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Belly Dance au Go-Go
"Belly Dance au Go-Go"
Artie Barsamian and his Orchestra, 196?

     One of the axioms of classic record collecting is that no matter how bad or bland the music is, great album artwork will save you every time. In other words, everything boils down to marketing. Belly Dance au Go-Go is just you basic hodge-podge collection of Middle Eastern music; whirling dervish stuff with and without vocals, but they sure knew how to package it. First, they have the perfect 60's record title, invoking both the free spirit of the decade with the "Go-Go" part and Americans desire for exotic music by using the always tempting word "Belly Dance."  This is not exactly exotica, since exotica is usually made by western composers who have hamoginized Far East and Pacific music styles for easy consumption. Belly Dance au Go-Go is the actual music of the Middle East, with no American influences to smooth out the rough edges. We can't forget, of course, the scantly clad dancer on the front. All great album covers need one. And I pose one question to all you modern readers...tell me the woman on the cover doesn't look like Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Check out a comparison here.





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