Who wouldn't want to own a record of the Military Band of the Chinese People's Liberation Army playing such gems as "Be Vanguards in Criticizing Lin Piao and Confucius," "We Are Miners, and Soldiers Too," and "Thousands of the 'Iron Men' Boldly Forge Ahead"?
OK, I guess that group includes most everyone, except perhaps the Gang of Four and me. I don't suspect this platter set any sales records even at the height of the Cultural Revolution, when it was issued in the early 1970s.
The wonder is that despite its agitprop trappings, this record is actually a tuneful listen - conservative Western-style music, at times reminiscent of Gustav Holst's wind band music. So while I can't claim that it will revolutionize either your musical tastes or political beliefs, this LP isn't as awful as I expected it to be either.
REUPPED LINK (JUNE 2014)
