As ones first exposure to pure unadulterated Noise outside of the 'Rock' idiom,except mabe a couple of early come organisation platters, among which this mysterious box was hiding,This was the deep end.
AMM were likely the first precursors of the Harsh Noise fad that has swept the bedrooms and tabletops of the planet,and caused the sales of effects pedals to go through the roof.The difference is that when AMM began emptying rooms in 1966,there was nobody doing this kind of abrasive ear-bleeding cacophony. They even supported The Pink Floyd in the Floyds Free rock days at the famed UFO club one evening in '67.It would certainly have been interesting to see the faces of those tripping flower children when AMM started their set.Although I am assured that they built up from a quiet beginning before anything truly noisey entered those hippy shell-likes,so they probably didn't even notice. The prospect of a naked body-painted Hippy princess dancing to AMM on LSD is quite a tantilising thought?
As these two discs cost me the best part of a tenner I had to persevere through the full 80 minutes of dense close miked scraping harsh electronics, shortwave radio interference,clattering percussion,and distorted free jazz elements. This made Throbbing Gristle sound like just a creepier version of Abba.
By the end of side three I was immersed, I now understood. It is for these moments that one searches for among the vast annals of unpopular music.Easy listening it ain't,which is,nearly always a sign of something rewarding waiting after enduring the transition period involved.One is never quite the same again afterwards.
Being a member of AMM is basically what Cornelius Cardew should be best remembered for,no mention of politics,no terrible poetry,and most importantly,no written directions.
Also involved was one of the worlds greatest guitarists Keith Rowe,who famously, has never tuned his guitar.
Nuff said.
Tracklist:
A 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 1:4 19:45
B 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 2:4 21:58
C 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 3:4 23:57
D 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 4:4 21:37
DOWNLOAD from the crypt HERE!
11 comments:
You've wandered so far, so far from pub rock.
Wilko is one of the guys Cardew thought he was helping.
Yes eat your heart out Blockaders, Whitehouse, Organum and all the rest this is the real noise deal. our boxset repeater
If Cardew had took the time to listen to some of working class hero and ...er...teacher(?)(teachers don't count as workers by the way.), John Wilkinson's, wisdom,he wouldn't have turned into such a dick.
Oh Christ yeah, the Blockaders,and their incompatably silly anti-art stance.They tryed to destry art by making...er....art????....slightly less silly than the Clash trying to destroy rock music by playing rock music.
"No More Beatle, Elvis,Rolling tones...oh yeah.... or The Clash.....also Cardew was a doppleganger for Strummer/Mellor....its those upper class genes.
Anything/everything by AMM is worth a listen, if not for The Wonderful Mr Rowe then for The Exquisite John Tilbury. Brian Olewnick's biography of Keith Rowe is very good too. Thanks for this, Milly's Grandad.
@ Milly's Grandad--the more latter day AMM "power trio"--Rowe, Tilbury, Prevost--were the best. Tilbury in Feldman mode is one of the closest things to a certain type of epileptic seizure (the kind that _don't_ involve breaking my glasses or whacking my head) I've ever experienced. Which is a good thing, actually, just difficult to explain.
It's not often that a single album spawns a new genre, but that's pretty much the case here. If anyone's interested, this blog is dedicated to this sort of thing; http://bleakbliss.blogspot.com.
Wait....you honestly posted the VINYL of this? Hahahahahahahahahaha. Yeah - that's impressive.
Nah, its the extended cd version...i sold the vinyl years ago.
Post a Comment