Jim Brown Tells It Like It Is! - Jim Brown

Jim Brown Tells It Like It Is!

Jim Brown

Main Line Records MLP 101

1967

I bought this at a garage sale in West Hollywood for fifty cents about thirty years ago.  I bought it out of curiosity, gave it a single spin and then eventually it ended up on my purgatory shelf of records I'm thinking of discarding.  I pulled it out this summer and gave it another spin in the wake of the turmoil and racial activism that was sweeping the country.  I was impressed and also depressed that it still sounds relevant today.  The record was made to benefit the Negro Industrial and Economic Union (later renamed the Black Economic Union) which Brown founded.  The record consists of recordings of Brown's speeches as well as interviews with journalist Bill Jorgensen who also acts as a narrator for the record.  The record opens with some football highlights featuring Brown and recordings of civil rights activism before segueing into his speech at Jim Brown Farewell Day at Cleveland Municipal Stadium upon retiring from the National Football League.  The speech excerpt contains no reference to football but rather is devoted to racial equality and Brown's beliefs regarding the proper approach to it which involves economic betterment and earning respect.  This is followed by Brown explaining his program to Jorgensen in an interview which involves getting black Americans and supportive whites to join his union and providing the members with education, training and financial support through loans.  Brown believes economic self-sufficiency will lead to greater racial equality and social integration.  Jorgensen next interviews Brown about black nationalists.  Brown expresses respect but also distances himself from them because of their lack of organization and their attempts to separate from mainstream society.  Brown also makes some general comments about racism and how it deprives black males of their ability to be a "man."  The side concludes with some comments about racial violence.  He states that the violence is one-sided, that blacks are always on the receiving end of the violence.  He also criticizes riots as being unconstructive and a senseless destruction of property.  At the end of side one Jorgensen calls Brown a revolutionary and endorses his approach of equality through economic achievement.  Side two opens with Brown interviewing a new member of his union in his office.  He talks about the membership process.  Next Brown discusses the benefits of his union for young people and black businessmen.  This is followed by Brown talking about the people who have helped him in his life noting that some of them were white.  He argues that although racism is prevalent in American society, that there are sympathetic white people who can help the movement.  The next track is about black pride.  He approves of the expression of pride in their African heritage by young blacks.  He talks about his use of the term "negro" instead of "black" or "Afro-American" (which he does throughout the record) which I don't understand.  He doesn't justify it, just notes that you can get away with it if you don't act like an "Uncle Tom."  He again addresses black nationalism which he associates with young people on the West Coast.  He is sympathetic but rejects economic separatism considering it an impossibility.  He next speaks about black Muslims whose popularity he attributes to racism.  He believes they would be irrelevant if there was racial equality.  This leads into a discussion about Muhammad Ali whose defiant position he attributes to the historical emasculation of the black man.  I'm not sure why he feels a need to defend Ali or why he chooses such a convoluted defense.  He doesn't agree with Ali but he does not oppose him either.  He positions himself somewhere in between Ali and Martin Luther King Jr. who he also does not agree with.  The record concludes with Jorgensen outlining and defending Brown's positions presumably addressing white listeners which is reinforced by a clip of John F. Kennedy asking white people to try to relate to black Americans' frustration and impatience with racial inequality.  I suspect that white people are the principle target of this record.  It is so defensive and wary about being offensive that I think some black listeners of the time would have found it condescending or wishy-washy.  It is also extremely male-centric.  Brown's perspective is defined by a macho interpretation of masculinity.  He rarely has anything to say about black women.  He even complains about black men's authority being usurped by black women in their homes, not allowing them to be the "pillar of strength" in their families.  Given the prominence of women in the Black Lives Matter movement and the current civil rights struggle, this is the most dated aspect of the album along with Brown's insistence on using the term "negro."  Brown's entire ethos revolves around a man being a man.  This is clearly his problem with Dr. King's movement, the idea of being passive and non-violent in the face of aggression is an anathema to him - hardly surprising when you consider the style of football he played.  I think it is also at the core of his economic position.  A man should not take hand outs or complain about others, he should earn his own way in order to gain respect.  Fifty years later Brown's economic solution still makes sense to me.  It is why I find this record relevant.  I wish it was more of a historical artifact, but most of the problems that Brown talks about are still around today.  It is an interesting record and Brown is an engaging speaker, so I moved it off the purgatory shelf and back into my collection.  That said, I would only recommend it to black Republicans and misogynist libertarians.

The American Tour with Ed Rudy - The Beatles

The American Tour with Ed Rudy
The Beatles
Radio Pulsebeat News   News Documentary #2
1964

I enjoyed Ron Howard's recent documentary on the Beatles' touring days although I didn't learn anything new and it wasn't particularly insightful.  I think Albert Maysles' documentary on the first tour is the best portrait of this time.  For me the highlight of the screening was watching the Shea Stadium concert film on the big screen with good sound.  That was fantastic.  All the hoopla about the movie inspired me to pull out this record which attempts to document the Beatles' first visit to the United States.  It is presented and narrated by Ed Rudy who was a journalist who accompanied the Beatles on their trip.  Rudy seems to like the group and is consistently enthusiastic, but he has nothing interesting to say about Beatlemania and generally ignores the music, he is mostly attracted to the mass hysteria they generated.  Side one is a 22 minute assembly of sound bites from the tour mixed with a bunch of promos for Rudy by the Beatles as well as roadie Mal Evans, Lennon and Harrison even label Rudy "the fifth Beatle."  There are numerous snippets from the Beatles' first press conference in New York and Rudy interviews some fans as well.  Despite traveling with the band, Rudy doesn't get much face time with the group.  Initially the longest conversations he gets are with Mal Evans and road manager Neil Aspinall.  He also wastes some time talking to a twit from the British Embassy.  In Washington D.C. Rudy gets some muffled comments from a Beatle who he claims is John Lennon, but it sounds like Paul McCartney to me.  He also has an amusing conversation with Ringo Starr at the British Embassy party in Washington regarding his sex appeal.  Near the end of side one, on the plane flying back to New York after the Miami visit, Rudy finally gets some quality time with the band and their handlers.  On side two there is a fifteen minute telephone interview with George Harrison.  Predictably the sound quality is not good, but it is a nice conversation.  The "quiet Beatle" is surprisingly loquacious.  He and Rudy discuss the fan reaction on the tour, the Beatles' sound, the origin of the group's name, Beatle haircuts and fashions, mods vs. rockers, Harrison's personal ambitions, dating, friendships with the other Beatles and musical influences (Rudy astutely compares them to Buddy Holly and the Crickets.)  At one point Rudy refers to "Johnny" Lennon and asks if Harrison ever calls him "Jack" Lennon, which cracks me up.  This record is worth buying for side two alone.  I enjoy the entire record aside from Rudy's relentless self-promotion.  Even though it contains virtually no music at all, I still prefer it to Capitol Records' vinyl documentary of the Beatles on "The Beatles' Story."  This album is easy to find and generally not expensive (I bought my copy in a thrift shop for $2.)  Recommended to Beatlemaniacs whose favorite Beatle is George.

FSM's Sounds & Songs of the Demonstration - Various Artists

FSM's Sounds & Songs of the Demonstration
Various Artists
FSM-Records  FSM 4
1965 

This is the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement at Cal.  In September 1964 the University banned political advocacy by students on University property, an action that was primarily directed at student groups supporting the Civil Rights Movement.  The students challenged the ban which resulted in arrests, mass protests and acts of civil disobedience throughout the autumn of 1964 until the University finally gave in and sanctioned political activity on campus which paved the way for the massive anti-Vietnam War rallies later in the decade.  I don't remember any of this stuff, but I grew up in the shadow of it living near Berkeley.  I first saw the campus as a young teen when my science class in Alameda made the short trip over to Cal for computer classes.  I loved the campus and was fascinated by the long-haired graduate students who taught us.  When I got to high school, I learned about the 1960s and the student movement and Cal became an obsession with me.  It was the only college I applied to and I was thrilled to go there.  Of course it was a different place by then, but you could still find traces of the past from the hippies in Peoples Park to the Marxists manning tables near Sather Gate.  Professors reminisced about having classes disrupted by tear gas wafting in through the windows.  There was even an occasional rally on the steps of Sproul Hall.  I participated in a die-in protesting the reinstatement of Selective Service Registration and I have to admit that I felt pretty silly lying on the ground pretending to be dead.  The great orator of the Free Speech Movement, Mario Savio, spoke at another rally I attended and lambasted us for being so passive and apathetic.  Neither the first nor the last time I heard a baby boomer diss my generation, but alas he was essentially correct.  We protested Reagan's policies in Central America and the University's refusal to divest its investments in companies doing business with South Africa, but there wasn't a sense of urgency or the drama of the 1960s.  Oh well at least I got a good education and didn't have to dodge riots on my way to class.  I picked up this FSM artifact from a record store in Los Angeles.  One side of the record features a narrator describing the events of the Free Speech Movement with lots of recorded sound excerpts of seminal events.  The other side is a bunch of topical folk songs about the events.  I like the spoken word side the best.  It opens with Joan Baez addressing students at the Sproul Hall sit-in at the beginning of October 1964.  It fades out as she begins to sing Dylan's "With God on Our Side."  There is some dramatic coverage of the police attacking the demonstrators followed by a recording of Jack Weinberg being arrested and a terrific speech from Weinberg denouncing the University as a "knowledge factory" that treats the students as "products."  There are numerous recordings of the students surrounding the police car holding Weinberg making speeches and singing.  This constitutes the bulk of the side.  This segment concludes with Mario Savio reading to the protestors the terms of the agreement that resolved the first sit-in.  The side abruptly ends with the narrator describing the subsequent breakdown in talks with the administration which lead to the December sit-in at Sproul Hall that resulted in the arrest of 800 protestors.  Regrettably there are no sound excerpts for this at all, although some very dramatic ones exist including Savio's famous speech about fighting "the operation of the machine."  The narrator briefly mentions the subsequent strike that shut down the University but the record ends with the conflict unresolved.  I suppose the record was rushed out to encourage the protestors which makes it an interesting historical artifact, but leaves it unsatisfying as a historical narrative.  The music side of the album can't match the drama of the documentary side.  The songs are amateurish for the most part aside from Dan Paik's contributions.  Paik was a real musician who was in an early line up of the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band and who introduced Barry Melton to Country Joe McDonald resulting in the birth of Country Joe and the Fish.  Paik's songs are "Join the FSM," "Man Takin' Names" and "Womb with A View" which he sang with fellow activists Barry Jablon and Susan Chesney.  Paik's songs aren't very original but he sings them with a lot of enthusiasm and he has a compelling voice.  "Womb with a View" is the best of the trio, it has a lot of drive and funny lyrics.  The song pokes fun at the University Administration's paternalistic and patronizing attitude towards student activism.  Paik also co-wrote "Lesson of Berkeley" with Richard Schmorleitz who sings the song.  Unfortunately Schmorleitz's singing is much weaker than Paik's.  The song is lifted from "Streets of Laredo" and features some of the most heavy-handed lyrics on the record.  There are two talking blues songs, Dave Mandel's "Battle of Berkeley Talking Blues" and Dave Genesen's "Free Speech Demonstration Talking Blues."  Mandel's song is amusing but suffers from his weak singing.  Genesen was obviously a big Dylan fan and he shamelessly imitates him throughout the song.  His lyrics are clumsy at times but I still enjoy them for their wit and cleverness.  Lee Felsenstein's "Put My Name Down" is taken from Woody Guthrie's "Hard Travelin.'"  Felsenstein isn't much of a performer and the songs lyrics are often awkward.  Felsenstein later became an important computer engineer which was probably a better career choice judging from this song.  Richard Kampf's "Hey Mr. Newsman" benefits from Paul Gilbert's frenzied harmonica playing and I like Kampf's drawled vocal which reminds me of Country Joe McDonald.  The song puts down the media's biased coverage of the Free Speech activists. The side ends with Kevin Langdon's "Bastion of Truth" which I like the least of all the songs.  Langdon has a nice voice, but his song is slow, humorless, and oppressive to me.  These songs are so topical that they probably won't be of much appeal to people unfamiliar with Free Speech Movement unless they have a strong appetite for left-wing folk songs.  The documentary side will probably appeal to anyone interested in the 1960s.  Recommended to fans of early Phil Ochs.

The Beatles' Story - The Beatles

The Beatles' Story
The Beatles
Capitol STBO 2222
1964

I sometimes wonder how I became such a big Beatles fan and why I continue to love them.  My father told me that my family watched them on "The Ed Sullivan Show" but I have no memory of it since I was just a toddler at the time.  I was barely aware of them during the 1960s and mostly because of the Saturday morning cartoon show about them.  When I became a real fan, the group had been defunct for several years.  I didn't know anyone among my peers who liked them.  I wasn't particularly interested in music, my cultural heroes were professional athletes and astronauts.  Then when I was 12 I saw "Help!" on television and I was mesmerized.  After that I would never be the same, I was a Beatlemaniac.  I grew my hair and combed it over my forehead trying to achieve a moptop.  That was when I started collecting records and spending my time at home around a turntable rather than a television set.  If I had had any money and if Beatles fan paraphernalia were still easily available, I would have filled my room with it.  Instead I had to settle for records and I bought this one quite early much to my subsequent embarrassment - well before I bought "Revolver," "Abbey Road" or the "White Album," yikes.  Once I saw it advertised on the back of "Beatles '65", I was obsessed with having it.  Finally it turned up in the bin at my local record store and I pounced on it.  I loved it and played it until I had memorized it.  Given the paucity of books in print about the Beatles at the time, I learned a lot about the early Beatles from this record.  As I got older, my adolescent fandom changed and became more music-based than personality oriented and I lost interest in this record.  I don't think I've played it at all in the last 15 years.  The album is a bit of a rip-off.  It is a double album but the sides are extremely short, all under 15 minutes long and side three is less than 10 minutes long.  The Beatles are hardly on the album at all, mostly heard in brief snippets taken from press conferences.  There are also some excerpts from their songs.  Most of the album's content is provided by three narrators, Roger Christian, John Babcock and Al Wiman, who take turns telling the Beatles' story and reciting various quotes from the Fabs.  Christian will be familiar to Jan and Dean and Beach Boys fans as the lyricist for many of their early hits and he was also a well-known Top-40 DJ in Los Angeles in the 1960s.  Christian also co-produced this album along with Gary Usher who will be familiar to 1960s rock fans from his work with the Byrds and Sagittarius.  The rock backgrounds of the producers insure sympathetic treatment of the group and their fans although it is still condescending in spots and the narrators sound more like they are selling soap than describing one of the most exciting events in the history of rock and roll.  For all its faults, the album is informative and comprehensive.  Side one opens with a recording of the screams at a Beatles concert (although no music is heard) which is followed by a discussion of Beatlemania and its origins with some amusing recordings of hysterical girls gushing about the boys.  The narrators then pay tribute to Brian Epstein and discuss his background.  John Lennon gets profiled next.  Much to my amusement there is a lengthy bit about Lennon's refusal to discuss politics or make public expressions about his beliefs.  We all know that didn't last long.  The side ends with the Beatles' early history prior to stardom and then a discussion of their finances which is a subject that crops up quite a bit on the record.  I think the narrators were more interested in the band's money than their music.  Side two returns to the early history of the Beatles with a discussion of the Quarrymen and the origin of the Beatles' name.  One of the more glaring mistakes on the record comes when the narrator notes that Ringo came from a group called Rory Storm and The Texans whereas all Beatlemaniacs know that Storm's group was called the Hurricanes when the Beatles poached Ringo from the band.  The narration next praises George Martin and Capitol Records for their role in the Beatles' success while somehow neglecting to mention Capitol's rejection of the Beatles' debut album.  This is followed by a profile of George Harrison, "blasé with a beat" is their description of him.  They falsely give him credit for inventing the Beatle haircut which the group actually learned about in Hamburg from Astrid Kirchherr and her friends and it is well-known that Stu Sutcliffe was the first Beatle to adopt it.  The narration notes how much Harrison enjoys the attention of screaming fans which is pretty funny considering how vocal he was later about his hatred of touring and the trappings of fame.  Side three discusses their movie, "A Hard Day's Night" and then profiles Paul McCartney.  Side four opens with a live excerpt of a performance of "Twist and Shout" which was the earliest legitimate release of a Beatles live track although unfortunately it is only a few bars long.  There is further discussion of Beatlemania with some more soundbites from fans and detractors including some idiot who calls them a bunch of "monkeys."  Up next is a medley of Beatles songs segueing together in 30 second segments.  Finally it is Ringo's turn to be profiled where he is described as the "quiet Beatle" a sobriquet normally given to Harrison.  The album ends with a brief discussion of Liverpool.  Much of this album is devoted to the narrators explaining the mysteries of Beatlemania, but their answers are simplistic and unconvincing to me.  I'm not sure there is a satisfying answer as to why so many people love them.  Anyway there is nothing on this album that Beatlemaniacs don't already know and there isn't enough actual Beatle talk to make the album worthwhile.  I'm not sorry I have it though, it is an interesting artifact.  Recommended for casual Beatles fans who hate to read.

The Beatles Christmas Album/The Complete Christmas Collection 1963 to 1969 - The Beatles

The Beatles Christmas Album
The Beatles
Apple SBC 100
1970
 

The Complete Christmas Collection 1963 to 1969
The Beatles
Trade Mark of Quality  BCC 104
1971

I was record shopping up in Portland over the holidays and I noticed a new bootleg of the Beatles Christmas album in the bins.  It looks like the original except that it is tinted green instead of blue and it is pressed on green vinyl.  I was tempted to buy it, but I wasn’t all that happy about the green tint and besides I already have two bootlegs of it.  I wish the Beatles would just do a legitimate reissue of it.  It has been so extensively bootlegged I don’t see why they don’t reissue it.  Admittedly it is not great, but there is more embarrassing stuff on the “Anthology” comps.  When I first got into record collecting I used to see the counterfeit copies of it in Berkeley record stores although they looked so convincing that I thought they were legitimate ones.  They had hefty price tags and I was poor so I didn’t buy them and eventually they disappeared and were replaced by obvious bootlegs like the one above.  That was my first one, it has typically crappy artwork and is an inferior pressing although not bad by bootleg standards.  I think mine is actually a bootleg of the TMOQ bootleg since the insert is missing the TMOQ logo that was on the original otherwise identical insert, but it does have the same matrix number.  I bought the counterfeit one at Boo Boo Records in San Luis Obispo (well worth checking out if you find yourself in the area.)  At first I thought it was real since the cover is pretty nice, it just has slightly more contrast than originals.  Looking at the vinyl though, I knew it was a fake.  The labels were off-center and slightly blurry, the vinyl was dimpled and the run-off groove lacked the pressing information.  It was a little worn, but I bought it anyway because it was cheap and I’ve always regretted not buying it back in Berkeley when I had the chance.  I’m never going to pay what an original costs, so it will do.  The album basically mirrors the history of the Beatles as a band.  It starts out with the zany Fabs, talking Liverpudlian slang and trying to be funny and charming, then it gets psychedelic and obscure, then after the “White Album” the Beatles do their bits separately no longer interacting as a group and John brings in Yoko, ouch.  The 1963 segment is my favorite one.  The Beatles butcher "Good King Wenceslas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", John indulges in funny word play and the band seems greatly pleased ("dead chuffed") with all their success and express affection towards their fans.  It is endearing and charming.  1964's entry is fairly similar.  The group again expresses affection towards the fans and there is a lot of humor.  The 1965 segment is zanier, less heartfelt but still very appealing.  John does a lot of weird voices and shows off his Scottish accent.  The segment has a "Goon Show" and "Monty Python" flavor.  The Beatles impersonate Barry McGuire singing "Eve of Destruction" and there are some other silly songs, including a sloppy version of "Yesterday" where "yesterday" is replaced with "Christmas day."  The segment is lots of fun.  1966 begins with the music hall style song "Everywhere It's Christmas" leading into more funny skits.  They are more funny-weird than funny ha-ha.  There is no longer any direct address to the fans, it is all performance.  It is fascinating to hear the Beatles openly acting, their performances are more elaborate here than in any of their films.  1967 opens with "Christmas Time Is Here Again" which is in the vein of the psychedelic music they recorded for "Sgt. Pepper" and "Magical Mystery Tour."  The skits are even weirder than the ones from the previous year, they border on surrealism and again remind me of "Monty Python" although not as funny.  John's Scottish accent makes a welcome reappearance as well.  1968 is fragmented.  The Beatles contribute separate segments for the first time.  Paul does a Christmas song that sounds like an outtake from the "White Album."  John does a dialogue about his relationship with Yoko.  George makes a speech thanking the fans, but it is so exaggerated that I suspect sarcasm.  He brings out the Beatles long time employee Mal Evans to wish "Merry Christmas children everywhere."  Ringo does a dialogue with himself that shows off his acting skills.  Then John rattles off some nonsensical wordplay which is followed by George returning to introduce Tiny Tim who performs "Nowhere Man" in his inimitable manner, ugh!  1969 is even worse though, it depresses me.  Perceptive fans who listened to this record must have realized the end was near.  John chats with Yoko about food and walls.  George greets the fans briefly to wish them a merry Christmas.  Like the previous year, Paul improvises a little Christmas song and briefly wishes the fans a happy Christmas.  It is then the return of the John and Yoko show as they discuss the upcoming new decade and improvise some Christmas music interrupted by a segment of Ringo plugging "The Magic Christian" movie and then they return to discuss John's Christmas list.  The segment ends with Ringo laughing and I imagine the fans scratching their heads wondering what's so funny.  If you are a Beatles fan this is a fascinating album, but I imagine non-fans would find it tedious.  I like to pull it out at Christmas and give it a spin, but otherwise I rarely play it.  Recommended to fans of the Beatles' movies.

The Last Word - Jack Kerouac

The Last Word
Jack Kerouac
Rhino RI 70939-D
1990

This is the fourth album in Rhino's "Jack Kerouac Collection" box set.  It consists of outtakes and unreleased recordings.  Side one features two 1958 outtakes from "Blues and Haikus."  The first track is "Old Western Movies" which was unpublished.  It is very slight, it is easy to see why it didn't make it on the original album.  The most interesting aspect to it is the patter between Kerouac, the musicians Al Cohn and Zoot Sims and producer Bob Thiele.  There are a couple of false takes before the master.  In take one Cohn and Sims jam a little which prompts some scat vocalizing from Kerouac.  Take two breaks down when the musicians overshadow Kerouac who is apparently too far from the mike.  Thiele tries to instruct Cohn about how he should play, but Kerouac tells the musician to play whatever he wants.  Thiele mentions in the booklet that accompanies the box set, that he didn't think the musicians actually paid any attention to what Kerouac was reading, they just played whatever they felt like and listening to these outtakes I'm inclined to agree.  Kerouac sometimes responds to the music, but the musicians never respond to his work.  On the master take Cohn simply tells Kerouac where to come in and starts playing the piano.  Kerouac sings the beginning of the poem, it is more musical than any of the takes actually used on the original record.  I like it, he's not a great singer, but it is effective and it swings.  Overall it is a nice performance albeit a bit sloppy, too bad the poem is so weak.  I like when Kerouac sings the beginning of the other track, which is "Conclusion of the Railroad Earth," but then it is all downhill from there.  From a literary standpoint this is a strong piece, but Kerouac doesn't read it very well.  He sounds like he's drunk to me.  It is kind of fun but kind of annoying too, like a drunk at a party.  The track could have easily fit on the original "Blues And Haikus" album which is only about 30 minutes long.  I presume that the performance was considered unacceptable, but there is also a little static on the track that might have led to the decision to omit it as well.  Side two opens with Kerouac at the Hunter College Playhouse in 1958 giving a presentation at the "Is There a Beat Generation" forum.  Kerouac is in great form, the audience seems to inspire him.  He tells jokes, impersonates Ben Hecht and reads a rollicking poem about Harpo Marx.  I think he is more charismatic here than on any of the original records.  Not only is Kerouac very entertaining, but the speech itself is extremely interesting.  When he's really on he doesn't need music, he swings on his own.  The final track is from Steve Allen's television show in 1959.  Kerouac reads from "On The Road" and "Visions of Cody" with Allen accompanying him on piano in a very similar manner to the album they did together, "Poetry for the Beat Generation."  The reading here is arguably the smoothest and most disciplined on any of the albums perhaps the giant television audience intimidated Kerouac.  I enjoy it but he seems a bit stifled.  This is a really worthwhile album despite the marginal nature of the recordings.  I think it is just as interesting and revealing as any of the three original albums.  I've read a few biographies and oral histories about Kerouac and this record seems to capture the man the way his associates viewed him.  Recommended to anyone who ever wondered what it would be like to hang out with Jack Kerouac. 

Readings by Jack Kerouac on The Beat Generation - Jack Kerouac

Readings By Jack Kerouac on The Beat Generation
Jack Kerouac
Rhino  RI 70939-C
1960 

This is the third album in the "Jack Kerouac Collection" box set.  It was originally released on Verve and was Kerouac's final record.  Unlike the other two albums Kerouac recorded, there is no musical accompaniment for his readings.  It is just his voice and the occasional rustle of pages, which is kind of ironic since this is his most musical set of texts.  Jazz figures prominently in the excerpts from "The Subterraneans" and "Desolation Angels" and it is the subject of "The Beginnings of Bop."  I really miss the music even though I had problems with it on the other albums.  It is a bit like watching a silent movie without music, it feels incomplete.  Although somewhat clumsy, Kerouac is a fairly melodic reader, he even semi-sings in places and his voice is stimulating and engaging, but I still think a little music to fill the spaces and give some momentum to the reading would be a nice addition.  I'm not sure why they eschewed music on this album, but I must admit there is some appeal in listening to these unadorned readings.  It is a more intimate experience and it is easier to concentrate on the words.  The texts themselves are the best of the three records, full of dazzling word play that invites some of Kerouac's most inspired readings, particularly on "Visions of Neal: Neal and the Three Stooges."  His enthusiasm and passion is very captivating.  This is arguably the most faithful translation of Kerouac's style into sound.  Recommended for tone-deaf hipsters. 

Poetry For The Beat Generation - Jack Kerouac/Steve Allen

Poetry For The Beat Generation
Jack Kerouac/Steve Allen
Rhino RI 70939-A
1959

This is another record from Rhino's "Jack Kerouac Collection" box set.  It was Kerouac's first record album, released on Hanover Records although it had originally been recorded for Dot Records and had been rejected for release when the company president decided it was indecent.  I'm not sure what he found so objectionable, by modern standards it is pretty tame, I hear a lot worse stuff on the radio all the time.  The pairing of the King of the Beats with a television comedian seems a bit odd, but then again Kerouac was never as hip as many of his followers like to think and Steverino may have been a bit of a square, but he was certainly no dummy.  The origin of this record was Kerouac's appearance at the Village Vanguard in New York where Allen was drafted out of the audience to play piano in support of Kerouac's readings.  Allen's piano playing is more trad than bop and it is deliberately unobtrusive, it sounds like cocktail lounge jazz backing up a casual conversation.  I think it is mostly effective, but it also reminds me of the soundtrack to "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" - I kept waiting for Kerouac to ask me to be his neighbor.  For me, Allen's piano noodlings do not add much to the impact of the readings, but they are pleasant and provide some atmosphere.  Kerouac's reading style is mostly laid back and conversational, it often feels like listening to some guy in a bar, particularly on "I Had A Slouch Hat Too One Time" which is one of my favorite cuts on the record.  My favorite of all Kerouac's poems kicks off the record, the celebrated "October In The Railroad Earth."  Kerouac reads it with winning enthusiasm, it demonstrates the potential in the jazz/poetry concept.  I also like the extraordinary "Bowery Blues," "Charlie Parker" and "McDougal Street Blues."  This album was allegedly recorded in one take with Kerouac randomly grabbing poems from a suitcase and sipping from a bottle of Thunderbird throughout and I find that very believable.  There is definitely a sloppiness and rough edge to the performance, Kerouac even makes mistakes, but I think that adds to the record's warmth and charm.  Not all the poems are memorable, "Deadbelly," "I'd Rather Be Thin than Famous" and "Goofing At The Table" are humorous but slight and I could really do without the ode to his mother.  In terms of Kerouac's literary oeuvre this is definitely minor, but well worth checking out.  From a musical standpoint "Blues and Haikus" is far superior and arguably from a literary standpoint as well, but this is more fun.  Recommended for literate barflies.   

Blues and Haikus - Jack Kerouac

Blues and Haikus
Jack Kerouac
Rhino RI 70939-B
1959

This was Jack Kerouac's second album, originally on Hanover Records, it was re-issued by Rhino in 1990 in a handsome box set, "The Jack Kerouac Collection" along with his other two albums and an album of outtakes.  This is my favorite of the three original albums.  I bought the box at Aron's Records in Hollywood around the time it came out.  I couldn't really afford it, but I was a huge Kerouac fan at the time so I splurged.  I used to be involved in indie filmmaking and had a script based on the Beat Generation so I figured this could be justified as research.  As I've gotten older, Kerouac appeals to me less, he seems more narcissistic and immature to me now, but I still enjoy his style.  This album features Kerouac reading his poetry backed by saxophonists Al Cohn and Zoot Sims.  In the first track "American Haikus" the poetry and jazz basically alternate, Kerouac recites his three line poems in silence and then Cohn and Sims alternately improvise a few bars and then Kerouac recites the next poem.  I like the poems quite a bit but I'm not convinced that the jazz really enhances them all that much.  The next track "Hard Hearted Old Farmer" tries to mix the music and poetry more closely.  Kerouac basically sings the poem while Cohn plays piano in the background.  Kerouac isn't much of a singer, but I'm kind of charmed by his awkwardness.  I think as far as jazz/poetry synthesis goes this is perhaps the most successful track.  It is followed by "The Last Hotel" which Kerouac recites over Cohn playing piano and Sims blowing sax.  I think in this instance the music does enhance the poetry and it seems to inspire Kerouac to a more passionate reading.  Side two features "Poems from the Unpublished 'Book of Blues'" for the entire side.  I like this track the best, particularly since it is about San Francisco, my favorite city.  Cohn and Sims duet in the background throughout the poem.  Sometimes I find the music distracting and sometimes it seems to elevate the poetry.  I think it would be interesting if there was a rhythm section that propelled the reading.  It would deny Kerouac some of his freedom perhaps, but I think the propulsive effect might give more force to the reading.  Regardless this track does feature Kerouac's most exciting reading, I find it very engaging.  The music is also very stimulating on this cut, that is why it is distracting, I find myself listening to Sims and Cohn instead of the poem at times.  I like this record quite a bit, it works both as music and poetry.  If you have any interest in Beat poetry or even just the possibilities of spoken word recordings, it is worth checking out.  Recommended for Dharma Bums with a taste for be-bop.