Wednesday 22 January 2020

Moondog ‎– "Moondog" (CBS ‎– 63906) 1969



Anyone who wears a cloak,a horned vikings helmet,and carries a spear, has gotta be given a chance to make a major label album in my opinion.
Moondog, aka blind bloke Louis Hardin, from his perch on the corner of 54th or 55th street and 6th Avenue,was not a homeless begger,but a revered pioneer on the avant-garde/minimalist scene in New York.Working as a street musician since the late forties,he was a regular sight on his pitch until he moved to Germany in 1972.As he shared the same fascination with the nordic myth as did Wagner and Hitler.Moondog had an idealised view of Germany ("The Holy Land with the Holy River"), where he settled until he died in 1999.There's a Moondog statue spmewhere in Munster apparently!?
"The Viking of 6th Avenue" ,as he was known by the less clued up members of the public, had developed a revolutionary attitude towards composition and melody that was much lauded,and influenced such eminent contemporaries as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. There's also an obvious influence on the Residents,whether thats the similarity to the works of Harry Partch,or not,i dunno,but its there.Only the blind can truly see.

Tracklist:

A1 Theme 2:35
A2 Stamping Ground 2:36
A3 Symphonique #3 (Ode To Venus) 5:51
A4 Symphonique #6 (Good For Goodie) 2:45
B1 Minsym #1 5:45
B2 Lament I, "Bird's Lament" 1:42
B3 Witch Of Endor 6:29
B4 Symphonique #1 (Portrait Of A Monarch) 2:36


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Got the original release but no longer have a functional turntable so I haven't heard this in 20 years or more. Many thanks for this!

-Brian

Wolfgang said...

Just googled a bit and found out the statue is in fact in Münster, on his grave: http://www.knerger.de/assets/images/moondog1_gb.jpg, http://www.knerger.de/assets/images/moondog1_gb.jpg. Because of your mentioning of the Residents I will have a listen ...

Wolfgang said...

Now listening. This is completely timeless and just beautiful!!!! Cannot understand why this guy has eluded me for so long. Thank you very much, and yes, the Residents (or at least Mr Bobuck) must have had one or two of his records. PS: I like your genre tag.

Jonny Zchivago said...

Moondog 2 is better......up next.

rev.b said...

Yeah, I'm partial to M2 as well. I hear it as Christmas music actually. I also hear a similarity with some aspects of…gulp…Gentle Giant.

parmalee said...

Not really hearing much Gentle Giant in Moondog--they'd make a great pairing though! I'll openly confess to liking GG, and they were playing some seriously unfashionable music. That's... something. Moondog really takes the prize for variety. Don't think he ever rapped, but he covered most other genres.

snoopy said...

I am amazed at what I'm hearing. I started track 1 and I thought you must have mixed up your files with Powaqqatsi or something. Waaaay ahead of its time, and virtually unheard of!

Jonny Zchivago said...

Yeah, Moondog rules.....