The Basement Rug

This rip was made from the original 1956 Canadian RCA pressing of Eddy Arnold’s first LP: Anytime. The recordings themselves were made in 1952 and are probably some of the best that Arnold ever made. Unfortunately, while several of the songs on this album are available on CD collections, it appears the original album is no longer available in any format. The review and biography below are both from the All Music Guide. R.I.P. Eddy! (15 May 1918 – 8 May 2008)

Track Listing:

1) Bouquet of Roses
2) It’s a Sin
3) That’s How Much I Love You
4) Don’t Rob Another Man’s Castle
5) Rockin’ Alone (In an Old Rockin’ Chair)
6) Molly Darling
7) I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)
8) Heart Full of Love
9) Anytime
10) Texarkana Baby
11) Will the Circle Be Unbroken
12) Who at My Door Is Standing

Album review by Greg Adams:

Anytime is an expanded reissue of a 1952 two-EP set of the same name that contains several of Eddy Arnold’s biggest early hits. Seven of the 12 tracks were number one hits, while “Molly Darling” and “That’s How Much I Love You” made the Top Ten. Although Arnold did not hold his early recordings in high esteem later in his career, these are some of the hits that established his reputation as a major artist, and are among the most traditional-sounding country records he made. His easygoing vocal style is the same as ever, and the spare instrumentation — with fiddles in place of the sweet strings he would later favor — provides an appealing backdrop. It is interesting to note that there is a sameness to Arnold’s early hits, just as there is a sameness to his big ’60s hits. Even at this early stage, although he was working within the confines of straight country music, Arnold had a well-developed middle-of-the-road sensibility.

Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

Eddy Arnold moved hillbilly music to the city, creating a sleek sound that relied on his smooth voice and occasionally lush orchestrations. In the process, he became the most popular country performer of the 20th century, spending more weeks at the top of the charts than any other artist. Arnold not only had 28 number one singles, he had more charting singles than any other artist. More than any other country performer of the postwar era, he was responsible for bringing the music to the masses, to people who wouldn’t normally listen to country music. Arnold was initially influenced by cowboy singers like Gene Autry, but as his career progressed, he shaped his phrasing in the style of Pete Cassell. Nevertheless, he was more of a crooner than a hillbilly singer, which is a large reason why he was embraced by the entertainment industry at large, and frequently crossed over to the pop charts. Arnold’s career ran strong into the ’90s. Although his records didn’t dominate the charts like they did during the ’40s and ’50s, he continued to fill concert halls and reissues of his older recordings sold well.

Raised on a farm in Tennessee, Arnold was given a guitar at the age of ten by his mother. His father, who had played fiddle and bass, died the following year. Arnold left school so he could help out on the farm. However, he began playing dances whenever he had a chance. Several years later, he made his first radio appearance on a station in Jackson. Arnold then moved to St. Louis, where he played in nightclubs with fiddler Speedy McNatt. In St. Louis, Arnold landed a regular spot on WMPS Memphis, spending six years at the radio station. Through the show, the singer earned a dedicated following of fans.

During World War II, Eddy Arnold became part of R.J. Reynolds’ Camel Caravan, which featured Redd Stewart, Pee Wee King’s Golden West Cowboys, Minnie Pearl, and San Antonio Rose. The troupe performed for U.S. troops throughout America, as well some selected dates in Panama. After the Camel Caravan, Arnold became the featured singer in the Golden West Cowboys while they performed on the Grand Ole Opry. At first, he appeared under the name the Tennessee Plowboy, a nickname that followed him throughout his career.

Arnold recorded his first single, “Mommy Please Stay Home With Me,” in 1944 for RCA Victor. At RCA, the singer received the guidance of the label’s A&R head, Steve Sholes, which proved to be invaluable help for his career.

Eddy Arnold pursued a solo career in 1945, the same year he got married to Sally Gayhart. “Each Minute Seems a Million Years,” released on RCA’s Bluebird division that same year, became his first charting record, peaking in the Top Five. Arnold’s career really took off the following year, when “That’s How Much I Love You” peaked in the Top Three, staying there for 16 weeks and selling over 650,000 copies; its flip side, “Chained to a Memory,” also climbed into the Top Three. Arnold followed the single’s success with two number one hits in 1947, “What Is Life Without Love” and “It’s a Sin.” However, that didn’t compare to the success of his next record, “I’ll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms).” The single spent 46 weeks on the charts, with 21 of those weeks spent at the top; it also crossed over to the pop charts, reaching the Top 30. In the process, it became the number one single of the decade.

“I’ll Hold You in My Heart” confirmed that Arnold had become a country superstar, as did the performance of his 1948 singles. All of his nine singles went into the Top Five, and five of them went to number one, including “Anytime,” “What a Fool I Was,” “Texarkana Baby,” “Just a Little Lovin’ (Will Go a Long, Long Way),” “My Daddy Is Only a Picture,” and “Bouquet of Roses,” which stayed at the top for 19 weeks. In total, Arnold racked up over 40 weeks on top of the charts during 1948, becoming the number one country star in America. He headlined all the radio shows and concerts he appeared on, and he was in demand throughout the nation. By the end of the year, Colonel Tom Parker had become his manager; Parker would later become Elvis Presley’s manager. Throughout 1949, he continued to dominate the charts, releasing a succession of Top Ten singles, including the number one “Don’t Rob Another Man’s Castle,” “One Kiss Too Many,” “I’m Throwing Rice (At the Girl I Love),” and “Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me.”

Eddy Arnold became a familiar face not only to country fans but also to the general public in the early ’50s. He toured all of the U.S., as well as several foreign countries. All of the major television shows of the era, including The Perry Como Show and Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, featured the singer. Indeed, he became so popular that he was the first country star to have his own television show, Eddy Arnold Time. The show originally aired on NBC, but it later moved to ABC. Through all of this, his string of Top Ten hits remained unbroken, even though he didn’t have another crossover pop hit until 1954. Nevertheless, the sheer amount of country hits was overwhelming: In 1950 he had seven, and 13 in 1951 (including the number ones “There’s Been a Change in Me,” “Kentucky Waltz,” “I Wanna Play House With You,” “Easy on the Eyes,” and “A Full Time Job”). The hits, including “Eddy’s Song” (composed of the titles of previous hits), “How’s the World Treating You?,” “I Really Don’t Want to Know,” “My Everything,” “The Cattle Call,” “That Do Make It Nice,” “Just Call Me Lonesome,” and “The Richest Man (In the World),” continued to come in force until 1956.

Between 1956 and 1964, Arnold continued to chart, but he wasn’t reaching the Top Ten at the same frequency of the previous decade. During this time, his style was beginning to change, as he was shedding his rootsy style for a slicker, polished sound that was more appropriate for urban settings than rural territories. Arnold became a crooner, complete with subdued instrumental backings, highlighted by gentle steel guitars and the occasional orchestra. The change in musical direction was a major commercial success, sparking a new era of chart dominance that began in 1965 with “What’s He Doing in My World.” Not only did he return to the top of the country charts, he once again crossed over to the pop charts. Arnold’s second streak of major hits ran until 1969. During this time, he earned several number one and Top Ten singles, all of which were pop hits as well, including “Make the World Go Away,” “I Want to Go With You,” “The Last Word in Lonesome,” “Somebody Like Me,” “Lonely Again,” “Turn the World Around,” “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye,” “They Don’t Make Love Like They Used To,” and “Please Don’t Go.”

In the early ’70s, Arnold continued to appear on the country charts, although his pop hits dried up. The singer signed with MGM in 1972, ending 27 straight years at RCA. Arnold spent only four years at MGM, landing only one major hit, 1974’s “I Wish That I Had Loved You Better.” Returning to RCA in 1976, he closed out the decade with two hits — “Cowboy” (1976) and “If Everyone Had Someone Like You” (1978). Arnold managed to put two songs into the Top Ten in 1980 (”Let’s Get It While the Gettin’s Good,” “That’s What I Get for Loving You”), making him one of the few artists who charted in five different decades. He continued to record in the ’90s, although without charting a hit single. Nevertheless, his concert and television appearances remained popular.

Beginning in the ’60s, Eddy Arnold was bestowed with a numerous amount of awards. In 1966, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The following year, he was the first Entertainer of the Year named by the CMA. The ACM gave him the Pioneer Award in 1984; three years later, the Songwriters Guild gave him its President’s Award. Perhaps the truest gauge of his success is his record sales. Over the course of his career, he has sold over 85 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of the 20th century. His 100th album, After All These Years, was released in 2005 by RCA Records.

I am working on some CD and MP3 compilations that I will share with friends and family over the holidays. Some of these compilations will likely get posted here at some point if I find the time.

In my research process I stumbled upon another great music blog (there are new ones every day now) called Nothing is v2.0, which “specializes primarily in the jazz underground.”

I found some of the “lost” Babatunde Olatunji albums I had been looking for. I say “lost” because the All Music Guide (AMG) lists the world famous Drums of Passion (1959) as never being out of print, but there is no listing for Zungo! (1961) or the incredible Flaming Drums (1962) and Soul Makossa (1973) is hidden away here. The Zungo! album still eludes me, so if you know where I can find a download, please post a comment here.

Despite his international fame, Olatunji remains on the margins - even in those few remaining independent records stores. I highly recommend grabbing anything you can find by him.

If you like African drumming, be sure to check out my post on Ade Bashorun.

You can listen to Olatunji’s “Hail the King” (from the Flaming Drums LP) in the player below:

Biographical information below is from wikipedia:

Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, a small town near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nigeria. A member of the Yoruba people, Olatunji was introduced to traditional African music at an early age. He read in Reader’s Digest magazine about the Rotary International Foundation’s scholarship program, and applied for it. He came to the United States of America in 1950.

Education

Olatunji received a Rotary scholarship in 1950 and was educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating from Morehouse, he went on to New York University to study public administration. There, he started a small percussion group to earn money on the side while he continued his studies.

Musical career

Olatunji won a following among jazz musicians, notably creating a strong relationship with John Coltrane and Columbia Records A&R man John Hammond who signed him to the Columbia label in 1957. With Coltrane’s help, he founded the Olatunji Center for African Culture in Harlem. This was the site of Coltrane’s final performance.

In 1959 Olatunji released his first of six records on the Columbia label, called Drums of Passion. In 1969, Carlos Santana had a major hit with his cover version of this first album’s “Jin-go-lo-ba,” which Santana recorded on his debut album, Santana, as “Jingo.” Olatunji favoured a big percussion sound, and his records typically featured more than 20 players, unusual for a percussion based ensemble. Drums of Passion became a major hit and remains in print; it introduced many Americans to world music. Drums of Passion also served as the band’s name. Notable band members included; Clark Terry, Bill Lee, Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, Sikiru Adepoju and Charles Lloyd, among others.

Olatunji’s subsequent recordings include Drums of Passion: The Invocation (1988), Drums of Passion: The Beat (1989) (which included Airto Moreira and Carlos Santana), Love Drum Talk (1997), Circle of Drums (2005) (originally titled Cosmic Rhythm Vibrations, with Muruga Booker and Sikiru Adepoju), and Olatunji Live at Starwood (2003 – recorded at the 1997 Starwood Festival) with guest Halim El-Dabh. He also contributed to “Peace Is The World Smiling: A Peace Anthology For Families” on the Music For Little People label (1989).

Olatunji recorded with many other prominent musicians, including Cannonball Adderley (on his African Waltz album), Horace Silver, Quincy Jones, Pee Wee Ellis, Stevie Wonder, Randy Weston, and with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln on the pivotal Freedom Now Suite aka We Insist, and with Grateful Dead member Mickey Hart on his Grammy winning Planet Drum projects. He is also mentioned in the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Free” as recorded on the album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

Film and theatre

Olatunji composed music for the Broadway theatrical and Hollywood film productions of Raisin in the Sun. He assisted Bill Lee with the music for his son Spike Lee’s hit film She’s Gotta Have It.

Social activism

Olatunji was known for making an impassioned speech for social justice before performing in front of a live audience. His progressive political beliefs are outlined in The Beat Of My Drum: An Autobiography, with a foreword by Joan Baez, (Temple University Press, 2005). He toured the American south with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and joined King in the march on Washington. When he performed before the United Nations General Assembly, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took off his shoes and danced. Later, he was one of the first outside performers to perform in Prague at Václav Havel’s request. On July 21, 1979, he appeared at the Amandla Festival along with Bob Marley, Dick Gregory, Patti LaBelle and Eddie Palmieri, amongst others.

Teaching career

Olatunji was also a music educator, and invented a method of teaching and recording drum patterns which he called the “Gun-Dun, Go-Do, Pa-Ta” method after the different sounds made on the drum.

Olatunji taught drum and dance workshops year-round starting in the late 1950s. Over the years he presented workshops nationally and internationally at too many colleges, universities, civic, cultural and governmental organizations to list here.

He co-wrote, Musical Instruments of Africa: Their Nature, Use and Place in the Life of a Deeply Musical People with Betty Warner-Dietz (John Day Company, 1965). He taught a summer drumming and African dance course with his wife, at the Omega institute in Rhinebeck, NY (Omega Institute) for many summers during Family week. He also taught at the Esalen Institute in California from 1985 until shortly before his death from diabetes in 2003, on the day before his 76th birthday.

This post goes out to my friend Jesse, who is a big Croce fan. Big Jim was a radio staple in the 1970s and I was always a big fan as well. Unlike a lot of the pop-folk of the 1960s, Croce’s limited works (he died in a plane crash at the age of 30 on 20 September 1973) were simpler productions and much more down to earth. Facets was originally released independently in a limited 500-copy pressing by Croce in 1966. This 2-CD re-issue that I found posted over at Frisians Other Favorites includes bonus tracks from Jim & Ingrid Too. Download CD1 | CD2

Track Listing:

1) Steel Rail Blues
2) Coal Tattoo
3) Texas Rodeo
4) Charley Green, Play That Slide Trombone
5) The Ballad of Gunga Din
6) Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp from Savannah)
7) Sun Come Up
8) The Blizzard
9) Running Maggie
10) Until It’s Time For Me to Go
11) Big Fat Woman
12) Child of Midnight
13) It’s All Over, Mary Ann
14) Railroads and Riverboats
15) Hard Times Be Over
16) Railroad Song
17) Maybe Tomorrow
18) Pa (Song For a Grandfather)

The day after our first snowfall I was helping my folks with some wiring on their stereo and we needed some music to test their rig. I found their cassette version of the Patsy Cline box set. Unlike so many box sets, this one is a genuine anthology - 104 songs compiled by the Country Music Foundation. It’s a really incredible collection issued by MCA in 1991. Cline was on the Decca/Vocalion label, which was bought by MCA, which was then bought by Universal. Much of the old MCA catalog has been dropped, and this item is no longer in production. I managed to find a 320 kbps mp3 offering out there that you can download in 7 parts. If you are a fan it is certainly worth the effort!

Biography from PatsyCline.com:

PATSY CLINE, (Virginia Patterson Hensley), was born in the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Virginia, on September 8, 1932. The family home was in nearby Gore. Legend has it that she was entertaining her neighbors as early as age 3! Her natural talent and spirit took her to the top of the country charts in 1962, and her style and popularity has never waned.

Patsy’s big break came when she won an Arthur Godfrey Talent program in 1957 with the hit Walkin’ After Midnight. From there she pursued a recording career appearing at the mecca of country music - the Grand Ole Opry in 1958, and received national awards in 1961 and 1962.

Country music lost a magical entertainer when her career was ended in an airplane crash in Tennessee, in 1963.

In 1973 Patsy was elected posthumously to the Country Music Hall of Fame, and her reputation is on record as one of the major female vocalists of all time.

A bell tower has been erected in her memory at the Shenandoah Memorial Park, where Patsy Cline is interred. Several Highways, including the Patsy Cline Memorial Highway, Route 522, and Patsy Cline Boulevard in Winchester, have been named to commemorate her life.

Track Listing:

CD 1

01. I’m WalkingThe Dog (Radio Transcription)
02. It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (Radio Transcription)
03. Turn The Cards Slowly
04. A Church, A Courtroom, And Then Goodbye
05. Honky Tonk Merry Go Round
06. I Love You, Honey
07. Come On In (And Make Yourself At Home)
08. I Don’t Wanta
09. Stop, Look And Listen (Previously Unreleased)
10. I’ve Loved And Lost Again
11. Yes, I Know Why (Radio Transcription)
12. For Rent (Radio Transcription)
13. Walkin’ After Midnight
14. The Heart You Break May Be Your Own
15. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
16. A Poor Man’s Roses (Or A Rich Man’s Gold)
17. Today, Tomorrow And Forever
18. Don’t Ever Leave Me Again
19. Try Again
20. Too Many Secrets
21. Then You’ll Know
22. Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray
23. That Wonderful Someone
24. In Care Of The Blues
25. Hungry For Love
26. I Can’t Forget
27. If I Could See The World (Through The Eyes Of A Child)

CD 2

01. Just Out Of Reach
02. I can See An Angle
03. Let The Teardrops Fall
04. Never No More
05. If I Could Only Stay Asleep
06. I’m Moving Along
07. I’m Blue Again
08. Love,Love,Love Me Honey Do
09. Yes I Understand
10. Gotta Lot Of Rythm In My Sole
11. Life’s Railway To Heaven
12. Just A Closer Walk With Three
13. Lovesick Blues
14. How Can I Face Tomorrow
15. There He Goes
16. Crazy Dreams
17. When Your House Is Not A Home
18. Stupid Cupid
19. Loose Talk
20. I Fall To Pieces
21. Shoes
22. lovin’ In Vain
23. Side By Side
24. True Love
25. San Antonio Rose
26. The Wayward Wind
27. A Poor Man’s Roses (Or A Rich Man’s Gold)

CD 3

01. Crazy
02. Who Can I Count On
03. Seven Lonely Days
04. I Love You So Much It Hurts
05. Foolin’ ‘Round
06. Have You Ever Been Lonley (Have You Ever Been Blue)
07. South Of The Border (Down Mexico Way)
08. Walkin’ After Midnight
09. Strange
10. You’re Stronger Than Me
11. Come On In (Make Yourself At Home)
12. A Poor Man’s Roses (Or A Rich Man’s Gold)
13. Bill Bailey Won’t You Please Come Home
14. She’s Got You
15. You Made Me Love You (I Did’nt Want To Do It)
16. You Belong To ME
17. Heartaches
18. Your Cheatin’ Heart
19. That’s My Desire
20. Half As Much
21. Lonely Street
22. Anytime
23. You Were Only Fooling (While I Was Falling In Love)
24. I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)
25. You’e Stronger Than Me
26. When I Get Thru With You (You’ll Love Me Too)
27. Imagine That
28. So Wrong

CD 4

01. Why Can’t He Be You
02. Your Kinda Love
03. When You Need A Laugh
04. Leavin’ On Your Mind
05. Back In Baby’s Arms
06. Tra Le La Le Triangle
07. That’s A How Heartache Begins
08. Leavin’ On Your Mind (Radio Transcription)
09. Tennessee Walz (Radio Transcription)
10. Faded Love
11. Someday (You’ll Want Me To Love You)
12. Love Letters In The Sand
13. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
14. Sweet Dreams (Of You)
15. Always
16. Does Your Heart Beat For Me
17. Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home
18. He Called Me Baby
19. Crazy Arms
20. You Took Him Off My Hands
21. I’ll Sail My Ship Alone
22. Just A Closer Walk With Thee

MP3 Download Files:

Part 1/7
Part 2/7
Part 3/7
Part 4/7
Part 5/7
Part 6/7
Part 7/7

The password to unzip the files is “purgatory”.

I am currently working on a future compilation post based on memories of my school days. Black Sabbath was huge amongst my high school friends and I recall more than a few sets of speakers being blown at a friend’s house as we cranked up songs like War Pigs.

One of my favourite albums was Volume 4, which was a bit of a departure point for the band - as far as studio production values go. Already known for his extensive guitar overdubs, guitarist Tony Iommi began adding orchestral sounds via mellotron and piano as well.

I had nearly forgotten about this album (I listen to so much jazz now) until last night, when I heard an awesome cover of Snowblind by System of a Down:

Like most of System’s recordings, this one suffers from the Loudness War, but not so badly as to make it unlistenable. Apart from the intense volume and guitar stylings, what struck me (as I listened on my car radio) was how the lyrics had changed. The line I feel the snowflakes freezing me was changed to I feel there’s no place freezing me. Changing lyrics in cover versions is not that uncommon, but this particular change made absolutely no sense to me, so I decided to troll around on the search engines to see if I could figure out why.

Based on a cursory examination of lyrics sites it would appear the problem has to do with information integrity and the echo chamber effect of the internet - ie - the problems of cut and paste from bad sources of information (one of the main reasons I believe we need to continue to support print publications). It made me wonder if System of a Down sung the wrong lyrics simply because they went to the internet to look them up, instead of asking Black Sabbath for the proper lyrics or checking the original LP inner sleeve (I can’t remember if there were lyrics in there or not).

Here’s the original Black Sabbath recording (from their 1972 album: Volume 4) and lyrics for Snowblind:

What you get and what you see
Things that don’t come easily
Feeling happy in my vein
Icicles within my brain
(cocaine)

Something blowing in my head
Winter’s ice, it soon will spread
Death would freeze my very soul
Makes me happy, makes me cold

My eyes are blind but I can see
The snowflakes glisten on the tree
The sun no longer sets me free
I feel the snowflakes freezing me

Let the winter sun shine on
Let me feel the frost of dawn
Fill my dreams with flakes of snow
Soon I’ll feel the chilling go

Don’t you think I know what I’m doing
Don’t tell me that it’s doing me wrong
You’re the one who’s really a loser
This is where I feel I belong

Crystal world with winter flowers
Turns my day to frozen hours
Lying snowblind in the sun
Will my ice age ever come?

Baptism (1968) is probably the most stand-out item in the entire Joan Baez catalog, perhaps even the whole Vanguard catalog. It is certainly the most dark and compelling concept album I have ever heard. I have the original vinyl LP, but it has seen better days. I have been looking for a better copy for years but have never found one. I just found this 128 kbps mp3 rip from a CD re-issue. It’s not as nice as having the CD, but it certainly beats the old LP. If you can find the CD or a decent LP copy, I highly recommend picking this up. This is a sit-down and pay attention album - headphones if you like, but you definitely need to be prepared for a dark and intense journey. A really great gem from Baez and Peter Schickele.

Original music composed and conducted by Peter Schickele
Selected and edited by Joan Baez
Conceived and compiled by Maynard Solomon

Track Listing:

[1] Old Welsh Song (Henry Treece)
[2] I Saw The Vision Of Armies (Walt Whitman)
[3] Minister of War (translated from the Chinese by Arthur Waley)
[4] Song In The Blood (Jacques Prévert)
[5] Casida Of The Lament (Federico García Lorca)
[6] Of The Dark Past (Ecce Puer) (James Joyce)
[7] London (William Blake)
[8] In Guernica (Norman Rosten)
[9] Who Murdered The Minutes (Henry Treece)
[10] Oh, Little Child (Henry Treece)
[11] No Man Is An Iland (John Donne)
[12] from Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man (James Joyce)
[13] All The Pretty Little Horses (Negro Lullaby)
[14] Childhood III (Arthur Rimbaud, translated by Louise Varèse)
[15] The Magic Wood (Henry Treece)
[16] Poems From The Japanese (Translated by Kenneth Rexroth)
[17] Colours (Yevgeny Yevtushenko, translated by Robin Milner-Gulland and Peter Levi)
[18] All In Green Went My Love Riding (e. e. cummings)
[19] Gacela Of The Dark Death (Federico García Lorca, translated by Stephen Spender and J. L. Gili)
[20] The Parable Of The Old Man And The Young (Wilfred Owen)
[21] Evil (Arthur Rimbaud, translated by Norman Cameron)
[22] Epitaph For A Poet (Countee Cullen)
[23] Old Welsh Song (Henry Treece)
[24] Mystic Numbers: 36. Wedding Song (Henry Treece)
[25] When The Shy Star Goes Forth In Heaven (James Joyce)
[26] The Angel (William Blake)

Review by Bruce Eder:

Joan Baez’s most unusual album, Baptism is of a piece with the “concept” albums of the late ’60s, but more ambitious than most and different from all of them. Baez by this time was immersed in various causes, concerning the Vietnam War, the human condition, and the general state of the world, and it seemed as though every note of music that she sang was treated as important — sometimes in a negative way by her opponents; additionally, popular music was changing rapidly, and even rock groups that had seldom worried in their music about too much beyond the singer’s next sexual conquest were getting serious. Baptism was Baez getting more serious than she already was, right down to the settings of her music, and redirecting her talent from folk song to art song, complete with orchestral accompaniment. Naturally, her idea of a concept album would differ from that of, say, Frank Sinatra or the Beatles. Baptism was a body of poetry selected, edited, and read and sung by Baez, and set to music by Peter Schickele (better known for his comical musical “discoveries” associated with “P.D.Q. Bach,” but also a serious musician and composer). In 1968, amid the strife spreading across the world, the album had a built-in urgency that made it work as a mixture of art and message — today, it seems like a precious and overly self-absorbed period piece. Baez lacks the speaking voice to pull off an album’s worth of readings, though her interpretations of Federico García Lorca’s “Casida of the Lament” and “Gacela of the Dark Death” show her achieving a level of compelling expressiveness that is lacking elsewhere; and the recording of Countee Cullen’s “Epitaph for a Poet” features some beautiful accompaniment by Schickele. Additionally, the sung portions, including “Old Welsh Song,” “Who Murdered the Minutes,” “The Magic Wood,” and “Oh, Little Child” by Henry Treece, “Of the Dark Past” by James Joyce, “All in Green Went My Love Riding” by e.e. cummings, and the lullaby “All the Pretty Little Horses” are beautiful and sustain those portions of the album. Baptism is primarily for Baez completists, however, although it is also a singular reminder for ’60s history buffs that not all of the antiwar movement’s music, or the work coming out of the folk scene in 1968, was necessarily loud, harsh, or bitter.

Thanks to Don for providing the source LP for this post. I was a big fan of the Doctor Dimento radio show when I was growing up, and The Ballad of Irving was one my favourite songs that he played.