Inside Looking Out
At Gray Skies Over New Amsterdam
(The Soundtrack To A Winter's Day)
Friday, February 05, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
About The Music
It's the hazy shade of winter. The soundtrack to a frigid afternoon spent 'Inside Looking Out.' Framed by frosted windows, the streets below once vibrant and teaming with life lay sullen, empty, and oddly silent, all color erased by the bleak and lingering skullcap of a relentless February sky. It's the score to a cold and gloomy winter's day where melancholia hangs like heavy tapestries on barren walls. It's the sound of mid-season doldrums, merciless and unforgiving --- music for quiet contemplation. The inner dialogue of complex emotion and rational thought mingling uncomfortably with persistent doubt and deep concern that stains the room with a nagging sense of fear. A troubling dread that the bottom could drop out of everything at any given moment. It's the anxiety of solemnly waiting for the other shoe to drop as it inevitably will, and quite possibly music for committing suicide. That choice however depends solely on your frame of mind. Listen cautiously.
Inside Looking Out, Pt.1
1) Wonderful
2) Beginning
3) Keep The Curtains Closed Today
Colin Blunstone
4) Beauty
Ayden Esen
5) Billy's Blues
Laura Nyro
6) Lars-Erik Larsson's 'Lyric Fantasy, Opus 54'
Petter Sundkvist and The Swedish Chamber Ensemble
7) Pretending To Care
Todd Rundgren
8) Will
Terje Rydal
9) Next Time Around
Sandy Denny
10) For Erin
Ryan Kisor
11) Mahler's 'Symphony No.#5, Adagietto'
Pierre Boulez and The Wiener Philharmonic
12) Ruby, My Dear
Thelonious Monk
13) The Sea Of Time And Holes
George Martin
14) The Twilight Zone
Van Morrison
Inside Looking Out, Pt.2
1) Many Chinas
Art Lande's Rubisa Patrol
2) Calling All Angels
Jane Siberry
3) Forever And Always
Pat Metheny
4) At Last
Joni Mitchell
5) Traction In The Rain
David Crosby
6) Small Hours
John Martyn
7) About A Girl
8) My Little Secret
Pete Aves
9) Black Narcissus
Joe Henderson
10) King Of Rome
June Tabor
11) Delius' 'On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring'
Sir Andrew Davis and The BBC Symphony Orchestra
12) Mad Ruth/The Babe
Danny O'Keefe
13) Turiya And Ramakhrishna
Alice Coltrane
14) Woman Of A Thousand Years
Fleetwood Mac
15) La Mesha
Stephen Scott
16) Chloe In The Garden
Duncan Browne
Inside Looking Out, Pt.1
1) Wonderful
2) Beginning
3) Keep The Curtains Closed Today
Colin Blunstone
4) Beauty
Ayden Esen
5) Billy's Blues
Laura Nyro
6) Lars-Erik Larsson's 'Lyric Fantasy, Opus 54'
Petter Sundkvist and The Swedish Chamber Ensemble
7) Pretending To Care
Todd Rundgren
8) Will
Terje Rydal
9) Next Time Around
Sandy Denny
10) For Erin
Ryan Kisor
11) Mahler's 'Symphony No.#5, Adagietto'
Pierre Boulez and The Wiener Philharmonic
12) Ruby, My Dear
Thelonious Monk
13) The Sea Of Time And Holes
George Martin
14) The Twilight Zone
Van Morrison
Inside Looking Out, Pt.2
1) Many Chinas
Art Lande's Rubisa Patrol
2) Calling All Angels
Jane Siberry
3) Forever And Always
Pat Metheny
4) At Last
Joni Mitchell
5) Traction In The Rain
David Crosby
6) Small Hours
John Martyn
7) About A Girl
8) My Little Secret
Pete Aves
9) Black Narcissus
Joe Henderson
10) King Of Rome
June Tabor
11) Delius' 'On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring'
Sir Andrew Davis and The BBC Symphony Orchestra
12) Mad Ruth/The Babe
Danny O'Keefe
13) Turiya And Ramakhrishna
Alice Coltrane
14) Woman Of A Thousand Years
Fleetwood Mac
15) La Mesha
Stephen Scott
16) Chloe In The Garden
Duncan Browne
Please be certain to visit 'The Vault' for more Birds With Broken Wings content
Further Along The Miracle Mile
What Is This In The Mist?
Friday, January 29, 2010
(For The Red Telephone Booth In Holyoke)
The Gathering Mist
'What Is This In The Mist?' is more or less an extension of last weeks 'Along The Miracle Mile.' It's not so much a companion piece as it is perhaps a more fully realized finished product. Little of it is psychedelic, although it attempts to be hallucinogenic in its approach. A bit of ear candy for the aural senses. What I'm attempting here as with 'ATMM' is the meshing of disparate musical interludes into a seamless, unified whole, or the flowing together of songs in a like-minded way. My 'project,' for lack of a better word, is still a concept in the works that will no doubt be refined as time goes on, unless of course I meanwhile lose interest. I do know this however, as with 'ATMM,' 'What Is This In The Mist?' should be listened to, or perhaps merely heard as an uninterrupted suite from start to finish. Clocking in at roughly 90 minutes in length, it obviously make some demands on your time, but the stream-of-conscious aspect dictates that it does play best when experienced in an unbroken form.
I decided that the musicians, groups, and composers whose music is included in this experiment will not be revealed until the file is downloaded and unzipped (for a bit of mystery). Some of the participants you'll instantly recognize, while others may be new and unfamiliar names to you. I encourage you to explore their music further, if you like what you hear. Discriminating eyes of course will likely be able to put a name to a few of the song titles listed below, but don't let them fool you. The whole is so much more than that.
As for the implied storyline? Well, I suppose I'm hoping the selected music will convey the idea through sound. As for just what exactly is in The Mist? Like all good stories it isn't revealed until the end. But don't read too much into it.
The Mist
1) Intro
(Preparation G1)
2) A Placid Hollow
(Applecross)
3) Puzzling Occurrences
(Moonchild, Pt.1)
4) The Gathering Mist
(Epsilon, Pt.1)
5) The Mist Descends
(Why, Or Maybe It's Because)
6) Spreading Outward
(Epsilon, Pt.2)
7) Strange Things Are Happening {World Gone Mad}
(The Blue Poppy)
8) Meanwhile Back On The Farm
(Just For The Record)
9) Isolation
(Two Of Four Moods)
10) Distress Call
(Poison Dance)
11) An Assembly Of Forces
(And You And I, Pt.1)
12) Time For Action
(Yours Is No Disgrace, Mid-Section)
13) The Valiant Fight
(Starship Trooper, Pts. A.5, B, & C)
14) Wasteland
(More Hopes And Dreams)
15) What Is This Eerie Beauty?
(The Jewel In The Lotus)
16) Entering The Mist
(Preparation G2)
17) Uncovering The Untold
(White Summer)
18) The Inevitable
(Another Country, Pt.2 & Outro)
19) There Is No Turning Back {Nothing Will Ever Be The Same}
(Bar Dream Intro)
20) What Is This In The Mist?
21) The Mist
Please be certain to visit 'The Vault' for more Birds With Broken Wings content
Along The Miracle Mile
A Mind 'Enhancing' Psychedelic Excursion
Friday, January 22, 2010
About The Music
'Along The Miracle Mile' is a mix of psychedelic era acid rock workouts and vibe-inspired jazz tracks. While the latter are not technically psychedelic, they do convey the spirit of the period. The only exception to this theme is the contribution by Deep Purple. 'Never Before' is clearly from the 1970's, and was added purely as a convenient way to get out of the track that proceeds it. No bullshit. I tell it like it is. Nevertheless, it fits in nicely and contributes a bit of non-fluorescent sheen in the form of silvery metal and polished chrome. Sweet Smoke's, 'Just A Poke' acts as the glue that holds the mix together. It's a surprisingly strong effort, if you can get past the thoroughly corny "in a world of glass teardrops" lyric. All of the said material has then been meticulously linked together by yours truly into an ever-evolving soundscape that slowly melts together, intended to loosely approximate the 'psychedelic' experience. Just who's experience, I'm not certain. Maybe the guy in the world of glass teadrops. I don't know.
Along The Miracle Mile
Baby Night(Sweet Smoke)
The Soft Parade(The Doors)
Never Before(Deep Purple)
Jackson-Kent Blues(Steve Miller Band)
Stuff(Miles Davis)
That's It For The Other One(The Grateful Dead)
Astronomy Dominé(Pink Floyd)
The Race/From A Back Door Window (The Search)(Ford Theater)
Flute Thing(Blues Project)
Do You Understand What I'm Trying To Say?(Markskram)
Silly Sally, Pt.1(Sweet Smoke)
WARNING: This selection contains a lengthy, psychedelic drum solo. Gratuitous percussion breaks are known to be hazardous to your health. Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, headache, earache, aggitation, the sudden urge to get up and go to the bathroom, or extreme boredom. If you experience any of these symptoms, please stop listening, or skip to the next track.
A Love Supreme
(John Coltrane)
Essence Of Its Own
(The Redundant Poet)
Silly Sally, Pt.2
(w/Brian Wilson's 'Basketball Sounds')
(Sweet Smoke)
Please be certain to visit 'The Vault' for more 'Birds With Broken Wings' content
A Love Supreme(John Coltrane)
Essence Of Its Own(The Redundant Poet)
Silly Sally, Pt.2(w/Brian Wilson's 'Basketball Sounds')
(Sweet Smoke)
Please be certain to visit 'The Vault' for more 'Birds With Broken Wings' content
I Stand Alone, Pt.2
Straight Shots From An Aging Gun
(The Remarkable Music & Career Of Al Kooper)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Horn oriented rock bands have endured an exceedingly bad rap over the years, and none more than Blood, Sweat & Tears deservingly so. The band that unceremoniously sacked it's founder and leader quickly reduced themselves to MOR stalwarts with Vegas leanings, touring abroad in a public relations sojourn on behalf of the State Department at a time when U.S. foreign relations were absolutely abysmal. In the process they became the brunt of countless jokes, were dismissed by critics, and scorned by rock audiences despite the transitory presence of jazz greats like Joe Henderson, Larry Willis, and Jaco Pastorius (if only for a moment) who were brought in to bolster the band's lagging credibility. But there's absolutely no denying that their debut recording ('Child Is The Father To The Man') under the direction of Al Kooper was nothing short of a masterstroke. Today it remains among the most essential of all rock listening from the richly creative period that spawned it, right up there with 'We're Only In It For The Money,' 'Music From Big Pink,' the gorgeous 'Astral Weeks,' and Anne Murray's, 'What About Me?' (only kidding about the last one!), all released in the year 1968. It's a shame that in the minds of the younger and unenlightened critics, Kooper's reputation has forever been tainted by his brief alliance with the band, despite his groundbreaking role in forging a new sound in rock music. By association then, Kooper too has therefore suffered what in his case has been an undeserved bad rap. But do you think he cares what the annuls of rock history will say about his contributions to 20th Century rock music? You bet he does, the fucking morons!
In reality, I can't honestly speak for what Al actually feels about it all, although I do know that he caustically refers to the venerable music institute in Cleveland, Ohio as 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Shame.' I also know that if the offensive 'American Idol' rulebook stands as the yardstick for measuring today's standards in pop music, then Al Kooper wouldn't even make it past the audition stages for the disagreeable program. With a strained, but soulful voice that doesn't sound like anything other than what someone might call a 'unique blend of white chocolate,' he just doesn't have that "My God! You're only 19 and you sound just like Otis Redding" thing goin' on for him. "You're too young to be that studied!" The operative word here being 'studied.' Kooper sometimes reaches for notes that are just beyond his grasp, barely grabbing them and straining to hold them. Not a singer's singer, but certainly an honest one. In fact, he's of my favorite ilk --- a refined piano player who just happens to vocalize a little bit on the side --- kind of like Mose Allison, Hoagy Carmichael, Bob Dorough, and Randy Newman. And while his guitar playing is superlative, well Christ, guitar players come a dime a dozen. His organ skills on the other hand are something to especially ponder. Having started primarily as a picker, once Kooper serendipitously maneuvered his way into Dylan's 'Like A Rolling Stone' session date, he sat down at the electric organ (an instrument that he'd never previously played), and laid down what went on to become one of the most recognizable organ riffs in modern music, 'Green Onions' notwithstanding. From that point forward, Kooper became the most in-demand B3 player in the rock industry. While he's not Jimmy Smith, he also doesn't make any claims to be. He realizes that his life was irreversibly altered on that fateful day, and thankfully accepts the bounty it's brought him. Besides, he has countless other achievements to pad his CV, enough to instill fear and awe into any aspiring young gunslinger. He knows that, I know that, and now you do too. After all, if you weren't already hip to Al Kooper, or weren't simply open to learning more about him, you wouldn't have read this far. So piss on those imbeciles who clicked away at the mention of Blood, Sweat & Tears. You and I, we know where it's at. And oh yeah, did I mention that Kooper spent the 80's compiling off-the-wall comedy blooper recordings as Christmas gifts to his friends? An interesting pasttime, huh? And I'm sure he's heard plenty.
In reality, I can't honestly speak for what Al actually feels about it all, although I do know that he caustically refers to the venerable music institute in Cleveland, Ohio as 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Shame.' I also know that if the offensive 'American Idol' rulebook stands as the yardstick for measuring today's standards in pop music, then Al Kooper wouldn't even make it past the audition stages for the disagreeable program. With a strained, but soulful voice that doesn't sound like anything other than what someone might call a 'unique blend of white chocolate,' he just doesn't have that "My God! You're only 19 and you sound just like Otis Redding" thing goin' on for him. "You're too young to be that studied!" The operative word here being 'studied.' Kooper sometimes reaches for notes that are just beyond his grasp, barely grabbing them and straining to hold them. Not a singer's singer, but certainly an honest one. In fact, he's of my favorite ilk --- a refined piano player who just happens to vocalize a little bit on the side --- kind of like Mose Allison, Hoagy Carmichael, Bob Dorough, and Randy Newman. And while his guitar playing is superlative, well Christ, guitar players come a dime a dozen. His organ skills on the other hand are something to especially ponder. Having started primarily as a picker, once Kooper serendipitously maneuvered his way into Dylan's 'Like A Rolling Stone' session date, he sat down at the electric organ (an instrument that he'd never previously played), and laid down what went on to become one of the most recognizable organ riffs in modern music, 'Green Onions' notwithstanding. From that point forward, Kooper became the most in-demand B3 player in the rock industry. While he's not Jimmy Smith, he also doesn't make any claims to be. He realizes that his life was irreversibly altered on that fateful day, and thankfully accepts the bounty it's brought him. Besides, he has countless other achievements to pad his CV, enough to instill fear and awe into any aspiring young gunslinger. He knows that, I know that, and now you do too. After all, if you weren't already hip to Al Kooper, or weren't simply open to learning more about him, you wouldn't have read this far. So piss on those imbeciles who clicked away at the mention of Blood, Sweat & Tears. You and I, we know where it's at. And oh yeah, did I mention that Kooper spent the 80's compiling off-the-wall comedy blooper recordings as Christmas gifts to his friends? An interesting pasttime, huh? And I'm sure he's heard plenty.
About The Music
Of the two sets included in this installment on Al Kooper, the first was compiled by myself and the second comes courtesy of Willard over at 'Never Get Out Of The Boat' who posted it light years ago. 'Have Gun, Will Travel' showcases some of Kooper's many musical collaborations, highlights a few well-known songs penned by others that he's lovingly elected to cover over the years, and includes a heapin' helpin' of his soulful originals. 'A.K.'s Midnight Dream' is a collection focusing exclusively on Al's more psychedelic outings. Willard compiled and posted it, I grabbed it, added a few favorites of my own, then ran it through an audio editor to tighten the segues into a seamless flow, renamed it, and am reposting now in its new form. Thanks Willard! I hope I've done justice to your creation. And thank you Al for all the beautiful songs to work with! I hope I've done you proud too.
A.K circa 1969 looking remarkably like Paul Westerberg circa 1989ISA: Still More Straight Shots From An Aging Gun
(a.k.a. 'Have Gun Will Travel' a.k.a 'The Soul, Gospel & Covers Mix')
1.) The 59th Street Bridge (Feelin' Groovy)
(Paul Simon)
(w/Mike Bloomfield)
2.) Bury My Body
(w/Shuggie Otis)
3.) Medley: OO Wee Baby, I Love You/Love Is Man's Best Friend
(Fred Hughes/Richard Parker)(A.K.)
4.) Come Down In Time(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
5.) Dearest Darling
(Eugene McDaniels)
6.) Country Road
(James Taylor)
7.) I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes
(w/The 'New" Blues Project)
8.) I Want A Little Girl
(Billy Moll/Murray Mencher)
(w/The ReKooperators)
9.) Where Were You When I Needed You?
10.) My Hands Are Tied
11.) New York City (You're A Woman)
12.) John The Baptist (Holy John)
13.) Can You Hear It Now? (500 Miles)
14.) This Diamond Ring
15.) Unrequited
16.) Flute Thing
(w/Blues Project)
17.) After The Lights Go Down
(Leroy Lovett/Allen White)
(w/The ReKooperators)
18.) She Don't Ever Lose Her Groove (For Al Green)
19.) Sleepwalk
(Santo & Johnny Farina)
(w/The ReKooperators)
20.) Jolie
The bespectacled A.K. as Political Science major and former member of S.D.S.
ISA: Al Kooper's Midnight Dream
(a.k.a 'Al Kooper's Lost Psychedelic Album')
1.) Overture I
2.) One
3.) Coloured Rain
4.) Soft Landing On The Moon
5.) Baby Please Don't Go
6.) Right Now For You
7.) Over And Underture/So Much Love
(A.K. & Blood, Sweat & Tears)
8.) Song And Dance For The Unborn, Frightened Child
9.) House In The Country
(Blood, Sweat & Tears)
10.) Lucille
11.) I Can't Quit Her
(Blood, Sweat & Tears)
12.) Magic In My Socks
13.) You Never Know Who Your Friends Are
14.) Mourning Glory Story
15.) Season Of The Witch (2002)
(w/Stephen Stills)
16.) You Don't Love Me
(w/Stephen Stills)
17.) One Room Country Shack
(w/Shuggie Otis)
18.) Sad Sad Sunshine
19.) Overture II
(A.K. & Blood, Sweat & Tears)
Source material for 'ISA: Straight Shots From An Aging Gun' come from the following recordings:
Child Is The Father To The Man (1968)/I Stand Alone (1968)
Super Session (1968)/The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper (1968)
You Never Know Who Your Friends Are (1969)/Kooper Session (1969)/Easy Does It (1970)
New York City (You're A Woman) (1971)/A Possible Projection Of The Future:Childhood's End (1972)
Naked Songs (1972)/Act Like Nothings Wrong (1976)/Rekooperation (1994)/Soul Of A Man (1995)
The Blues Project Anthology (1997)/Rare & Well Done (2001)/Black Coffee (2001)
Please be certain to visit 'The Vault' for more Birds With Broken Wings content
Posts
