Shin Joong Hyun
Beautiful Rivers and Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974
Release Date: Sep 26, 2011
Genre(s): Folk-Rock, Pop/Rock, International, Psychedelic/Garage, Guitar Virtuoso, Acid Rock, North/East Asian Traditions, Korean, Korean Pop, Psychedelic Pop
Record label: Light in the Attic Records
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Buy Beautiful Rivers and Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974 from Amazon
Album Review: Beautiful Rivers and Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974 by Shin Joong Hyun
Great, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Guitarist, producer, and songwriter Shin Joong Hyun's music was seldom heard outside his native South Korea. Save for the recordings purchased by returning American GIs or in the collections of migrating South Koreans, it seldom entered the West and was only discovered by rabid vinyl collectors in the 21st century. His story is a long, often tragic one, though it's full of redemption and is ongoing: Shin resumed making music at the turn of the century.
Based on rating 7/10
Shin Joong Hyun’s story is one of trials and suffering. As a boy in Korea, having lost his parents, he looked for any and all work around Seoul to support himself and his brother. Despite long hours and little play, he also tried enrolling in school at the same time, though he often fell asleep in the classroom. That struggle continued when, as a young man, he tried to become a working musician, auditioning for shows at the US military base entertaining the troops in a post-war Korea.
'Beautiful Rivers and Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974'
is available now