DIY, Avant garde underground,post punk sooper groop, the 49 Americans consisted of 1 american and at least 48 collaborators of UK origin(some of whom apparently never met each other!). A 'Pop' version of Gavin Bryars Portsmouth Symphonia,where largely every member plays an instrument he/she isn't too comfortable with,frequently swapping around after each twee tune. At least one member ,David Toop, was in both collectives.
There is a bizarre 'prog' influence ,with a UK DIY version of a Rick Wakeman prog opera on side two, complete with Knights of old,and jesters. DIY's only concept album,and one of thee definitive records of DIY culture.
(apparently this has been reissued with bonus tracks)
Tracklist:
| A1 | Beat Up Russians | |
| A2 | That Man | |
| A3 | Involved In Local Chaos | |
| A4 | Doubt | |
| A5 | Edible | |
| A6 | Should Be More Ideal | |
| A7 | All The Fun | |
| A8 | Sounds Like Ska | |
| A9 | Architecture Stops | |
| A10 | Don't Sing The Blues | |
| A11 | Heritage | |
| A12 | Pledge Of Allegiance | |
| The Musical | ||
| B1 | Overture | |
| B2 | Song Of The Peasants (Chief Peasant) | |
| B3 | Tralala (Eldest Prince) | |
| B4 | Dragon Eating Peasants Instr. | |
| B5 | I Don't Want (Royal Children) | |
| B6 | Let Yourself Go (Impulsive Knight) | |
| B7 | Digestion Instr. | |
| B8 | Fairy Tale (King) | |
| B9 | What You Need (Equipped Knight) | |
| B10 | Digestion Instr. | |
| B11 | Intellectual Yodel (Theoretical Knight) | |
| B12 | Pain In The Belly (Friendly Knight) | |
| B13 | Digestion Instr. | |
| B14 | Ha Ha Ha (Jester) | |
| B15 | Aye, There's The Battle (Dreamy Knight) | |
| B16 | Digestion Instr. | |
| B17 | Yodel Again (Theoretical Knight) | |
| B18 | Digestion Instr. | |
| B19 | Fairy Tale (Reprise) (King) | |
| B20 | Contradictions - The Finale (Jester) | |
DOWNLOAD to become the fiftieth american HERE!
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing this! I just discovered The 49 Americans as I was poking around on Discogs. David Toop, Steve Beresford and Lol Coxhill were part of the free jazz scene but were also playing with Viv Albertine and Vivien Goldman as part of the 49 Americans, as well as the On-U Sound crew (with Playgroup, The Circuit, and others). It's a fascinating time period when so many people were collaborating from different scenes -- post-punk, free jazz, DIY, and the outer reaches of dub. Thanks again.
Post a Comment