Aris San – Dam-Dam

What some might consider an ethnic "novelty" LP, this has sat within my collection for years. Admittedly, I don't know very much about Aris San other than he was born in Greece, and left for Israel when he was a teen to pursue a career in music.
In a way it's a shame Aris has remained somewhat overlooked within my collection the last 40 years. My only previous experience with Israeli pop/rock music of the late 60's/early 70's would be 'Churchills', or maybe 'Kaveret'. Apparently Churchills guitarist Haim Romano was inspired by Aris San's playing style and technique, having seen him play numerous times at the various clubs around Tel Aviv during the early-mid 1960's. One listen to the Churchills song "Subsequent Finale" and this influence is quite evident.

I played this album today (first time in years), and was thoroughly entertained. Lots of Mediterranean/middle eastern rhythms & instrumentation...Bouzouki, Darbuka, etc. Aris San is also an accomplished guitarist, favouring his Gibson ES 335, which can be heard all over this LP, in particular the title track "Dam Dam".