Ok . MORE Arthur Russell (But This Is Great)

In my memory it was Disco Not Disco that solidified Arthur Russell by re-highlighting the disco stuff (most of which had never dropped in it's classic status but wasn't seen as a part of a bigger whole) and introducing it to the new to dance music kids.

― dan selzer, Tuesday, December 15, 2020 11:59 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

“Is it all over my face” was a standard old school dance track here at least, a song I knew before I had any idea who he was iirc. Unless I’m like, rewriting history in my head but I’m pretty sure I remember that even getting radio play in like, house music sets here

Yeah that’s my point. Is It All Over My Face and Go Bang were both certified disco/club classics that never went away, but not everyone was connecting those to the other stuff.

Reminds me---there's a repress of the 2010 Walter Gibbons anthology incl. his Dinosaur L mix of "Go Bang" and an AR-credited "Calling All Kids," and lots of other good stuff, (except for the Double Exposure clunker) I saw complaints about the original pressing, and my CD version doesn't sound so great either, although it does have some tracks not on bandcamp, but bandcamp sounds a lot better: https://waltergibbons.bandcamp.com/ And the ones not there are prob on YouTube etc. DL and AR are on the bandcamp version. Gibbons brings out the best in a good range of music, a good ear for Latin percussion, for inst.

remember when the documentary had jens lekman but no nicky siano

My first exposure to AR was "You Have Did The Right Thing When You That Skylight In" on a Wire Tapper CD and went and bought World of... immediately.

anyone get that really nice arthur russell hat that ghostly put out? sold out by the time i saw it

it is with great regret that i must cop some new arthur russell merch pic.twitter.com/QMyy0V5Tx4

— vm's stigmata (@voguememory) December 9, 2020

Oh boy, another live recording!
https://arthurrussell.bandcamp.com/album/the-deer-in-the-forest-march-2-1985-live-at-roulette

Arthur Russell – cello + voice
Elodie Lauten – keyboard
Peter Zummo - trombone

Now THIS is what I’m talkin’ about! Exciting!

Elodie Lauten looks like a super interesting person!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elodie_Lauten

She is!

The Death Of Don Juan album, featuring Arthur is really good.

Her Transform EP is a big fave too.

is this AR recording any different to - https://roulette.org/event/arthur-russell-2/

?

It is the same recording, it started popping up in the springtime this year, at least on YouTube.

...and on that page, first linked itt in March :)

yes, i discovered it via here back then. just curious if there was any additional audio enhahcement etc. but i can hear it's the same. still wonderful.

It's great and has me doing boring admin duties while listening to Another Thought, sometimes I wonder if there's a better record.

The Death Of Don Juan album, featuring Arthur is really good.
And here 'tis! Thanks for the news, stirmonster.
https://unseenworlds.bandcamp.com/album/the-death-of-don-juan

Someone web-mailed me from this thread with a query but forgot to leave their own email address. email me again with your return details, ta!

"Singing Tractors" from that Roulette set is so incredible, Zummo killing it on trombone

UK label Unheard of Hope has announced a 7-inch series featuring artists covering their favourite Arthur Russell tracks.

Called Small Wonder, the series' first volume is out now. It consists of two tracks from Russell's 1986 album World of Echo ("Tone Bone Kone" and "All-Boy All-Girl") by the cellist's longtime collaborator Peter Zummo and Erased Tapes artist Peter Broderick, respectively. Future contributions are expected from Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier and Mexican multi-instrumentalist Mabe Fratti, among others.

In a statement, Broderick, who in 2018 put out an album devoted to to Arthur Russell songs, described how "All-Boy All-Girl" is one of his favourites. "I never thought to cover it before because, like most the material on the World Of Echo album, it is hard to pin down what exactly the song itself is. What is the song, what is the production, and what is the performance? It's all very amorphous, and I love that about it. When asked to cover an Arthur track for this project, I thought I'd finally give this song a try. And with the help of Mabe Fratti and her friend Sebastian Rojas, I hope we have created a worthwhile tribute to this song which has brought me to tears many times."

Describing his chosen track ("Tone Bone Kone"), Zummo explained how he opted for a group approach. "Just before the pandemic hit in March 2020, I had some concerts in the UK with Peter Broderick, Joe Carvell, Mabe Fratti and Sebastian Rojas. We played Tone Bone Kone as our encore. This recording builds on the live energy the group was getting into at the close of those concerts," he wrote.

https://ra.co/news/75253

And you can buy the first one here - https://tinangelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/small-wonder-series-1-songs-of-arthur-russell

They're OK but not really feeling them much if I'm being honest

IMHO it's fruitless task to cover anything from World of Echo.

Fair enough--I do like getting to hear Zummo sing, though.

the tone bone kone cover is great.

I realy like the all aboy/girl cover too.

Live recording of 24 to 24 at The Kitchen in 1979, Julius Eastman on organ too.

https://arthurrussell.bandcamp.com/album/24-to-24-music-live-at-the-kitchen

that's really great stuff

Really enjoying that----what's the deal w the 24->24 Music 2-CD? Also live? Also hot?

not live, studio, it's basically this album:
https://www.discogs.com/master/8344-Dinosaur-L-2424-Music

with a bunch of extra tracks from contemporaneous singles (but, weirdly, not "Kiss Me Again")

oh and it is also great ofc

Excellent, thx!

Yeah, this is the one I was looking at:
Sleeping Bag Records and Traffic Entertainment Group are proud to present his seminal work, 24->>24 Music expanded to a deluxe double CD box set issue. In addition to the music found on the original issue of 24>>24 Music this set includes rare 12 remixes and edits including the highly coveted Go Bang! (Walter Gibbons Mix) and the never before on CD You Can't Hold Me Down (Test Pressing Version). Both discs are housed inside beautiful full color sleeves that tuck into the extra durable box along with a 48 page booklet featuring unreleased photos by Janette Beckman and other Russell ephemera with words courtesy of Russell biographer Tim Lawrence.

Kiss Me Again was on Sire and thus is owned by Warner Brothers, who are never fun or cheap to license from.

either are sleeping bag. i tried to clear a sample from them and their reply was "this has no artistic merit. don't ever contact us again".

oh shit. did you tell them their satin jackets didn't have artistic merit either? jk, those were cool.

ha! well, it was Traffic Entertainment Group rather than Sleeping Bag per se. i'm sure Will Socolov, were he still involved would have been easier to deal with.

Anyway, i went ahead and released it anyway, but, shhhhhhhh......

you’re in the clear, you weren’t allowed to tell them you’d done it

:-)

Once again feeling very blessed to live in a world where Iowa Dream exists. Total desert island status for me

just got this crucial bootleg t-shirt in the mail:

https://www.turbo-island.co.uk/product/go-bang

that t-shirt is so classic.

Just now got the dee-luxe 2 CD xpost seminal work, 24->>24 Music, and starting to read Tim Lawrence's typically immersive Hold On to Your Dreams---Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973-1992, which, this being TL, swoops back to preWWII origins of Russell parents, who were outwardly on the better side of Iowa-typical in postwar boom, solid, prosperous, intelligent citizens of Squaresville, but also with quite a nurturing record collection (and child-raising practices, considering: Arthur in particular being quite a handful).

But I have a couple questions: the intro is also swooping ahead to (talking about all the early Downtown coverage, incl. books, in which AR is either barely mentioned or not at all, and why that may be, how much more of an outcat he was etc. in those scenes and social maps), and with several quotes, already, from Ernie Brooks, re the Flying Hearts sessions with John Hammond, who is said to have considered Arthur to be equal to or greater than his previous outcat discovery, Bob Dylan (AKA "Hammond's Folly," in early suits talk).

So my questions are: are there any Flying Hearts tracks around, that y'all have heard, other than the one with Ginsberg on Arthur's bandcamp, and if so, what do they sound like, and where are they?? (Also wondering about the Professionals albums, although have been told that at least one of them isn't so hot.)

“What It’s Like” from Love Is Overtaking Me is credited to the Flying Hearts.

There are no other Flying Hearts tracks around though when Ernie Brooks toured with Peter Zummo's ensemble a few years back they performed another Flying Hearts song. At leaast one of the gigs was recorded but I don't think it has ever been made available.

I didn’t know that Wild Combination existed until I watched it a couple of nights ago. I knew next to nothing of Arthur beyond the music I’d heard so it was quite a revelation, to say the least. Tubi have it online for free https://tubitv.com/movies/349386/wild-combination-a-portrait-of-arthur-russell

Probably discussed upthread, but I missed until now thwt 'Wild Combination' was reissued on blu-ray in 2018 on Oscil-o-scope, looked really good and had a sparse but enjoyable commentary track from Matt Wolf added.

I think this is that same transfer, has the Oscil-o-Scope logo at the start and looks good HD quality.

xxp thanks for sharing! I have seen that but would be up for watching again

Was this posted before? https://www.ebay.com/itm/373167002625?hash=item56e27c9401:g:EH0AAOSweRpdnb8V#vi-desc-maincntr
Why you too could pretend to be Steve Knutson and burrow around in Arthur's work tapes, for the low, low price of just $15,000.00.
It's insane to think there's still stuff sitting around gathering dust waiting to be heard, you can see pics of Dinosaur's long lost follow up to kiss me again - Dumbo Dumbo.

Wild. Do Zummo or Knutson or Peter Gordon or anyone know about this?

i will ask the Peters. Wild!