Ok . MORE Arthur Russell (But This Is Great)

https://www.dukeupress.edu/Hold-On-to-Your-Dreams/

http://thequietus.com/articles/03425-review-excerpt-hold-on-to-your-dreams-arthur-russell-and-the-downtown-music-scene-1973-1992-by-tim-lawrence

Excellent, will pass that along too, thanks

Excellent bio.

Haven't had a chance to stream this yet:
http://www.npr.org/2015/05/31/409801534/first-listen-arthur-russell-corn

Finally got to the npr stream of Corn. Haven't done any comparative listening, but these versions are consistently perky, with the usual wide open spaces for contemplation (his "Buddhist bubblegum" ideal is not too far away). Demo-y at first, but several if not most are what a lot of people (quite possibly excluding AR, as usual) would consider good finished product. Faves so far incl. "Corn (Continued)," which got me up and dancing in headphones, and the finale, which sounds like he might've had Hendrix on his own headphones while playing.

WSJ Review of the BAM Concert:

The visionary musician and composer Arthur Russell was recently honored in the “Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell!” concerts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
By Jim Fusilli
June 2, 2015 5:31 p.m. ET
Brooklyn, N.Y.

During a career that started four decades ago and lasted until his death at 40 in 1992, Arthur Russell seemed to anticipate several trends of today’s popular music. A composer and cellist who played several other instruments, Russell understood that musicians with disparate creative interests could occupy, however briefly, a shared space to work together; that the avant-garde need not shun a rock following or the pursuit of popularity; that the line between rock and dance music was an artificial commercial construct; that folk-based music could withstand nontraditional arrangements; and that the use of electronics would provide textures and inspiration for musicians driven to create rather than follow. Some of the most vital contemporary music embraces these philosophies, and many rock and pop fans profit from the result.

To say that Russell, who died from HIV/AIDS-related complications, foresaw the future doesn’t quite capture his achievement. What now seems an inevitable environment for adventurous, open-spirited musicians did not exist until he helped make it so. That Russell wasn’t embraced by a wide audience is a consequence of such inventiveness. But if he didn’t have a diverse peer group in popular music back then, he does now, as demonstrated by this past weekend’s “Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell!” concerts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Fueled by a ferocious house band, Friday evening’s show included performances by the folk musician Sam Amidon; the pop group Cults; Devonté Hynes, a funk-and-rock musician who records under various names; Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire; and the indie dance band Rubblebucket, among others. Together, they tapped into the many planets within the Russell universe of music.

At BAM, the performers swiftly revealed Russell’s democratic approach to popular music. With polyrhythms provided by Chris Vatalaro and Reinaldo de Jesus of Antibalas on drums and percussion, respectively, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters and Kalmia Traver of Rubblebucket kicked off the show with a disco medley. Tenor saxophonist Stuart Matthewman, formerly of Sade and now with the jazz duo Twin Danger, joined Cults for a hefty “Planted a Thought,” which hadn’t grown much beyond the demo stage when Russell recorded it. A versatile five-piece horn section led by Stuart Bogie added appropriate and thoughtful support throughout the evening; in Thao Nguyen’s bluesy reading of “Nobody Wants a Lonely Heart,” it framed her voice with Mr. Bogie’s clarinet and Ms. Traver’s baritone sax.

The Iowa-raised Russell’s folk compositions for voice and guitar are an endearing mix of fragility and resolution. Discarding Russell’s arrangement, Mr. Amidon played banjo as he sang “Lucky Cloud” with Mr. Parry on upright bass and Rebecca Foon on cello. Later, Redding Hunter strummed chords on electric guitar as he softly sang a bittersweet “Close My Eyes.” Mr. Parry’s reading of “Just a Blip,” accompanied by the warmth of upright bass, cello, bass harmonica, tuba and baritone sax, was one of the evening’s most exquisite moments.

The richness of Russell’s catalog grew more evident as the evening moved on. Mr. Hunter led the ensemble in a solemn reading of the gentle “You Can Make Me Feel Bad” that felt like a finale, but then the musicians returned to their instruments for a rousing “Wild Combination,” a disco number that drove members of the audience to dance gleefully in front of the stage. With Ms. Foon’s cello and Mr. Parry’s bass offering a supple introduction, Mr. Amidon and Laurel Sprengelmeyer, who performs as Little Scream, sang “Keeping Up,” which seemed to contain all of Russell’s colors in one joyous, poignant number.

Russell’s music is enjoying an extended period of revival. He was the subject of Matt Wolf’s clear-eyed documentary “Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell,” released in 2008, and his music provided the soundtrack to Ira Sachs’s 2012 film “Keep the Lights On.” There are many worthy Russell compilation albums, including “Corn,” which will arrive next week on the Audika label, the loving custodian of his huge collection of previously unreleased material. He was the subject of an album in the Red Hot Organization’s series that raises funds for HIV/AIDS relief and awareness; the 2014 tribute to Russell, which has the same title as the BAM shows (minus the exclamation point), includes performances by José González, Glen Hansard, Hot Chip, Phosphorescent, Robyn, Sufjan Stevens and others. If it seems like Arthur Russell’s time has finally arrived, it’s worth remembering it was in plain sight all along.

Mr. Fusilli is the Journal’s rock and pop music critic.

I wasn't blown away by Corn when I first heard it but I'm really liking it now, in case anyone was wondering

Also does anyone know what's up with the letters and numbers code on the insert? Someone (presumably Arthur himself) wrote a bunch of words with numbers beside them eg:

B 2
I 9
G 7

C 3
O 6
R 9
N 5

For the letters A-I it's an A=1, B=2 code but I can't work out what's going on past the letter I. Said code also appears on the insert that comes with Calling Out Of Context

A1 R9 T2 H8 U3 R9 R9 US S1 S1 E5 L3 L3

(from Calling Out Of Context)

Corn is easily my favourite release with Arthur Russell's name on it.

Oh I just realised the code only uses the digits 1-9. So J=1, K=2. I was never that good at maths

Corn is easily my favourite release with Arthur Russell's name on it.

really? i love it and it has it my new favourite ever version of "let's go swimming" on it but i can't ever see it being my favourite.

mmhmm see my brother on this is so out of sight, like the most futuristic thing i have ever heard him do

first time i listened to corn i accidentally had side 2 on at 45 and was marvelling at arthur pre-empting auto tune techniques by over a decade before i realised. i quite like his voice at 45.

really stirmonster, better than the costal dub? only by a hair surely

Yeah. Good stuff on here but it does feel like odds n' ends. Nothing I'd call "definitive".

First few tracks like sketches, but gets better (more vivid, detailed sketches at least) as it goes along. So not too odds 'n' ends, far as I'm concerned.

Of course it's an album assembled by other hands, but works well enough as such, I think.

really stirmonster, better than the costal dub? only by a hair surely

perhaps it's the shock of the new. or the new old, rather.

I'm not quite sure why it's my favourite. I do like a lot of his other music - albeit some a lot more than other - but this doesn't feel like it's as rooted in one genre as some of the other albums/compilations. Like, even at their most boundary-pushing, they never feel like quite as seamless or instictive as this one seems to feel to my ears.

Unreleased Arthur Russell!!! Rub those peepers again, pal, this indeed features the previously unreleased versions for Arthur Russell's Loose Joints classic, 'Is It All Over My Face' (1980, West End). A-side holds Kon's fe/male duet mix and an unreleased single female vocal version; flipside sports the original full length version, all 12 minutes of it, from humid intro to a beaming outro with a much more psychedelic, smudged middle. TIP!

http://boomkat.com/vinyl/1058393-loose-joints-is-it-all-over-my-face-unreleased-original-version

Cool remix of "Hop On Down"
https://soundcloud.com/cocktail-damore/hop-on-down-massi-ext-edit

The complete Loose Joints singles to be issued on vinyl

Arthur Russell's disco group is the subject of a triple-vinyl set out on Record Store Day.

Loose Joints' Pop Your Funk: The Complete Singles Collection will be released on vinyl via West End Records for Record Store Day.

The tracks Arthur Russell created for Loose Joints are among his most enduring, dance floor-ready productions. The group has been the subject of various rounds of reissues courtesy of West End, but this coming April version is for the completists, taking its basis from a 2013 Japan-only CD set. Included across six sides are six versions of "Is It All Over My Face," among them Larry Levan's original "Female Vocal Version" and two 2001 remixes from Masters At Work. The Record Store Day release also includes various takes of the group's other singles, "Pop Your Funk" and "Tell You Today."

Tracklist
A1 Is It All Over My Face (Original 12-inch Version)
A2 Pop Your Funk (Original 12-Inch Version)
B1 Pop Your Funk (Original Single Vocal Version)
B2 Pop Your Funk (Original Single Instrumental Version)
B3 Is It All Over My Face (Original 12-Inch Larry Levan Female Vocal Version)
C1 Tell You Today (Original 12-Inch Vocal Version)
C2 Tell You Today (Original 12-Inch New Shoes Edit)
D1 Tell You Today (Original 12 Inch Instrumental Version)
D2 Is It All Over My Face (Masters At Work Remix)
E1 Is It All Over My Face (MAW Joint Dub)
E2 Is It All Over My Face (Unreleased Single Female Vocal Version)
F1 Is It All Over My Face (Unreleased Original Full-Length Version)

West End Records will release Pop Your Funk: The Complete Singles Collection on April 16th, 2016.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/news.aspx?id=33345

west end records majorly milking it now.

lol and it STILL doesn't have the 15-minute "Tell You Today" afaict

xpost agree

My how 11 years have flown by since I started this thread. Crazy.

12 years!!

12 years!!!

and it STILL doesn't have the 15-minute "Tell You Today" afaict

pretty sure it doesn't which does seem like they missed a trick as plenty of us suckers would have bought the whole package just for that.

Is F1 the one that was on the Loft box set?

Looks like it

cool! http://pitchfork.com/news/65766-arthur-russell-archives-acquired-by-new-york-public-library/

yeah rly wonderful news

Ben Ratliff on the archives and AR's working methods: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/arts/music/arthur-russell-archives-new-york-public-library.html

All the tapes will be digitized and cataloged as well — a process that may take as long as a year, according to Jonathan Hiam, the library’s curator for the project — but then will be available for onsite listening.

Wonderful news indeed

I got the reissue of Tower of Meaning and frankly I don't think it's very good

Maybe I just don't know enough about minimal modern classical but I've listened to it about ten times or so and I just find it boring. I'll persevere though

i like it a lot when i'm in the mood. soundtrack-y, meditative, dry, stately.

I listen to "Instrumentals" way more often.

"Instrumentals" is really accessible and fun! "Tower of Meaning" is a lot less user-friendly, I haven't really had much success at engaging with it.

Yeah, the only Arthur Russell stuff I've really spent some time with is the First Thought Best Thought and the 'Tower of Meaning' commandeering disc two of the set made it so disc two rarely gets played in my house.

tower of meaning feels static and monolithic, but there are some beautiful and v characteristic moments, whiffs of his phrasing, you can imagine him singing it. even in the slower bits some of the changes/intervals/shifts in harmony are gorgeous, the moments are sudden and transitory but sometimes very affecting

I'm v glad he discovered disco and much nimbler phrasing and rhythm but it's really interesting to hear how distinctively arthur russellish something so different like this can sound

BBC radio documentary: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07wbtsz

The doc has its own musical qualities, with no lack of astute clarity. Very refreshing, thanks!

i enjoyed that doc. it's always fun to see what will be the first piece or arthur music played in a piece like that given that he has no signature music whatsoever and it felt like an introductory piece. what first impression do you make for him?

Do What I Want: Selections from the Arthur Russell Papers Mar 1—May 14, 2017

Peruse Russell’s notes and scores, listen to never-before-heard tapes, and delve deep into the electronic music pioneer’s creative process. These materials are on display for the first time to the public through the generosity of Tom Lee (Russell’s partner).

http://www.bam.org/visualart/2017/arthurrussell

Sasha F-J on Arthur, incl. current events:
http://www.villagevoice.com/music/the-infinite-worlds-of-arthur-russell-9895575

If anyone has Amazon Prime, the Arthur Russell documentary (which is lovely) can be streamed there for free:

https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Combination-Portrait-Arthur-Russell/dp/B00J97MNHI

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTU4MzI1OTczMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwOTc3ODIwMg@@._V1_UY268_CR4,0,182,268_AL_.jpg

ty for this, dow
had no idea until an offhand mention at the bam thing last night that the recent audika thing wasn't just a reissue of the first thought last thought recordings
& had no idea until this piece that it's bob babbitt on bass on kiss me again !

I'm fairly sure that the Instrumentals reissue is the same as First Thought Best Thought but without Tower of Meaning included. It's a mixed bag for sure. Instrumentals vol 1 is some of his best work - upbeat and summery but not disco, a bit like In The Light Of The Miracle. The rest of it is minimalist modern classical in the same style as Tower Of Meaning