Record Reviews

SHEM TOV LEVY ~ IN THE MOOD (EXPANDED EDITION) PHONOKOL 4257 (Barcode: 7296134425724) ~ ISRAEL ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 1976 Released: 2008 1st album by Israeli flautist / pianist / composer Shem Tov LevyFind albums by this artist – finally released on CD 32 years after it was originally recorded. Levy was of course one of Israel’s best and most talented musicians at the time and a bold innovator, pushing the boundaries of early Israeli Rock, mostly in the Prog direction. After this brilliant debut album, Levy was to join forces with Shlomo GronichFind albums by this artist and Shlomo YdovFind albums by this artist to form the legendary No NamesFind albums by this artist, and soon after another legendary ensemble SheshetFind albums by this artist. Levy composed and arranged all the music on this album, which includes 4 vocal tracks and 5 instrumentals. He also wrote the lyrics for two of the vocal tracks. On the two other vocal tracks Levy used poems written by famous Israeli poets Lea GoldbergFind albums by this artist and Dalia RabikovitchFind albums by this artist, as was quite customary in Israeli Prog on the 1970s. The brilliant melodies, which Levy composed, are perhaps the only truly “Israeli” music written at the time, full of Jazzy chord changes, polyrhythmic pulsation and clever incorporation of Middle Eastern motifs. The instrumental performances are brilliant, as he used the best players on the local scene at the time, like guitarist Yitzhak KlepterFind albums by this artist (ChurchillsFind albums by this artist, KaveretFind albums by this artist), bassist Ehud IngerFind albums by this artist, drummer / guitarist Haim RomanoFind albums by this artist, drummer Meir IsraelFind albums by this artist and many others. His flute playing is absolutely mind-blowing of course. He also arranged the music for the string ensemble, used on some of the tracks. In retrospect, this is an extraordinary debut album, full of exquisite music and endless timeless gems and definitely on of the best albums recorded in Israel in the 1970s. This new editions adds four bonus tracks, all great examples of Levy’s superb talent as composer and arranger, including an extra-rare live recording of a live No Names performance, singing a medley of Beatles songs with a typical humorous twist. An absolute classic!

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend