There's an incredible moment towards the end of folk singer-songwriter Han Dae Soo's song "Give Me Water!"

About a minute before the fadeout, Han's rasp of a voice is interrupted by what appears to be an aggressively played kazoo, buzzing like a messenger insect. At first, the listener may be hard-pressed to say whether this sound was produced by Han's voice or not.

This says more about this idiosyncratic singer than it says about kazoos.

While his music was silenced before it could be broadly appreciated, Han Dae Soo demonstrated a will to be heard. Han's raw vocal power can be best witnessed on his 1974 debut "Long Long Road," an authentic snapshot of how acoustic music can be both rebellious and lighthearted.

Born in 1948 in South Korea's second largest city, Busan, Han would spend his early life traveling between the United States and Korea. His international upbringing is reflected in his music, particularly in his deep understanding of the mid-century folk aesthetic.

Hahn came of age as a musician in his early 20s, first performing onstage in 1968. He was only two albums into his career when, in 1975, his music was banned in South Korea for allegedly having subversive lyrics. He subsequently sought musical asylum in the United States.

While Hahn would return to recording in 1989, "Long Long Road" is a fascinating snapshot of a road potentially traveled. Its rough-hewn sound is utterly personal, often suggesting the intimacy that can only be summoned by first takes.

The aggression in Hahn's voice on "Give Me Water!" makes for a stunning introduction, yet Hahn never quite approaches that degree of fervor on "Long Long Road." Though the hint of that edge in his voice is always present.

Even though English-speaking fans may not be able to fully appreciate the intent of the words, his vocal inflections speak volumes. Hahn understands the communicative power of the voice--the humorous asides, the emphatic, cynicism-busting pathos. It's all there.

The arrangements are tasteful and sparse, typically only augmenting Hahn's compelling voice with a minimum of instrumentation. His only consistent accompaniment is his acoustic guitar. "Impression" finds Hahn joined by a cello; this is as baroque as this austere album gets.

As with just about any artist working in the folk genre, Bob Dylan's influence on "Long Long Road" is undeniable.

The presence of a harmonica played with nothing more than "breathe in/breathe out" as its operating principle proves as much. But at the close of the album's first side, the song "One Morning" suggests Dylan once removed, through the lens of another subterranean homesick blues singer, Lou Reed. The minimalist percussion here could easily have been tapped out by a sunglasses-clad Moe Tucker, or at least someone pretending to be as cool as her. But then, right before you start to think Hahn thinks he's too cool, that meddling kazoo emerges to puncture the air and keep the levity afloat.

While Dylan would be an obvious touchstone of any bona fide 1974 folkie, Hahn's voice suggests an intimacy that the cagey Dylan would only sporadically reveal. His vocal delivery is emphatic without being overwrought; the listener feels like he or she is being addressed personally. This always goes a long way.

All of these elements, (the kazoo, the immediacy, the unerring closeness) add up to paint a picture of an artist who valued folk's connective power. While the metropolitan cool that Han undoubtedly accumulated throughout his globe-crossing youth is present on "Long Long Road," it's never eclipsed by his will to communicate.

By 1989, the politically climate in Korea allowed Han to make a comeback. In the years since, he's been prolific, making up for lost time and collaborating with younger musicians.

It's heartening to see that the message on "Long Long Road" couldn't be suppressed, only delayed.

Listen to to Han Dae Soo's classic 1974 Korean folk album "Long Long Road" RIGHT HERE

Jeff Tobias is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and writer currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, he has been researching the history of tuning systems and working on his jump shot.