misak nakarat: taek dang phlo

artist: มีศักดิ์ นาครัตน์ (misak nakarat)
album: แตกดังโพล๊ะ (taek dang phlo)
tracklist:
01. แตกดังโพล๊ะ (taek dang phlo)
02. กลัวทำไมจน (klua thammai chon)
03. ผู้หญิงนี่ซิสำคัญ (phu ying ni si samkhan)
04. สาวงามลูกทุ่ง (sao ngam luk thung)
05. เห็นหน้าพาช้ำ (hen na pha cham)
06. อยาก (yak)
07. กินรีเริงฟ้า (kinnari roeng fa)
08. เราคือไทย (rao khue thai)
09. ผู้หญิงเยอะแยะ (phu ying ye yae)
10. แสนสงสัย (saen songsai)
11. ลึกที่ในใจ (luek thi nai chai)
12. บนถนนของคนหนุ่ม (bon thanon khong khon num)
13. เยี่ยมฉิมพลี (yiam chimphali)
14. เกินไปละ (koen pai la)
15. นัดพบ (nat phop)
16. ดื่มเพื่อความสุข (duem phuea khwan suk)

this week we've got a real historical document, for mr. misak nakarat was, as far as i know, thailand's first practitioner of rock'n'roll music! misak was born on chakkrawat road in bangkok's chinatown. today he is probably best remembered for his acting roles or his time as director of thai tv channel 3, but his career began on the musical stage. in the late 1950's, with the aid of songwriter suraphon thonawanik (who seems to have autographed this tape!), misak helped introduce rock'n'roll music to thailand. it's said that his comic delivery smoothed the edges of what was considered a racy and aggressive new genre, making it more accessible to thai audiences of the time. in the 70's & 80's, misak sang a number of theme-songs for the films of somphot saengdueanchai (a.k.a. "sompote sands") & thai-dubbed anime from japan, before turning to focus on his acting career. most of these songs seem to be all but forgotten today, but i think they are an important part of the history of popular music in thailand.. not to mention, they're quite fun! enjoy!

buppha saichon: rup lo thom pai

artist: บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)
album: รูปหล่อถมไป (rup lo thom pai)
tracklist:
01. รูปหล่อถมไป (rup lo thom pai)
02. ไม่น่าโกหก (mai na kohok)
03. รักคนแก่ดีกว่า (rak khon kae di kwa)
04. วอนลมฝากรัก (won lom fak rak)
05. ฉันเคียงเธอ (chan khiang thoe)
06. ซังคนใจร้าย (sang khon chai rai)
07. หาดใจไร้รัก (hat chai rai rak)
08. สาวนาคอยคู่ (sao na khoi khu)
09. รักลวงน้ำลง (rak luang nam long)
10. น้ำตาน้ำตก (nam ta nam tok)

a little while ago i got a request for some music from buppha saichon.. at the time, i had nothing to share, but i kept an eye out & just the other day spotted this great collection on the street! while the cover photo might not be the most flattering, the music is great. buppha, from chon buri, spent time in the chularat band before marrying singer & filmstar siphrai chaiphra, with whom she starred in 1970's "mon rak luk thung" (three of the singles here are pulled from the fantastic soundtrack). she also had a close working relationship with songwriter phaibun butkhan, who gave her great songs in both her on & off-screen careers, inlcuding her biggest hit, "yommaban chao ka". this collection features a nice assortment of styles.. straight luk thung ramwong mingling with surf-rock sounds, twangy steel guitar & bollywood borrowings.. enjoy!

mai waenthip: 18 pleng yot hit

artist: ใหม่ แว่นทิพย์ (mai waenthip)
album: 18 เพลงยอดฮิต (18 pleng yot hit)
tracklist:
01. สาวนาขาดรัก (sao na khat rak)
02. บ้านนอกหลอกกัน (ban nok lok kan)
03. สาวใหม่รำพัน (sao mai ramphan)
04. แซวผู้บ่าว (saeo phu bao)
05. เอกอีสาน (ek isan)
06. ปวดหัวเพราะผัวเขา (puat hua phro phua khao)
07. อุ้มท้องไปกินดอง (um thong pai kin dong)
08. คอยหมอแคน (khoi mo khaen)
09. ถึงดังยังห่วงแม่ (thueng dang yang huang mae)
10. สาวเลยยังคอย (sao loei yang khoi)
11. คำเตือนเพื่อนสาว (kham tuean phuean sao)
12. อดใจไว้เรา (ot chai wai rao)
13. เข็ดจนตาย (khet chon tai)
14. เห็นแล้วใจอ้าย (hen laeo chai ai)
15. รอคำตอบพ่อ (ro kham top pho)
16. คิดถึงแม่ (khit thueng mae)
17. น้องจะคอย (nong cha khoi)
18. ชีวิตบ้านนอก (chiwit ban nok)

this week we'll have some plaintive songs from isaan.. mai, if her lyrics are to be believed, comes from loei province. i haven't been able to find much information on her, though i think she had a big hit with "sao loei yang khoi", track 10 on here.. i understand it was quite a tear-jerker. i found this one at a tape stall near the local bus station in khon kaen.. it had the misfortune of being purchased alongside one of the greatest tapes i've got, and consequently got a bit overlooked... but giving it a listen now, there are definitely some quite worthwhile tracks, a nice mix of luk thung and molam sounds. hope you will enjoy as well!

achan prasong: thet lae isan

artist: อาจารย์ ประสงค์ (achan prasong)
album: เทศน์แหล่อีสาน (thet lae isan)
tracklist:
01. ปฏาจารา (patachara)
02. ลูกสะใภ้ (luk saphai)

this week we have some beautiful sacred music from thailand's northeast; achan prasong performing thet lae! despite the fact that buddhist monks are prohibited from singing, there exists a tradition of very melodic and expressive vocalizations used for reciting sacred texts or even sermons composed in klon, the same poetic form used by molam. lae can be heard during festivals of all kinds in isan, and in central thailand it was a big influence upon luk thung music.. there's even a history of bandleaders courting the talented young preachers to become recording stars, such as in the case of dao bandon. but on this tape, we have original lae, unaccompanied! on side one, achan prasong tells the story of patachara, a female disciple of gautama buddha, and on the second side, a famous familial parable. enjoy!

chai mueangsing: phi pai lai wan

artist: ชาย เมืองสิงห์ (chai mueangsing)
album: พี่ไปหลายวัน (phi pai lai wan)
tracklist:
01. พี่ไปหลายวัน (phi pai lai wan)
02. เพื่อนเราเผาเรือน (phuean rao phao ruean)
03. บ้านนอกบอกรัก (ban nok bok rak)
04. แฟชั่นมีชู้ (fashion mi chu)
05. เมียจ๋า (mia cha)
06. แม่ยก (mae yok)
07. แม่ผักตบในตม (mae phak top nai tom)
08. สุนัขไม่มีเจ้าของ (sunak mai mi chao khong)
09. หนามยอกอก (nam yo kok)
10. แม่มันยกล่อง (mae man yok long)
11. โอ้ชีวิตคิดไฉน (oh chiwit khit chanai)
12. โทนบ๊ะโทน ๆ (thon ba thon thon)
13. คนรักเมีย (khon rak mia)
14. เมียจ๋ารักผัวไหม (mia cha rak phua mai)
15. ผมไม่มีเวลารักคุณ (phom mai mi wela rak khun)
16. ตำราปราบผี (tamra prap phi)
17. วันของพี่ (wan khong phi)
18. คุณนาย (khun nai)

this week we have a fantastic old album from "man city lion", chai mueangsing! chai grew up in sing buri province, and like so many others, left for bangkok at a young age. in the city, he studied at a school of agriculture while he could afford it, but eventually dropped out to sing with local ramwong groups and work as a sign painter & market seller in talat phlu. in the early 60s he fell in with mongkhon amatayakun's famous chularat band and made his first recordings. audiences loved chai's odd voice, commanding stage presence and his good looks.. he was popularly known as "the alain delon of thailand"! following a dispute with fellow chularat member phon phirom, chai left the band to front a number of his own combos, playing mostly disco & lounge music under the name "man city lion" (the literal translation of his stage name). eventually he left music altogether and headed home to become a farmer. in the late 80's, however, he returned to the stage to lead a luk thung revival, and today is recognized as a ศิลปินแห่งชาติ (silapin haeng chat) or "national artist" of thailand. the songs here seem to be quite rare, i've never seen them on any other release.. enjoy some deep luk thung courtesy of chai mueangsing!