I haven’t wanted to harsh your mellow (fab expression, I think I got it from russell), and I enjoyed Jewish Steel’s 2 links. But although I adored the album of Sunshine Superman at the time (UK version in 1967 was apparently a combo of 2 albums because of the contract dispute), even then I think I might have been dimly aware of how fey or twee some of his lyrics were (I may just be being wise after the event. But I now believe that the Arthurian thing is always a dead giveaway to an inferior modern poet/songwriter, see also Guinevere from Crosby, Stills and Nash). I am talking only of his lyrics, by the way, I am not musical enough or musically literate enough to even offer an opinion on the music or musicianship. In any case, to me these days he seems offputtingly pretentious and namedropping, and his recent performances of e.g. Hurdy Gurdy Man are almost unbearable listening (IMHO). This is not, however, to criticise some of his best songs then, and even the best can become something unrecogniseable in age.
This guardian link from 2005 expresses some of what I feel:
“Yet still the custodians of the canon regard him as unworthy of serious attention. Admittedly, he made some terrible music – on even his best albums, the visionary walks hand in hand with the insufferably twee – but not enough to eclipse the likes of Season of the Witch and Barabajagal. He is a quintessential product of the 1960s: the invigorating, try-anything sense of possibility, the idealism, the flashes of genius, the daft excesses – it’s all there.”
oh no worries. i definitely agree that he was inconsistent. but his best stuff – which is mostly from that peak-psychedelia era – is just so good. that last paragraph is right on – he tried all kinds of things, and the results went both ways for him.
But I now believe that the Arthurian thing is always a dead giveaway to an inferior modern poet/songwriter, see also Guinevere from Crosby, Stills and Nash)
yes indeed.
Jewish Steel
I give so much extra latitude to pretentious rock and roll. I tip my hat to anyone brave enough to try something daft.
Pretentious comes from pretend from Latin praetendere: To stretch forth, claim.
Just that stretching forth spirit, so prevalent in psychedelic music, starts you off with a B+ in my book.
first there is a mountain …
then there is no mountain!
Damn right!
I even like “Atlantis.”
where i want to be!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vk8yc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vkdz1
I haven’t wanted to harsh your mellow (fab expression, I think I got it from russell), and I enjoyed Jewish Steel’s 2 links. But although I adored the album of Sunshine Superman at the time (UK version in 1967 was apparently a combo of 2 albums because of the contract dispute), even then I think I might have been dimly aware of how fey or twee some of his lyrics were (I may just be being wise after the event. But I now believe that the Arthurian thing is always a dead giveaway to an inferior modern poet/songwriter, see also Guinevere from Crosby, Stills and Nash). I am talking only of his lyrics, by the way, I am not musical enough or musically literate enough to even offer an opinion on the music or musicianship. In any case, to me these days he seems offputtingly pretentious and namedropping, and his recent performances of e.g. Hurdy Gurdy Man are almost unbearable listening (IMHO). This is not, however, to criticise some of his best songs then, and even the best can become something unrecogniseable in age.
This guardian link from 2005 expresses some of what I feel:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/may/24/popandrock
particularly this, which I think is fair:
“Yet still the custodians of the canon regard him as unworthy of serious attention. Admittedly, he made some terrible music – on even his best albums, the visionary walks hand in hand with the insufferably twee – but not enough to eclipse the likes of Season of the Witch and Barabajagal. He is a quintessential product of the 1960s: the invigorating, try-anything sense of possibility, the idealism, the flashes of genius, the daft excesses – it’s all there.”
oh no worries. i definitely agree that he was inconsistent. but his best stuff – which is mostly from that peak-psychedelia era – is just so good. that last paragraph is right on – he tried all kinds of things, and the results went both ways for him.
But I now believe that the Arthurian thing is always a dead giveaway to an inferior modern poet/songwriter, see also Guinevere from Crosby, Stills and Nash)
yes indeed.
I give so much extra latitude to pretentious rock and roll. I tip my hat to anyone brave enough to try something daft.
Pretentious comes from pretend from Latin praetendere: To stretch forth, claim.
Just that stretching forth spirit, so prevalent in psychedelic music, starts you off with a B+ in my book.