She Came From Hungary: 1960s Beat Girls From The Eastern Bloc /Various

In recent years Ace Records has released a successful series of compilations spotlighting 1960s girl-pop recordings from Japan, France, Italy, Sweden and Spain. Here we visit Hungary, a country whose young female singers performed beat music every bit as bold and brazen as their male counterparts. Spanning the years 1966 to 1971, the collection features feisty freakbeat, folk rock, funky pop and more from 14 of Hungary's foremost female recording stars, with musical accompaniment provided by some of the nation's leading beat groups. Highlights include the freakbeat masterpiece 'Ez Az Utolsó Randevúnk' by Éva Nagy with scorching guitar work from the band Liversing, the keyboards and brass-driven 'Fekete Beat' by Sarolta Zalatnay with the group Metro, Kati Kovács' great organ-based dancer 'Hazudik A Drága' and the folk rock-flavoured 'Keresem A Szót' by Zsuzsa Koncz. The collection is available as a 24-track CD with bumper 28-page booklet and 14-track 180g transparent red vinyl LP with illustrated inner bag, each featuring a picture-packed 7,000-word note by compilers Mick Patrick and Matt Meek.