Easily one of the best series of the recent worldwide archival explosion in '60s-and-after pop/rock, the
Thai Beat A Go-Go discs had already made a big splash by the appearance of the third entry, further excavating rarities ranging from the fantastic to the bemusing. Liner notes and photos help give context to the selections while past favorites reappear with other cuts, but even if one knows nothing about anything on the disc, all that matters is playing it and enjoying the results. The basic principle of fusing Western pop approaches (and a number of full-on cover versions) with a variety of Thai musical keys -- from singing in Thai to backing arrangements to more besides -- lies at the heart of nearly every cut, and the joy lies in how readily and how different the results proved. Young singer Supaphorn gets two great numbers near the front -- "Cham Chai," a retake of "Hang on Sloopy," and
the Troggs' "With a Girl Like You" aka "Lua Chan See." What's especially nice is hearing how readily R&B and soul arrangements in particular suit Thai singing -- Don's cover of the song "Sunshine Day" is a treat, the easygoing flow of the music matching with the gentle reverb on his voice, while funk acts like the Erawan Band and Flash (and, but of course, the Oriental Funk, with the Moog-led treat "Come Together") take some good bows. Then there's a winning take on
Johnny Wakelin's "The Black Superman" by Duangdao Mondara, which while it can't beat the original keeps the celebratory bounce to match the sharp yet sweet delivery. The disco samplings toward the end of the disc are equally grand, with the contributions from the Moog-crazy band backing singer Panatda proving wonderfully insane. Then there's the stuff that's just mind-boggling, like the kiddie record "Heoow Sabat," according to the liner notes a song about a land of rabbits with suitably wacky enough vocals to befuddle most adults in any language.