I've got that Rabindra (Danks) LP. It's weird.
― Vendo Caramelos A Veces Sin Dinero (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 20:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
man, i know almost none of these! someone make me a comp of takoma's greatest mixes, plzzz?
― tylerw, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 21:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
NickB -- there are other, really good Chris Darrow records... check the s/t on United Artists and "Artist-Proof" on Fantasy; I am a big supporter of those albums. I like them better than most Kaleidoscope stuff.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
Craig Leon's Nommos is fantastic.
― nerve_pylon, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:07 (1 year ago) Permalink
I've only heard the self titled Chris Darrow record and I love it. I've been looking for the Janet Smith and Rita Weill records but ebay and musicstack turns up nothing. This thread will surely keep me on ebay for awhile.
― JacobSanders, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:17 (1 year ago) Permalink
Ian, I will definitely check those - thanks for the tip!
― cloaca flocka flame (NickB), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:18 (1 year ago) Permalink
Did Fahey at some point sell Takoma or release his reins?
― JacobSanders, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 22:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
sold to Chrysalis at some point...
― one dis leads to another (ian), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 23:00 (1 year ago) Permalink
ok so is that tony thomas thing actually what it purports to be -- recording of an old-timer fiddler -- or is it actually what i think it is, recordings by the younger, african-african fiddler whose name happens to be tony thomas (and who is a prolific reviewer on amazon these days)? knowing fahey i wouldn't be surprised if he's up to more of his tricks.
btw when did fahey's involvement w/ takoma end?
also what about maria muldaur stuff? i have never investigated that.
― by another name (amateurist), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 23:19 (1 year ago) Permalink
Pretty sure the Tony Thomas record is not a ruse; seems too elaborate. The record is good. Info inside indicates it's just what it says it is.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Wednesday, 15 June 2011 23:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
wiki re: Takoma sale:
In 1979, Fahey sold Takoma to Chrysalis Records, owned by Terry Ellis and Chris Wright, which had artists such as Blondie, Pat Benatar, and Huey Lewis.[3] Jon Monday continued as General Manager of the label for Chrysalis until 1982 when Chrysalis sold the Takoma catalog. During the Chrysalis years, Takoma released albums by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Maria Muldaur, Canned Heat, Mike Bloomfield, and T-Bone Burnett. The catalog was purchased in 1995 by Fantasy Records,[1] which in 2004 was taken over by the Concord Music Group. Fantasy has a handful of the Takoma recordings on the market as CDs as of this writing in 2007.
― sleeve, Wednesday, 15 June 2011 23:58 (1 year ago) Permalink
― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 16 June 2011 02:07 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.discogs.com/buy/Vinyl/Swamp-Dogg-Im-Not-Selling-Out-Im-Buying-In/446775-2993708?ev=bp_titl
^^ don't think i've ever seen this one.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 16 June 2011 02:16 (1 year ago) Permalink
I love Jerry Williams or Little Jerry Williams. I have most of his Swamp Dog records. My favorite is 'Cuffed, Collared & Tagged.' I've never seen 'I'm Not Selling I'm Buying In' on vinyl though. I have it on cd. Westside records rereleased most of his albums on cd in the early 00's.
― JacobSanders, Thursday, 16 June 2011 02:29 (1 year ago) Permalink
Yeah, I'm a swamp dogg fan! It surprises me that I never knew he had a record on takoma. my faves of his are cuffed, collared..., rat on, and gag a maggot. but i like them all for at least a few killer tracks... so far anyway. steered clear of disco-era material. just not ready yet.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 16 June 2011 02:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
His cover of Sam Stone sounds so natural that I think it surpasses Prine's original.
― JacobSanders, Thursday, 16 June 2011 04:06 (1 year ago) Permalink
I have a dumb question: Is it pronounced Home Gas or like H+Omegas?
― Concierto Para Bongo (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Thursday, 16 June 2011 05:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
I love the Floating House Band LP.
― banjoboy, Thursday, 16 June 2011 05:31 (1 year ago) Permalink
uh, i pronounce is Home Gas but who knows?
― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 16 June 2011 15:02 (1 year ago) Permalink
I would think more people would like Lawrence Hammond's 'Coyotes Dream'? He was the singer in the Mad River, which their last record hinted at the sound he would have. It's pure country gold! Their are only three very short reviews on his RYM page, all in italian.
― JacobSanders, Thursday, 16 June 2011 17:34 (1 year ago) Permalink
I think I've seen that record but never listened to it? I was never a huge Mad River fan tbh.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 16 June 2011 18:32 (1 year ago) Permalink
after you posted abt it i went to look in the country & folk bins at the store, but it must have sold.
instead of ppl moaning abt too many polls or what kind of polls or who should be polled or not or whatnot they cld be reading and getting edumacated by this great thread, thank you jacob for starting it
i wish i cld contribute, but you just never really see this stuff in the uk, don't suppose most of it ever got propertly distribbed outside the usa. in fact thinking abt it, ian and scott pl collaborate on a bk abt this shit, you have one britishes buyer and eager reader, here.
― Ward Fowler, Friday, 17 June 2011 21:08 (1 year ago) Permalink
I rarely find Takoma records in my digging around flea markets, thrift stores and estate sales. I keep an eye on ebay and good record stores like Antones in Austin,TX. I did find Lawrence Hammond for very cheap in a crate of sealed records that were all priced for 10 dollars. I'm not sure how good Takoma distribution was in it's day, or how many copies of each record was pressed. I've read online that Leo Kottke was their biggest seller. If only fantasy was released a few of these obscurities......
― JacobSanders, Friday, 17 June 2011 21:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
there are certain takoma records that i see all the time. which is sort of disappointing since there are others i never see. the sentimental songs of the late 19th c. or whatever it's called is good. honestly though the takoma discography is pretty up and down.
need to hear this homegas stuff.
― by another name (amateurist), Saturday, 18 June 2011 01:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
the homegas record is this kind of bluegrass/country blues inflected sad-sack psych-folk album... i love it to bits. "maine" is the best cut imo -- "you know i never really loved a sled dog, til you kissed me on the floor."
― one dis leads to another (ian), Saturday, 18 June 2011 02:20 (1 year ago) Permalink
looking up takoma stuff on popsike and my past hyperbole is saved for the ages:
John Fahey - Death Chants Break Downs & Military Waltzes (Takoma) Nice early original Takoma pressing. Cover is VG+ with some ring wear/age wear and some edge wear. Nothing too horrible though. Looks nice! Booklet is in great shape. Vinyl is clean VG+. Sounds amazing! That guitar of his will hit you in the head!
― scott seward, Saturday, 18 June 2011 02:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
hahaha. you seem like a good, honest ebay seller.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Saturday, 18 June 2011 02:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
i made so much fahey money that month. i felt a little guilty. john fahey paid for my german history of house music box set that month too. thanks, john! (traded some fahey to josh at mystery train. always wanted that box set. chuck was the only person i ever knew who had one.)
― scott seward, Saturday, 18 June 2011 02:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
gonna block off at least half an hour this tuesday on my radio show to spotlight some of the lesser known Takoma titles; will also play some fahey and basho and probably even some kottke..
― one dis leads to another (ian), Monday, 20 June 2011 22:30 (1 year ago) Permalink
Hey Ian, how can I listen to your show online?
― JacobSanders, Monday, 20 June 2011 22:48 (1 year ago) Permalink
it steams on eastvillageradio.com; it's the academy records show tuesday nights from 10-12. you can listen to it on itunes too under radio->eclectic. past shows are all archived on thee website.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Monday, 20 June 2011 22:55 (1 year ago) Permalink
Thanks I'll start listening in. My favorite basho is by far 'Song of the Stallion', I like his singing especially when it comes out of nowhere like on A North American Raga.
― JacobSanders, Monday, 20 June 2011 23:01 (1 year ago) Permalink
LOL "even some kottke" :)
― sleeve, Monday, 20 June 2011 23:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
i love leo, don't get me wrong!
― one dis leads to another (ian), Tuesday, 21 June 2011 00:05 (1 year ago) Permalink
Never heard any Kottke past the first album, but that one is just dandy imo.
― cloaca flocka flame (NickB), Tuesday, 21 June 2011 08:35 (1 year ago) Permalink
here's what i ended up playing:
Edward Hazleton Mocking The Train, Mocking The Dogs One-String Blues Takoma Jun 21Bukka White Old Man Walking Blues Contemporary Guitar Takoma Jun 21Homegas Maine Homegas Takoma Jun 21Maddy Prior & June Tabor My Husband's Got No Courage In Him Silly Sisters Takoma Jun 21Tony Thomas The Wednesday Night Waltz Old Style Texas & Oklahoma Fiddling Takoma Jun 21Norman Blake Blue Ridge Mountain Blues Directions Takoma Jun 21Janet Smith Wayfaring Stranger The Unicorn Takoma Jun 21Floating House Band Song For Martha Lee The Floating House Band Takoma Jun 21Mike Auldridge Killing Me Softly With His Song Blues & Bluegrass Takoma
― one dis leads to another (ian), Wednesday, 22 June 2011 04:44 (1 year ago) Permalink
hey dudes. i saw a (i think) sealed copy of Swamp Dogg's 'buying in' record like 2 weeks ago for like $6. i was skeptical because of the date on it, so downloaded it later. it wasn't very good. if you're at all interested or a completist, lemme know and i can go looking for it again.
― jaxon, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 05:22 (1 year ago) Permalink
picked up bernie krause's 'citadels of mystery' this weekend for a buck in the new age section. not at all what i was expecting. i thought it was gonna be some synth record but it was actually upbeat world jazz with some nice drums. pretty good.
― jaxon, Wednesday, 22 June 2011 05:28 (1 year ago) Permalink
I've been listening to Mike Bloomfield's Analine. It's a beautiful low key bluesy record that has impressed me. Has anyone heard his other 3 Takoma records? I just read the poor guy was found dead in his car from a heroin overdose.
― JacobSanders, Monday, 18 July 2011 23:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
Also the Richard Ruskin record is maybe the most boring folk record I have heard.
― JacobSanders, Monday, 18 July 2011 23:24 (1 year ago) Permalink
http://www.discogs.com/buy/Vinyl/Swamp-Dogg-Im-Not-Selling-Out-Im-Buying-In/446775-2993708?ev=bp_titl^^ don't think i've ever seen this one.― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, June 16, 2011 2:16 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark
i bought this a couple years ago at yr store!
man i love craig leon's NOMMOS so much. definitely my #1 here. i have that joe byrd record too, but im not completely sold on it. definitely gotta check out homegas too...
― 69, Monday, 18 July 2011 23:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
that swamp dogg record on takoma is pretty subpar
― by another name (amateurist), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 01:23 (1 year ago) Permalink
i had a dream a few nights ago in which i found a seam split/cat scratched Floating House Band at the thrift store.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Tuesday, 19 July 2011 01:41 (1 year ago) Permalink
Hey Ian what didn't you like about Rabindra Danks? I was thinking about buying it, but I don't know what to expect.
― JacobSanders, Friday, 6 January 2012 03:03 (1 year ago) Permalink
Jacob, I only v v recently saw yr email regarding this thread and yr blog, thanks for both, still digging yr work here
― Ward Fowler, Friday, 6 January 2012 08:42 (1 year ago) Permalink
Getting TOM AKSTENS Original & Traditional Music soon, very excited!
― JacobSanders, Friday, 13 January 2012 19:45 (1 year ago) Permalink
Oh, hey Jacob, I thought the Rabindra record was.. maybe too sincere? or cheesy or something? these are not necc. bad qualities in music, but there was something about the record that was lacking to me. sure, pick it up for a buck or two but i wouldn't pay much..
― one dis leads to another (ian), Friday, 13 January 2012 20:39 (1 year ago) Permalink
I've gotten a few Takoma obscurites recently, Rita Weill's Sings Ballads and Folksongs, Janet Smith's The Unicorn, and Tut Taylor's Dobrolic Plectral Society. All very good, and very different. I like the cover of Rabindra record and figured it was groovy xian folk.
― JacobSanders, Friday, 13 January 2012 20:46 (1 year ago) Permalink
i love the tut taylor (& mike auldridge) dobro records on takoma. nice sound. been looking for the rita weill myself for a while!
― one dis leads to another (ian), Saturday, 14 January 2012 19:42 (1 year ago) Permalink
Aaaaaah! Starting my lessons with Peter Lang today!
Sitting here sipping a coffee to "Transfiguration of..." and thinking pretty much everything is going to turn out alright. How could it not, with music like this in the world?
― global tetrahedron, Wednesday, 1 August 2012 15:21 (9 months ago) Permalink
good luck!
― tylerw, Wednesday, 1 August 2012 15:23 (9 months ago) Permalink
sweet! i haven't set mine up yet....let me know how it is
― wack nerd zinging in the dead of night (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 1 August 2012 15:24 (9 months ago) Permalink
here's to the new generation of homosexual guitar players!
― tylerw, Wednesday, 1 August 2012 15:26 (9 months ago) Permalink
Tyler's link to that John Jeremiah Sullivan excursion re and with Fahey leads to fine fine things, check it out thx tyler
― dow, Saturday, 18 August 2012 23:22 (9 months ago) Permalink
― dow, Thursday, 18 October 2012 00:22 (7 months ago) Permalink
Which is the cover for this:Since 2005, Tompkins Square label's 'Imaginational Anthem' compilations have featured some of the greatest acoustic guitarists in the world, with recordings spanning five decades. More than mere samplers, these albums have served as state-of-the-art dispatches from the front lines of the art form. The first three volumes, available as a low-priced box set, intermingled generations of American Primitive players - lost, forgotten masters next to contemporary players. Volume 4 saw a departure from that formula, featuring only new jack players.
Volume 5, available November 13, also features the current crop of younger players, but with a twist. This is the first volume not compiled by Tompkins Square's Josh Rosenthal. Instead, he recruited guitarist Sam Moss. Josh explains, "I felt I'd exhausted most of the older guys I wanted to dig up, and I wasn't hearing that much new guitar that I really liked. I sensed that Sam knew what was going on."
The result is a gorgeous panoramic view of contemporary guitar, full of agile finger-style, and a few jagged detours.
'Imaginational Anthem vol. 5' will also be available as part of the 6-CD box set, 'Imaginational Anthem vols. 1-5', (TSQ2790) out November 23 (Black Friday). The limited edition box (only 999 units) features all five volumes in their original packaging, plus an exclusive live disc from William Tyler (Lambchop), entitled 'Elvis Was A Capricorn.'
Imaginational Anthem vol. 5 track listing :
1. Temple Walk - Steve Gunn2. I Think We'll Be Happy Here- Jordan Fuller3. Lookout Point- Danny Paul Grody4. There Is A Place In This Old Town- Nick Schillace5. Hemet Pine Singer- Will Stratton6. John Fahey Commemorative Beer Can- Bill Orcutt7. Confederate Rose- Daniel Bachman8. Through A House Of Violet Abandon- Eric Carbonara9. Her Unmediated Eyes- Tom Lecky10. Standing At The Entrance Of A Hidden City- Alexander Turnquist11. Modern Man In Search Of A Song- Cam Deas12. Rivers Gone Badly Wrong- Yair Yona
― dow, Thursday, 18 October 2012 00:24 (7 months ago) Permalink
this series is always great.seeing bill orcutt on here is making me happy, a step towards the weird & abrasive most artists in this series wld be afraid to touch
― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Thursday, 18 October 2012 03:10 (7 months ago) Permalink
also: steve gunn is the best
yeah these comps are always a pleasure. love orcutt's song title. anyone heard daniel bachman's new one on tompkins sq. jack rose fans will love it.
― tylerw, Thursday, 18 October 2012 03:13 (7 months ago) Permalink
I forgot who was wanting it, Evan maybe, but there's a copy of Homegas up for sale on ebay right now! I haven't seen one for sale since last year. http://www.ebay.com/itm/FOLK-PSYCH-LP-HOMEGAS-S-T-TACOMA-LABEL-PRODUCED-BY-JOHN-FAHEY-/170925089715?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item27cbede3b3
― JacobSanders, Thursday, 18 October 2012 03:36 (7 months ago) Permalink
tyler listening to that george cromarty - grassroots guitar albums you sent mesoooo goood.
also playing phone tag with peter lang! i have his number in my phone which is kinda cool. i spoke w/him briefly but have a message out now about lessons.
globaltetrahedron - did you ever do the lessons?
― seasonal hugs (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 26 October 2012 21:56 (6 months ago) Permalink
if yr still on ilm that is
― seasonal hugs (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 26 October 2012 21:57 (6 months ago) Permalink
cool, glad you're digging the cromarty. root blog put it up over here http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=7596 along with his kids album (which is ehhhh) http://rootstrata.com/rootblog/?p=7614
― tylerw, Friday, 26 October 2012 22:00 (6 months ago) Permalink
also: steve gunn is the besthe really is! i've really been listening to him a lot this year.
― tylerw, Friday, 26 October 2012 22:05 (6 months ago) Permalink
Oh my god, Craig Leon "Nommos" rules, what a strange and beautiful record this is
― in an English way (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 16 November 2012 03:26 (6 months ago) Permalink
This is really the best
― in an English way (flamboyant goon tie included), Friday, 16 November 2012 04:14 (6 months ago) Permalink
This is the latest dispatch from my buddy John W., with intriguing links re Fahey and raga. Start from the top or scroll down:
For decades, Don Cherry's "Malkauns" was a favorite track of mine before I learned that the title is taken from a well-known and widely performed Indian raga; and therefore the entire piece is essentially a performance of the raga just the way any other track called "Raga Malkauns" by an Indian classical musician is. But now that I now this, I don't like the piece any less.
samples here:http://www.amazon.com/Malkauns/dp/B001NU6EVKand here:http://www.last.fm/music/Don+Cherry/_/MalkaunsYou're on your own as to locating and downloading an mp3 that has the whole thing.
So today I went over to the fabulous multimedia lending library to try to locate versions of the raga as done by Indian musicians -- ideally, to try to find one that sounds like what might have inspired Don Cherry and Charlie Haden so that I could hear the connection, how they got from A to B and came up with what they did.
As you can see at this link to the library's online catalogue, they have many recordings of the raga, but most of them are in the archive/storage and weren't available out in the bins:http://www.lamediatheque.be/med/rech_n.php?intervenant=&morceau=&titre=malkauns&ref=
I did however find 4 recordings of Raga Malkauns on the premises (one of them included in the apparently encyclopedic "The Raga Guide: A Survey of 74 Hindustanis Ragas", a book accompanied by 4 CDs). To my Occidental ear, none of the versions seem to bear any relation to each other or to the Don Cherry track -- except of course that they happen to use the same scale.
There's one exception however: the version by Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and his brother Zia Fariduddin Dagar, which lasts SIXTY-NINE MINUTES and is available on YouTube!
If you listen to this all the way through, by the time you get to the end you can hypothesize that the drone that one of them often uses in the lowest register might have provided the original impetus for what Charlie Haden does on the bass on the Don Cherry version. And also by the end, the notes of the scale are ingrained enough in your brain that you also have a sense of how Don Cherry came up with the trumpet part. For instance, if you play the notes of the scale in your brain, and imagine them played on trumpet, you can produce an inferior but similar version of Don Cherry's improvising.
btw, my discovering Z.M. Dagar is something of a revelation -- this is seriously trippy stuff. When he's playing both with his brother and with other people, he's not accompanied by any percussion, and each of his CDs includes a performance of only one raga. 70 minutes' worth of the same raga, the same drone. And therefore, often the first 40 minutes (the opening "Alap" section) is nothing but drone with ornamentation, and then finally he introduces a pulse (in the concluding Jor and Jhala sections) -- except that the pulse is conveyed only via string instruments (the vina and accompanying tamburas).
I'm sorry to say this, but once you hear Z.M. Dagar's stuff, you hear how avant-garde minimalist guys like Phill Niblock and Glenn Branca have a long way to go, and Jim O'Rourke and Loren Mazzacane Connors should just pack it in altogether. On the other hand, the stuff that John Fahey was doing at the end of his career really is as good as Z.M. Dagar (e.g. check out the samples of the first four tracks of this:http://www.allmusic.com/album/sea-changes-and-coelacanths-a-young-persons-guide-to-john-fahey-mw0000566552
If I understand the Indian musical system correctly, a raga is a scale (not necessarily the same notes ascending as those descending), the musician improvises on the scale, and then the resulting "piece" is simply given the title of the raga. So that in the end, any pieces called "Raga Yaman" might not sound any more similar to each other than, among Western composers, any two pieces called "String Quartet in C major" do.
But still, this seems very strange to me when I read liner notes of Indian music CDs and then attempt a cultural transposition and come up with examples like these:
1. "Beethoven's 5th Symphony is surely the most compelling and insistent performance of C minor in recorded musical history."
2. "John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' stands as what is likely the most moving rendition of the Dorian mode, especially in D."
3. "Charlie Parker's compositions 'Constellation' and 'Anthropology' belong to the harmonic system known as 'Rhythm Changes', whose pieces are traditionally performed in the milieu of urban clubs late at night, between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m."
― dow, Sunday, 18 November 2012 14:32 (6 months ago) Permalink
snagged an original pressing ofpeter lang - the thing at the nursery room windowlast nite! :) :)
(it's the one pictured upthread with the amazing sphinx art!!! love it
― Andrew WKRP (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 13 December 2012 17:56 (5 months ago) Permalink
― i guess i'd just rather listen to canned heat? (ian), Saturday, 18 May 2013 04:16 (3 days ago) Permalink
Jesus, when oh WHEN will someone reissue this fucking album?? It's one of the greatest folk albums ever made, and one of about five records I can think of that I'd easily drop $100 on without even thinking about it. Grrrr.
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Monday, 20 May 2013 16:19 (Yesterday) Permalink
I'm desperate to find a copy as well. That particular song sounds kind of Leonard Cohen-y to me btw.
― Evan, Monday, 20 May 2013 16:46 (Yesterday) Permalink
http://ghostcapital.org/phil-yost-fog-hat-ramble-takoma-1968/
― tylerw, Tuesday, 21 May 2013 14:53 (5 hours ago) Permalink