Rockpages approaches its 20th anniversary online and our loyal readers would have surely noticed that we don’t focus on the Greek-spoken rock genre. As a matter of fact, there couldn’t be more than 5-10 articles in all in all those 20 odd years. But when we do say, then it means that it is not only a worthy addition to our (rock)pages but that it truly deserves everyone’s attention even though you might not be a fan of that style of music. Costas Tournas is not only a widely accepted artist and one of the pioneers of the Greek rock scene but most importantly an immensely respectable musician with a rich and qualitative recording history. And there is more. He is a groundbreaking artist that at the young age of 22 years old managed to write, record and release one of the finest prog rock albums called “Aperanta Horafia” that was comprised of only one composition…mind you, with a 34-minute duration. Impressive or what?
So, when it was first announced that there will be a book entirely dedicated to Tournas’ 50-year career that would be sanctioned by the artist himself along with the invaluable help of a couple of his most dedicated fans, then we instantly knew that it would be nothing less than a stellar effort. To be exact, this is the first time that we experience such a majestic and illustrious book about a Greek artist…ever! What we get here is all of Tournas’ lyrics, excerpts from the press of a long gone but not forgotten era, unpublished photo material, interviews, texts from Tournas himself etc. And all this stuff comes in a deluxe 688-hardcover edition with a separate die-cut book, autographed by the artist himself plus a 15-track CD packed with unreleased material.
Trust us when we are saying: this is the most impressive, comprehensive and value for money book, you will ever see about a Greek musician. A huge “thank you” should go out to all the people behind this majestic work and of course to Kostas Tournas for 50 years of timeless music.
