2006 is the 50th anniversary of the unsuccessful 1956 Hungarian uprising against the Soviet Union. Therefore, it is especially appropriate to present this online capsule of dance music from Hungary mostly recorded in the 50s and 60s. History has shown that hard times reap optimistic, often escapist, music and Hungary appears to be no exception to the rule. These 28 short tracks presents a varied array of light fun music with influences from American swing, Latin dance, modern jazz, and even early rock and roll. Actual Hungarian traditional influences may be well hidden but Bergendi’s “Magyar Tancok” steals proudly from Brahms’ Hungarian Dances. (I am doing this from memory knowing that someone reading this will correct me if I am wrong on the composer!). “Selejtezo szam” sounds amazingly like something you might hear from an Austin Powers movie while “Volgai hajosok dala” is a delightful upbeat take on The Volga Boatmen Song. Two of the more accomplished tracks are by The Hungarian Radio Dance Orchestra playing 50s jazz in both swing and cool jazz styles. The song “Je t’aime” was a big hit in Europe and this somewhat mourning Hungarian knock-off shows that even the Warsaw Pact could not stop cultural over-lap. “Les feuilles mortes” (Autumn Leaves) gets a make-over that is part Modern Jazz Quartet and part Percy Faith. The last track returns to the Volga Boatmen Song with a emotional vocal over a slow rock beat, one of the highlights of this album. Over-all this is an enjoyable time capsule of a beseized country during the cold war doing its best to party on.

The tracks are available in 128kbps MP3. The sound is very good despite quite a few pops, scratches, and hisses from the obviously worn out vinyls.

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