Beginning Greek

Great Britain's JSP label took a chance in 2006 by issuing a four-disc overview of rembetika (the "officially designated" Greek underground and criminal communities) called Rembetika: Greek Music from the Underground. It was official because at one point in the 20th century, the music was actually officially banned by the Metaxas government (in 1937) and didn't peep… More above ground for another 11 years. (Gangster rappers and metalheads take heart: you were not the first nor will you be the last.) That set, like this one, appropriately titledRembetika 1: Greek Music from the Underground, included four CDs, all of which were annotated with fine notes, and production masters cleaned up as much as possible – no easy feat since a lot of this music was originally released on either 78s or cylinders – but some survived, amazingly, on recording tape