Yusef Lateef is one of my dad's favourite recording artists and his "Russell and Elliot" (a weeping, plaintive blues) is one of the first songs I can remember hearing.
From Lateef's excellent Live At Pep's recording comes "Sister Mamie," a jazz, blue and far-eastern.
The drums are off to the side, pushing the song from left to right, not supporting it or pushing forward. The piano is an insistent low-down shake of the head. The bass slides. Lateef is on senai, a quadruple-reed woodwind. He wails and cries. His playing frames the other more traditional solos in the context of an anguish inexpressible by the twelve-tone blues.
Play it for your babies. They will end up like me.
***
Is it OK to write lyrics like these:
''Histories of ages past
Unenlightened shadows cast
Down through all eternity
The crying of humanity
'Tis then when the hurdy gurdy man
Comes singing songs of love''?
Certainly not.
However, colossal distorted electric guitars (and sitars, of course), constant drum fills and a twee voice affected with tremolo join his special brand of pre-prog fantasy lyrics to make "Hurdy Gurdy Man" a strange and beautiful classic of psychedelic folk/rock.
For further listening consider Jim O'Rourke's perverse hurdy gurdy drone album, Happy Days.
Posted by Jordan at October 20, 2004 8:48 PMOh man I love Donovan. I grew up listening to him.
Posted by: Zak at October 20, 2004 11:17 PMyou ever see the movie "l.i.e."? it's great. "hurdy gurdy man" is sort of the theme.
Posted by: george at October 21, 2004 9:44 AMThanks for Tortoise and Over Jordan. I really wonder what everyone else's mom or dad liked the best and how much influence that had.
annette
jim o'rourke has a hurdy gurdy album?!? where can i find it?
Posted by: Anonymous at October 21, 2004 7:16 PMsign me up for the hurdy gurdy too
Posted by: daniel at October 22, 2004 12:07 PMHey Jordo, very cool - ask AH where I think all this will end up!!
Posted by: DMC at October 22, 2004 7:05 PMno one even mentioned this is like the first led zeppelin recording, minus robert's plant. but plus bonham, paul jones, paige. and donovan.
Posted by: jesse at October 30, 2004 9:11 PM