The First Time - Matti Caspi and the “They Don’t Care” trio (Phonokol 1992)

The creators of this collection album had the goal of assembling some of Caspi’s first songs, or songs recorded by him before releasing his first album. You can find here the first recorded version of “When God First Said” from the “Poets’ Songs” festival, “I’ve Got Birds in my Head” with the “They Don’t Care”trio from the 1971 Music and Lyrics festival, “And You” from the 1972 Music and Lyrics festival, “Efraim” which was on the other side of the mini record “My Little Sister” from 1973, “I’m Dying” featuring the “Southern Command” military band where Caspi has served, songs from the “They Don’t Care” album and more.

Despite the album’s many virtues, which gathers great songs most of which have never been on a record, it’s lacking in a number of senses: for example, the album barely contains details regarding the songs in it. Presumably what led the editors was their ability to obtain the rare material used for the album’s production.

In spite of these reservations, there’s no doubt the album is one of the most interesting and important albums that were released to date out of Caspi’s creations. The album incorporates many surprises for the Caspi fans, who will be surprised to hear lighter sides of his music, the writing of compositions directed to the songs playlist, wonderful songs that were never exposed to the public before.

The album reveals Caspi as a composer in his early days, where some of his skills as a musical arranger and singer were not entirely cohesive. Some of the songs allow us to infiltrate the shell of the flawless musician Caspi has been wearing forever. These somewhat green moments excite us and win our sympathy towards the young musician Caspi, who is fumbling a little in the dark. It seems the entire album is filled with the holy spirit - the songs are full of youthful grace and bursting energy and a rare creative talent stands behind them.

The album allows us to follow Caspi’s musical development, from the first songs written for the military band and the “They Don’t Care” trio, to later songs such as “Song of the Dove” and “Free” which would’ve found their place easily in Caspi’s first album in the sense of their complexity and maturity.

Until today there was never a collection album encompassing all of Caspi’s first songs. Many of the beautiful songs Caspi wrote that time have never appeared on a record. In order to widen the point of view regarding Caspi’s early music, it is recommended to also listen to “Beyond the Sounds” (1973), which came out recently in an extended version including some rare bonus features. Another album worth listening to in this context is the recently released collection album, also by Phonokol, which is titled “From the Songs of Matti Caspi”. Among the rest included in this album, is also the moving song “What will Become of Me”, one of Caspi’s most interesting songs from the time before the first album.