Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Kourosh Yaghmaei - Back From The Brink [Now Again Records - 2011]

Kourosh Yaghmaei, in a perfect world, should be a name that’s already known.  His story is one that is one part bittersweet and another triumphant.  His background is as a Persian musician, late 60’s early 70’s Rock and Psychedelic influenced, incorporating traditional Persian scales and composition to his works; he introduced Rock/Pop music to Iran. 

On his first recording “Gole Yakh”, he based the music on a classmates (Iranian poet Mahdi Akhavan Langeroudi) poem.  The song received international attention, further translated to different languages and giving Kourosh a reputation as a gifted guitarist and composer.  This was before the fall of Tehran.  After 1979 Kouroshs voice would be silenced.  As he was banned from performing any of his earlier work, Kourosh stayed in his beloved homeland and turned his creativity to publishing childrens books. While fans thought the recordings had perished, Yaghmaei had actually preserved the original recordings and photographs.  After 32 years Now Again Records was able to share his music with the world.

Back From The Brink presents us with 30 of Koursoshs’ compositions. The first aspect that resonant with the listener is nostalgia.  The songs are engaging, but there is a hint of early70’s guitar rock in all its finery.  There is a haunting wistfulness that surrounds each song.  The guitar playing leaps from simplistic to stirring.  Swirling organs paint a psychedelic picture punctuated by solid rock drumming.  Yet within this Kourosh adds intricate Persian scales and melodies, changing a rock song into a combination of Iranian culture and Western modern music.

Do some of the songs sound a bit dated?  Of course, but those are few and far between.  What we are left with is fantastic guitar playing (on par with Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour), emotional harmonies and lyrical vocals.  Even in his later recordings, when a slight funky sound permeates, the music is still powerful.

At times do we wonder what could have been?  It’s a natural human characteristic to do so.  We can be angry or mourn that such a talented artist had to wait so long for the world to hear and be entranced by his music.  Or we can take comfort that time reveals all.  Once music is played live or released officially or unofficially it is beyond anyone’s control to erase the memory of it from the listeners mind.

Rating: 5 out of 5Rating: 5 out of 5Rating: 5 out of 5Rating: 5 out of 5Rating: 5 out of 5

Viktorya Kaufholz
Latest Reviews

Kourosh Yaghmaei - Back From The...
Kourosh Yaghmaei, in a perfect world, should be a name that’s already known.  His story is one that is one part bittersweet and another triumphant.&nb...
060725   RDKPL - Herr Pes Trinch
050725   Stinking Lizaveta - Hopeless...
030725   Yann Novak - Continuity
030725   Tourist Trap - Tourist Trap( ...
030725   Palindromes - Palindromes( Bl...
020725   Noise Trail Immersion - Tutt...
010725   Atomic Rooster - Atomic Roos...
010725   Con Funk Shun - Organized
010725   Various Artists - Heatwave- T...
010725   The Good, The Bad, The Weird ...
Latest Articles

Matthew Holmes - Of razor-sharp t...
It’s fair to say the Sharksploitation genre is often tried, tested, and to be honest, tired. Fear Below is a 2025 Australian film that tries to do some...
180625   Matthew Holmes - Of razor-sha...
280525   The Residents - Visits From T...
090525   Ennaytch - Of walls, abused ...
150425   Dead, Dead Swans interview - ...
110325   Sebastian Tomb - Walls of unb...
040225   Alien Sex Fiend - Possessed B...
231224   Best Of 2024 - Music, Sound &...
191224   Splintered - Somewhere Betwee...
031224   Shane Ryan-Reid - Coerced and...
221024   Whore’s Breath - life’s h...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2025. Twenty four years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom