펄시스터즈 (Pearl Sisters) were a sister duo that were taking lessons from 신중현 (Shin Joong Hyun). After a series of albums that were unsuccessful in the public market, Shin was getting ready to leave to Vietnam. But before he left, the Pearl Sisters requested that they make an album together to commemorate their time together. Soon after the release, the song 님아 (You) became a massive hit. This made Shin reconsider and he would stay in Korea for many years to come, making hit record after hit record. Essentially, without this album, South Korea might not have had many of the great psychedelic masterpieces that are still praised to this day.
The album's first side shows musical elements that mix early psychedelia with glimpses of 60s beat rock. Still, the simple 60s beat rock sound have a distinctive Korean sound to them, a signature style of Shin. Other than the catchy hit, tracks like 떠나야할 그 사람 (The Man Who Must Leave) show what kind of songwriter Shin would become later on. That track in particular was re-sung by 김선 (Kim Sun) and is my preferred version for many, as it is even on the American-made compilation album Beautiful Rivers And Mountains. 커피 한잔 (A Cup Of Coffee), a remake of an old Add4 song, has been greatly upgraded, and this too was a big hit with listeners. This would eventually start a trend of Shin reusing and improving upon his early Add4 songs for other singers.
The second side might be a little underwhelming upon first listen as it's all instrumentals. However, these tracks should not be ignored, as Shin's band the Donkeys give great musical performances and the guitar sounds especially psychedelic.
Their debut was released at the tail end of 1968. After seeing the success of the record, they rushed to release a follow up in 1969. This album's A-side is very much the same as the previous album, albeit with the track order shuffled. However, on the B-side, we now get more Pearl Sisters songs. And although they are only covers, I assume this was essential to buy for those fans back in 1969 just for those songs.
I've had the follow up album for a few months now, and I was looking for their debut, as I really enjoyed the instrumental tracks from that album. I finally found it for a good price, and now I'm uploading both my rips here. Both are admittedly 2nd pressings, however they were only pressed mere months or even days after the 1st press, so they shouldn't really sound different to a first pressing. Enjoy the music!
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