Marta Kubišová - NE! The Soul Of Marta Kubišová

What’s the opposite of joie de vivre? Whatever it is, the communist regime was rocking this dreary principle when it banned Czechoslovakian pop/ soul/jazz singer Marta Kubišová from 1969 until the collapse of the Eastern Bloc 20 years later. This was Marta’s penance for speaking out in the wake of the 1968 Soviet invasion of her native country, and it effectively stalled any hope she had of building an international following: a ghastly situation which this compilation, drawn from the Supraphon label archives, aims to belatedly redress. Kubišová was blessed with a voice which could be sighingly seductive or as weighty as a docker’s fist. It’s hardly a stretch to imagine her tastier material, such as the wigged-out Jakoby Nic, Na Co Te Mám and the frenetic title track, going over big right now in more enlightened scene-making clubs. Groovy Alan Haven-style organ, fly fuzz guitar, businesslike brass and the ubiquitous funky drummer abound throughout, while certain tracks – Svlikám Lásku, Legendy – even resemble The Carrie Nations from the soundtrack of Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls. Bar the occasional slightly naff showbiz digression aside (Já Cestu K Tobe Najdu Si, Tys Bejval Mámin Hodnej Syn), this is solid stuff and an invaluable righting of a historical wrong.