Happy Hallowe'en (Again) ...

I have to apologize for again interrupting the blog due to the ceaselessly recurring problem of catering to another seemingly useless and unnecessary manufactured holiday, much like (not really in chronological order anymore) Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Boxing Day, Labour Day, Hallowe'en, Easter, oops, it looks like I might have already discussed the anthropological scatology of today, but perhaps, a year having gone by, no one remembers what was said, that's assuming of course the post was read at such time as was present versus past, which is doubtful in the extreme; at any rate, I shall continue as is my prerogative to do, though said prerogative does not flow into a right for complaint if readership predictably drops utterly abruptly: today in North America we are told to take our children for a healthy walk around the neighbourhood, post-twilight, where random strangers, for once not likely to be sexual molesters, will proceed to stuff candy and chocolate, hopefully some BBQ chips too, into a bag with which our human larvae will be equipped for the express purpose of gorging themselves thereafter with upwards of 9,000-20,000 calories (this total being dependent on the alacrity and stamina of said child for area coverage) of various combinations of sugar, fat, and salt, purposefully providing themselves with the means of hastening the inevitable onset of type II diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which are such scourges of the Western world, as opposed to starvation, vitamin deficiencies, diarrhea, and Ebola haemorrhagic fever, which are confined at present mostly to the developing countries of Africa, and meantime forcing upon them such oddities as outmoded pagan fears like sorcery and witches, goblins and ghosts, as if encouraging in the immature gullible those very superstitions with which we ourselves are so disgusted or perhaps transferring that nausea which should be associated with gastric overconsumption to artificial figures, scarecrows: completely invented apparati of nonexistence, fairy tales; then, focusing for a moment on the skills with which these haplessly naive kids (mine of course included) arrange to provide themselves with enough plain calories (I dare not say nutrition), to feed a Somalian child for a year in one two-hour period, at the convenience of people with whom I don't share even a hello in daily life, I become filled with stupefied wonder at the idea that our capitalist society has achieved such a condition of useless self-created and procrastinated tedium punctuated with over-satiation of artificial needs, combined with self-caused diseases such as lung cancer appearing in smokers, or arthritis in women with breast implants who proceed to sue the manufacturers of said flotation devices so they can get newer implants, as well as the flipping to virtue of the original sins which today are entirely encouraged for example lust with Britney Spears-like performers encouraging the oversexualization of prepubertal girls (who dress up as hookers today), gluttony in the aforementioned case, pride in the case of daytime TV hosts encouraging us to look only after ourselves, anger for all those seeking lawsuits for damages as a result of accidents they are themselves the cause of, etc., I have to reflect on how humanity hardly deserves the second chance which we are being encouraged to seek as an escape from the cumulative problems of resource depletion, climate change, habitat destruction, miscellaneous novel viruses such as MERS, and one is tempted, almost forced, to believe that a problem like the Ebola virus is simply the wrath of god applied to us collectively as a plague to finally diminish us in our stupidly arrogant minds and on the earth we have invaded like the metastatic ass cancer that is currently endangering the life of famed Toronto, Canada mayor Rob Ford, recently re-elected as councillor for a year by an idiotic populace despite a 50-50 chance of surviving a year.  And perhaps it might turn out that God himself has a sense of humour if we are all struck down with metastatic buttock cancer too, instead of Ebola, like the tasmanian devils (that big favourite of our childhood disney cartoons), who are being decimated and may well go extinct as a result of facial tumours caused by over-fighting....

Anybody want to split a twix bar with me?  My kid hates those.

Ole. G. Nilssen's World of Dreams from 1976 Norway

Of course a lot has been written already about this record, but it really bothers me I don't have a back scan to share.  Instead I am just reiterating the old mp3 rip from years ago that someone long ago did as a favour for all of us.  Yet that record is not so expensive, so perhaps one day I will buy it when there is more of a surplus in the joint shopping account that, as I said before, is predicated on the mathematical equation of 2 shoes for wife = 10 records for me (depending on sale seasons in which case a qualifying multiplier for the first term would be about 1.3).

Anyways, I personally adore this record, and even after hearing it so many times could still listen more.  It has a very dark and melancholy undercurrent and the image of the children, presumably his own, over a mushroom cloud that looks like an H bomb to me, pretty much brings to us the themes.

Some short quotes:

Future Solaris member Nilssen put out this one incredibly obscure album before he himself disappeared into the ether. I've had this one on a curiosity list for well over 10 years, and finally in 2009 I had a chance to hear it, due to a good friend of this site. So was it worth the effort? Rarely is the answer yes in these cases, and "World of Dreams" is no exception, but this is a mighty fine album for certain. Light years better than the subpar Solaris "Misty Morning" album. At its core, "World of Dreams" is a soft rock vocal album. But there are long sections dedicated to instrumentals, and its these sections that are clearly progressive rock influenced, with 1970s era instrumentation. Like a lot of soft rock, the songwriting is better than average, and Nilssen possesses a fine voice, and so the combination is highly appealing, even if not consistent. One I'm glad I finally heard.

From cd reissue wishlist.


From apps on rateyourmusic:

''World of dreams'' is a great work, somewhere between Melodic Rock and CAMEL-esque Progressive Rock with obvious elements of the Singer/Songwriter style in the shorter pieces. But the long tracks contain some excellent vocal harmonies by Nilssen, whose voice is just pure poetry, very sensitive and ethereal, while the instrumental parts remind of a slower CAMEL circa-''Snow goose'' with some slight jazzy influences and plenty of melancholic soundscapes, and the combination of melodic vocals with smooth electric guitars has a CARAVAN-like mood, although this is not close to the Canterbury scene. Nilssen combined an expressive lyricism and accesible vocal parts with multi-influenced instrumental sections, fronted by his KERRS PINK-like guitar work and the discreet presence of other instruments like the keyboards or the jazzy sax and horn parts. The shorter tracks are just narrow versions of the already presented style with sentimental guitar soloing, doubled by acoustic passages in a slightly MIKE OLDFIELD-like atmosphere, with strong jazzy inspirations and some orchestral passages. The music is still very melodic and dreamy with superb structures and background CAMEL nuances, albeit more accesible in nature.

After his stint with Solaris his traces have been lost, although it appears he remained tightly linked to the local music scene of his hometown Harstad. In 2001 he released another album, ''Memories of a lifetime'', which was only locally distributed, and he still performed live next to Esdor Jensen, who also played acoustic guitar on this album.

Beautiful, lyrical Art Rock with progressive touches in the vein of CAMEL and KERRS PINK.Extremely melodic with a couple of standout pieces and strongly recommended.


All I can add is that I've listened so many times to this record, and I could listen to it again and again...  it's that kind of record.  I'm not sure if the original ripper just did a terrible job, or recorded it in mono, but surely we will have to find an upgrade for this little treasure.





One further note, Ole sings in a vibrato that conveys a kind of nostalgic crooner quality to some tracks, an unusual performance for rock, although it can be heard from Paul McCartney from time to time to the utter consternation and disgust of John Lennon I remember, who felt it had no place in rock music, and he was right-- except this record where as I said, it adds an otherworldly dimension to the songs:




At times, he even sings in a falsetto a la French Atlantide.

Noel Sokoloff's Concerto da Camera

Now here's a record that has completely dropped off the face of the earth, though the music is heavenly...

I have a sweet spot for this kind of modern classical music though today, I find it disappointing without the rock or jazz backing that we have gotten so accustomed to.  Nonetheless there are countless, innumerable fans out there who will diligently attend those concerts at halls throughout he world to listen to this material, not a passing thought to music such as French Mosaic, German Iviron, the Hungarian Panta Rhei, that attempted to create something amalgamated with everything mankind had come up with...


Unfortunately recorded in mono, the music contains a great deal of beautiful thought and effort.  Why is google so incapable?

Here is the adagio section:





For those who don't like European classical, I will be back with lots more bona fide prog in the coming few weeks... in between Hallowe'en candy of course!

The Seventh Century from 1971

Reading that blurb on the back gives you all the information you need to know, which, moreover, is utterly lacking from the individual who contributed to their discogs entry.  One gets an idea from rateyourmusic how little known this incredible find from one of my far-flung friends is-- at least until now.  I'll say it in a nutshell, this is progressive music at its finest moment, full of inventive composition and ingenious additions of baroque, jazz, and other inputs.  First of all let's have a look at aforementioned blurb (how I hate that word, still in use today in publishing):


15-piece seventh century offers promising new blends of sound (by John S. Wilson)
A 15-piece orchestra that ranges, musically, from Renaissance to rock played at the Village Gate on Sunday.  The band, called the Seventh Century ("because this is the seventh century of organized, written instrumental music" explained Alan Raph, a bass trombonist, who leads the group), is one of a series of new, contemporary groups that will perform at the Village gate on Sunday nights.

"We're using all the elements that exist today to make music",  Mr. Raph said in summarizing the group's intentions.  "We're dipping into Renaissance and pre-Baroque music.  We're using rock for rhythm, some jazz and a modal type of jazz improvisation."

All these elements were evident in the band's performance Sunday night.  Flute, organ and a seven-piece brass section sometimes sounded like a heraldic halloo at a medieval castle.  But as the dreams moved in with a rock beat, the attack of the brass changed to swinging jazz.  Two electric guitars joined in to extend both the rock sound and the nigh cry of the brass and as the ensemble boiled to a swirling tempest of sound that reflected the brassy influence of Stan Kenton, an alto sax rose into soaring solo that was pure jazz.

The compositions, all originals by Mr. Raph and Lee Holdridge, usually gave the band an opportunity to run its full gamut, a practice that tended to make them sound somewhat repetitious.  But the concept of a band as a whole is so unusual that it can afford to be repetitious while it is establishing its identity...


One thing regarding the above I wanted to point out, because it's so absent today.  Why not make a melting pot of all the best music we have created, collectively, as a species, since the dawn of time, and see if the amalgam can take what's best from everywhere?  Thus from pop we have songs and melodies, from jazz the improvisation and rhythms, from rock the energy and electric instruments, from classical the more mathematical fugue-like elements... but no, it's impossible today, isn't it?
Also notice how they played a gig regularly there every week.... Wow why couldn't I be back in that era?  What happened to that progressive spirit?

Notice that the first three compositions collectively are called "Trinity" are were the score for a ballet in New York City.

JOFFREY BALLET... In 1970 the Joffrey Ballet Company premiered "TRINITY" a ballet in three parts. For the next 20 years, the ballet was performed every season ... it became the Joffrey's "signature" piece. In March 2000 it was revived in Chicago by the company to enthusiastic reviews and warm/lively audience response. 
Other Joffrey Co. ballets: "Mingus Dances" (choreographed by Alvin Ailey... music of Charles Mingus transcribed and arranged by Alan Raph) and "Sacred Grove on Mount Tamalpais" (music & lyrics by Alan Raph). 

This Alan Raph was evidently a very prolific trombonist back in the day, have a look at all the records he has played on.  I see that he was involved in my all-time favourite jazz record, Charlie Mingus' Let my children hear music.   Today he is 80 years old, and at the time of this highly progressive music he was already 41.  I have to believe that somewhere there in his discography there are other such gems waiting to be unearthed.  The other gentleman, Lee Holdridge, was equally prolific, but as a composer became big in sountracks.

Given the resumes these guys have amassed, what a surprise this little gem isn't more well-known.

Here's the first track

Von Westernhagen Part IV: Ellen Homilius and Thilo's Sonnengesang from 1986

Another gorgeous cover painting! (credited to Franziska Stubenrauch).

I guess in this last mid-eighties installment from Thilo he tried to craft a Terry Riley-like minimalist new wave opus with his singer Ellen Homilius.  Was it successful?  Not to my ears.  In compensation, or perhaps rather as punishment, the record is almost 60 minutes long-- !

This sort of thing was perhaps fashionable back in the day, but today, due to the paucity of musical content, seems a bit scarce in terms of comfortable listening.  For the tired ear, there is so little emotional progression to track.  However, the return to acoustics at the conclusion does provide a level of comfort similar to that of finding a Starbucks with a clean washroom after walking through downtown Kowloon in Hong Kong all afternoon, or perhaps even more appropriately, after walking through central Paris in need of same relief...

I should mention, with regards to the subject of this record, the description just above Thilo reads:

"Composed by T. von Westernhagen.  Words based on the 'Cantico del sole' by Francesco d'Assisi and excerpts from the 'Message' of Chief Seattle."

So it's very much an ecological treatise set to music.  It's not a little ironic to me that synthesizers and electronic instruments are used to appreciate the natural world of mother earth.

When she starts talking about how the 'sight of your cities pains the eyes' one can't help but reflect on how the sound of his percussion pains one's ears...

I include the last Cantico and Message from the end of side one as pretty representative of the whole:





Some of course I know will love this opus.