Robbie Basho - The Voice of the Eagle

Released on the Vanguard label in 1972. Unlike 1974's 'Zarthus' (see below, also on Vanguard) Basho plays guitar exclusively here, although like as with 'Zarthus' he is joined by Ramnad Raghavan on mrdangam drum on some songs. There is much more of a focus here on Basho's vocal talents, and traditional style songs infused with the musician's uniquely big hearted new world spiritualism. 'Wounded Knee Soliloquy' and 'Moving Up a Ways' are excellent pieces that Basho would come to record again in later years.

A1. Voice Of The Eagle
A2. Wounded Knee Soliloquy
A3. Blue Corn Serenade
B1. Joseph
B2. Omaha Tribal Prayer
B3. Sweet Medicine
B4. Roses And Gold
B5. Moving Up A Ways

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George Jones - My Favorites of Hank Williams

A slightly superior successor to 1960's 'Salutes Hank Williams' on Mercury. Here Jones focuses more on songs of heartbreak than good times and happiness. His voice is at its peak and adds a whole new dimensions to the timeless songs of the great tragic country troubadour. The pain and tragedy in each of these songs comes out of every note; from the lonely fiddle, to the booming double bass, to Jones's dulcet tones.

A1. You're Gonna Change
A2. You Win Again
A3. Mansion On The Hill
A4. I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Living
A5. Lonesome Whistle
A6. Wedding Bells
B1. Your Cheating Heart
B2. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me
B3. I Heard You Crying In Your Sleep
B4. A House Without Love
B5. I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You
B6. Take These Chains From My Heart

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Maurizio Bianchi - Triumph of the Will

"Liebstandarte SS MB" was a moniker used by Come Organisation owner William Bennett to release the pioneering industrial/noise music of Maurizio Bianchi overlayed with National Socialist speeches and themes. Although Bianchi later denied involvement with these creative decisions, he did reissue the material intact. This is a gift: the speeches do nothing but intensify the sonic backdrop here, as ominous machinery grinds under powerful oratory. Released initially in 1981 as an LP and a cassette, it was reissued in 2013 and 2016 on Bianchi's menstrualrecordings label as a CD and 7" LP respectively. 

A. Triumph Of The Will
B. To Birkenau

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Othmar Schoeck - Venus

"On two successive nights - Geneva, 26 February, and Lausanne, 27 February - I attended performances in which a statue of Venus is a major participant. Othmar Schoeck's aptly entitled Venus is a conflation of short stories by the ill-assorted Merrimée and von Eichendorff, a combination which posed almost insuperable difficulties for the composer's librettist friend Armin Rüeger. Merrimée's anecdote concerns a recently uncovered statue of Venus which is given as a wedding present to a young man who becomes obsessed by it. Eichendorff's novella puts a metaphysical spin on the same basic narrative and it is the German poet's approach rather than the Frenchman's trivial narrative which clearly offered the major appeal. Mario Venzago's advocacy of his fellow countryman's music has been amply demonstrated with his 1992 recording of the work on the Swiss label MGB (CD 6112). At that time a few cuts were made due to the lack of agreement between orchestral and piano scores along with some verbal modifications to remove some of the librettists worst infelicities." (Joel Kasow. From CultureKiosque.)

Performers: Philharmonische Werkstatt Schweiz, Kammerchor Heidelburg, Knabenchantorei Basel, Mario Venzago

1.1. Orchester
1.2. Akt I: 'Frühling Hat Die Welt Erlöst'
1.3. Akt I: 'Simone, Geliebte!'
1.4. Akt I: 'Hörch, Wieder Singt Sie'
1.5. Akt I: 'Halt! Gemach, Sonst Stört Ihr Sie'
1.6. Akt I: 'Wer Vor Dem Heidentum Erschrickt'
1.7. Akt I: 'Au! Verflucht'
1.8. Akt I: 'Rosen Und Lilien Sollen Dich Kränzen'
1.9. Akt I: 'Nehmt Die Angst Der Guten Kinder Nicht Zu Ernst'
1.10. Akt I: 'Ach, Mich Fürchtet Fast Zu Sagen'
1.11. Akt I: 'Göttliches Hab'ich Verglichen'
1.12. Akt I: 'Küsst Euch Ihr Biden'

2.1. Akt II: 'Eins, Zwei, Drei'
2.2. Akt II: 'Das Brautpaar'
2.3. Akt II: 'Habt Erbarmen, Dunkle Mächte'
2.4. Akt II: 'Wo Weilest Du, Mein Geliebter'
2.5. Akt II: 'Seht Die Beiden Eng Umschlungen'
2.6. Akt II: 'Welch Mir Vertrautes Antlitz'
2.7. Akt II: 'Amor Ist Uns Durchgebrannt'
2.8. Akt II: 'Pah! Dieser Ring Soll Dich Nicht Stören'
2.9. Akt II: 'Blinde Lieb' Am Gängelband'
2.10. Akt II: 'Ein Neidliches Spiel'
2.11. Akt II: 'Was Gabs? Wer Schrie?'
2.12. Akt II: Gewitter
2.13. Akt III: 'Der Mondschein Narrte Mich'
2.14. Akt III: 'Seltsame Worte Eines Jungen Gatten'
2.15. Akt III: 'Die Einz'ge Tugend Ist: Ergriffen Sein'
2.16. Akt III: 'So Höre!'
2.17. Akt III: 'Bin Ich Verloren?'
2.18. Akt III: 'Neffe, Trit Nur Auch Heran'
2.19. Akt III: 'Venus, Sei Mir Gnädig'
2.20. Akt III: 'Die Arme Welt Träumt Nur Davon'

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Othmar Schoeck - Elegie

"The Elegy op. 36 for baritone and chamber orchestra was created between 1921 and 1923. It is Schoeck’s first lieder cycle after he had written a great number of single lieder before. The cycle opened a new dimension of creativity to him. In it he was able to show the emotional developing process of the lyrical ego in a way that would not have been possible without the cyclic structure.

"In his Elegy Schoeck combined 24 poems by Nikolaus Lenau (18) and Joseph von Eichendorff (6), the arrangement of which re-enacted the experience of the lyrical ego from memory, like love and memory, farewell, sorrow and melancholy and loneliness, the transfiguration of pain in the face of death, and the consolation of the world. The seasons and natural phenomenons symbolically serve as an emotional reflection of the lyrical ego, as the wanderer thematic symbolizes his indefatigable longing and persuit.

"Schoeck consciously choose lyrics with a confessional character. In them he digested his own and unrequited love to a young pianist from Geneva.

"Furthermore the unity of the cycle results from its frame structure. The unforgotten love affair is embedded in a second subject area containing the existential subject of the poet, which consists of the conflict between general expectation and his own feeling and the obsession to have to write poetry. This problem can also be associated with Schoeck’s biography, which was a musical tightrope walk between tradition and modern age and the effort to maintain his point of view in a time of fast and progressive development." (Marina Staude, tr. Winfried Maas. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Mutare Ensemble, Gerhard Müller-Hornbach, Klaus Mertens

1. Wehmut
2. Liebesfrühling
3. Stille Sicherheit
4. Frage Nicht
5. Warnung Und Wunsch
6. Zweifelnder Wunsch
7. Waldllied
8. Waldgang
9. An Den Wind
10. Kommen Und Scheiden
11. Vesper
12. Herbstklage
13. Herbstgefühl
14. Nachklang
15. Herbstgefühl
16. Das Mondlicht
17. Vergangenheit
18. Waldlied
19. Herbstentschluß
20. Verlorenes Glück
21. Angedenken
22. Welke Rose
23. Dichterlos
24. Der Einsame

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Visions & Phurpa - Monad

Collaboration between German dark ambient musician Frederic Arbour and Russian Buddhist chant group Phurpa, released on Berlin (formerly Montreal) label Cyclic Law in 2018. The familiar tantric overtone singing (the style known as 'gyukye') is present here alongside the primitive instrumentation Phurpa offers, but we find it within a vast primordial space created by Arbour. This high fidelity, modern sound world offers an interesting juxtaposition to the analogue simplicity of Phurpa's usual approach.

1. Ascendance
2. Fohat
3. Monad
4. Reminiscense

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The North Sea - Praise Be to God, Emmanuel

The North Sea is a solo project of Ajilvsga's Brad Rose. This was released on the Seattle-based label Further Records in 2010. Being Rose's personal vehicle this project has seen a lot of development and variety: from the earlier free folk acoustic-oriented material to stripped down Ajilvsga-esque psych drone releases, to unique material such as this. We're presented with ebullient major key synths and a litany of bubbling, swirling noise and distortion. Welcome sounds on Easter Sunday.

A. Untitled
B. Untitled

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S·Core - Morbid Moppets

Cassette release from Yutaka Tanaka, on his own Afflict Records/Trinity Production labels. S·Core is typically varied; we can hear murky, ominous atmosphere as well as fuzzy, hypnotising rhythm-based sections. Looking at the track titles and the cover image here we can extrapolate an eastern spiritual theme. We see a grinning, muscular entity holding a lamp as if in service of something even more terrible. These ritualistic sounds perhaps give us an ear into that evil spiritual realm.

A. The Afterimage
B1. Critiscism
B2. Reddish-Black
B3. Sutra
B4. The Far East

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Robedoor - Sloths in Thrones

'Psychedelic' noise from experimental American rock group Robedoor, released on Greh Holder's Chondritic Sound label as a mini CDr in 2005. Features low, primal drones layered with crashing waves of static and roaring vocal performances.

1. Sloths In Thrones
2. Torpor As Lord

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James Blackshaw - The Glass Bead Game

Released in 2009 on Michael Gira's Young God Records label. Blackshaw is in excellent form, playing engaging and emotive fingerstyle guitar as well as piano and harmonium, with occasional accompaniment from voice, cello and clarinet. The playing manages very well to tread the middle ground between more dissonant, cerebral music of some in this style and the more roots-focused folk/blue playing of others. Blackshaw creates a musical world that is entirely his own, weaving musical narrative threads that a rewarding and complex, but that we can easily follow.

1. Cross
2. Bled
3. Fix
4. Key
5. Arc

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Robbie Basho - Zarthus

The second of two releases by Basho on the Vanguard label, following 1972's 'The Voice of the Eagle'. This is richly inspired music. Basho (on guitar and piano) drifts from the Cedars of God in Lebanon ('Khalil Gibran') to eastern spiritual sounds ('Khoda é Gul é Abe'), joined by mrdangam drum player Ramnad Raghavan. There is a fine balance here between the guitarist's introspective, finely intricate instrumental pieces and his vocal pieces; the latter bearing closer similarity to traditional western song structure. It is hard not to miss that this is very serious music from a deeply spiritual man, in spite of the various new age trappings here.

1. Zarthus
2. Khoda É Gul É Abe
3. Mehera
4. Khalil Gibran
5. Bride Divine
6. Rhapsody In Druz: Main Theme; Wine Section; Flower Of The Heart; The Flight; Nightingale; Darshan; Ocean Section; Allah Meher; Ships; Baba's Mountain; Look Into Your Heart; March; Rolling Home

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Robbie Basho - Visions of the Country

"I would paint for you a portrait of North America as a beautiful woman, when she was young and untamed, untrammeled upon and unshamed. Her discipline was natural, her modesty overwhelming. And in the morning she would wash the burning face of the sun with her loving mist and comb his auburn hair with balsam fur: and he would smile upon her, and the day would begin and she would spread her apron for all to gather round her and she would feed the deer and the birds and share her loving heart with all creation. And with breakfast done, she would take her waterjar across her shoulders and off to the fields she would go; the seeds of corn and squash to sow, and she would raise her head to watch the forests weave their silent singing o'er the wind; and she would tickle the streams with magic fingers and feel the waters flow and know the humor of their coursing. And up, up into the afternoon she would saunter, the sweat won her brow, and past the jagged rocks, and past the balsam boughs, and in the shade of cedar she would stop to rest perchance to pray. Could see forget the warmth of sun against her breast all day, and cool of moon against her eyes at night, and sight has fallen into sleep and keep: and awake! and shake! and clear! and down and deep she wonders with the deer, and suppertime is drawing near; and dear it is the broth of sky she drinks and sweet the taste of buttered sun before he sinks (beyond the horizon), ..... and twilight winks his way into her watchful heart, and start the song. For in the evening she would sing oh so sweetly that entire earth would turn on its side the better to hear her: and moon would place his palm against his cheek and weep with deep emotion: for he was an old fellow with white hair, and she made him forget the distance of eons and eons and neutrons and protons. And of course this happened a long time ago before the age of tempered steel and ruffled lace, and outer space. But one can still hear her singing in the high countries of the heart and in the vast canyons of constant memory where the life of a single being is not forgotten nor forsworn and somewhere a child is both, and no where is the blanket torn between thee and me and shining sea and God knows 

earth calls
rain falls
corn grows

loloma, loloma, loloma         kwak kwal" (Robbie Basho. From the liner notes.)

A1. Green River Suite
A2. Rodeo
A3. Rocky Mountain Raga
A4. Variations On Easter
A5. Blue Crystal Fire
B1. Orphan's Lament
B2. Leaf In The Wind
B3. Night Way
B4. Elk Dreamer's Lament
B5. Call On The Wind

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Maurizio Bianchi - Symphony for a Genocide

One of industrial music's great early masterpieces. This album has a mythic intrigue: churning, repetitive sounds that are instantly as mesmerising as they are abrasive. The thematic lore of this LP is interesting. While the moniker 'Leibstandarte SS MB' was no doubt a facsimile creation of William Bennett, this release, despite it's theme, seems to have been put together with Bianchi's creative control. We can understand why any artist would want to distance themselves from a release titled 'Triumph of the Will' and brazenly loaded with National Socialist speeches, but the material here posits much more of a moral grey area in how it's presented: there is no glorification, celebration or denial of the holocaust, but no condemnation, lamentation or anger either. The effect is Bianchi calling to mind the mimetic force of these events to effectively add a sinister weight to his sounds; the churning machinery of his music becomes linked to the churning machinery of industrialised mass murder, both a sinister product of an industrial age and a worthwhile blueprint for all that was to come for industrial music. 

A1. Treblinka
A2. Auschwitz
A3. Maidanek
A4. Auschwitz (Reprise)
B1. Belzec
B2. Chelmno
B3. Sobibor

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Duke Ellington - Such Sweet Thunder

This is a twelve part suite composed by Ellington based on the works of Shakespeare, dedicated to the Shakespearean Festival in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario. Written in just under three weeks in 1956 and recorded the following year, there is an excellent sense of creative drive and focus here: much like Verdi Ellington shows how much musical life is in Shakespeare's words. There is a sound here that only Ellington's bands could produce, with such synergy between musicians and their director that ideas can flow directly out from the great bandleader's mind. 

A1. Such Sweet Thunder
A2. Sonnet For Caesar
A3. Sonnet To Hank Cinq
A4. Lady Mac
A5. Sonnet In Search Of A Moor
A6. The Telecasters
B1. Up And Down, Up And Down (I Will Lead Them Up And Down)
B2. Sonnet For Sister Kate
B3. The Star-Crossed Lovers
B4. Madness In Great Ones
B5. Half The Fun
B6. Circle Of Fourths

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