Album Review: Jokers

In 2010, Fading Sunshine Records unearthed four previously unreleased tracks recorded by Jokers––an unsigned three-piece Persian psychedelic blues-rock band from the early 1970s. The previously lost tracks, made in 1972, were originally recorded in a garage with two microphones on a reel-to-reel audio recorder in Tehran. The band’s lead singer and guitarist, Vaheed spent some time in the UK and became heavily influenced by the rock aesthetics, of bands such as Cream and MC5, whose influence is exemplary on this album.

Jokers’ self-titled album offers an amazing mix of interpretations of Western psychedelic rock and blues, including moments in which the music mimics the charisma of Jimi Hendrix and the soulfulness of Chuck Berry. The second track, Southern Blues, stands out distinctively as a traditionally composed rhythm and blues song with heavy bass and strained screaming vocals. The drums stay low in the mix and, at times, hobble alongside the relentless guitar solos and dirty bass, but overall the song feels authentic in Southern mood and style. The album’s lyrics, though sometimes inaudible, sound as though they’re in English but could easily be just howls punctuated by the occasional “baby” or other bluesy colloquialisms. The instrumentation and technique appear to be more foreign import than innately Iranian, yet one can sense a stylistic enthusiasm that is uniquely Jokers’ own.

Nothing quite like this album has emerged out of Iran’s pre-Revolution underground rock scene. Yet, sticking close to the styles of their influencers, Jokers accurately manifest a musical experience familiar and inspiring to people all over the world.