case the fidelity of these tracks reflect their source: the humble cassette, some of which have suffered from over-play and age. But don't let a little 'wow and flutter' put you off one of the best compilations released this side of Nuggets.

For anyone interested in Vietnamese or South/East Asian funk/rock/pop from the late 60s to mid 70s this is an historically interesting compilation that is simply fantastic. It conjures a sweltering, buzzing atmosphere with an underlying melancholy from a far away land and from a time past, in a way that not many compilations can and do. Close your eyes and drift away to small, intimate cafe/bars frequented by american GI's drinking, smoking and getting high. I'm a bit of an audiophile in that I am usually concerned with dynamics and resolution etc and the mastering quality of vinyl and cds but with this compilation that mind-set gets thrown out of the window. The sound quality in high-fidelity terms is not great but it is what it is because most of these extremely rare recordings have been taken from cassettes that were i) not ever recorded in a studio and ii) lucky to have survived the regime - total kudos to all concerned in making these sounds available. I would say this is a must-have for any serious music lover. Awesome stuff.

Great CD, lots of late sixties South Vietnamese pop/rock ,the recordings are of their era, authenticity rough and ready, a lot of the bands played in clubs frequented by G.I.s in "Nam" and played live rather than recording records, great stuff,

Wow! I thought all Vietnamese music was dire pop songs. If this is what used to be then maybe there is hope for the future! Not perfect quality recordings but it's pretty rare stuff. Go for it!

Bon achat