Ok . MORE Arthur Russell (But This Is Great)

Calling Out Of Context, First Thought Best Thought and Springfield were all released in the years after The World of Arthur Russell.

There wouldn't be so much of the Love Is Overtaking Me/Iowa Dream style music to release if Arthur Russell didn't make so much of it.

Calling Out Of Context and The World Of came out at precisely the same time iirc, on two different labels (Soul Jazz/Audika), and covered vastly different facets of AR's output. Neither formed as an effective survey as Another Thought (which I think was compiled by Philip Glass? or at least he had something to do with it, and it came out a decade earlier)

Springfield was a series of unfinished singer/songwriter recordings that were completed largely by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear-- I think what inspired this completion and release was the appearance of (and positive response toward) AR's more s/s songs that were represented in Matt Wolf's documentary, that this particular corner of AR's discography was worthy of deeper examination

wait what

I think you meant some other release than Springfield there

(you did, Love Is Overtaking Me)

Another Thought was initially released by Philip Glass on his label in '94 but was compiled by Don Christensen.

Another Thought is for me the best collection of AR's music. People bandy about expressions about how a record "changed their life" and it is usually a wild exaggeration but that album really did change mine. I was a little lost when it came out and it gave me the inspiration and energy to change my life.

Yep sorry xp

That could be an understatement xp. Woh oh.

Wild to think of the compilation you could make now.

Not saying what did or didn’t deserve close examination just that I ended up meeting a lot of people in my 20s and 30s for whom Arthur Russell was essentially a singer songwriter and had no idea he even made dance music and I thought that was weird

manys xps: fella from Audika is on the discogs page for Sketches saying that the cassette release is actually not limited (the bit on the bandcamp page about there only being 400 copes is now gone), yet it is sold out at the moment. Maybe it'll be back. He also said there's no plans for other formats right now.

I ended up meeting a lot of people in my 20s and 30s for whom Arthur Russell was essentially a singer songwriter and had no idea he even made dance music and I thought that was weird

You thought that was weird because it is weird.

Then again the first thing I think of with AR is "cello" so maybe it's not that weird?

I never thought of Another Thought as an "effective survey" as it doesn't really show the full on dance side. I think World of Came out before Calling Out of Context. 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.

xxxp So these were people who only knew Love Is Overtaking Me??
I think from when I first started hearing about him, in the 80s, I got that he was like Eno, somebody who *could* sing and write songs, but just did whatever the fuck he wanted to---like even in Roxy, Eno became the one who textured the overall sound, and at shows might sit behind the soundboard, and start singing, upstaging Ferry, who was just up on stage, in the normie way---which might be why he didn't last in Roxy, also freaked out Tina Weymouth when Byrne brought him into the Heads---which might be one reason AR wisely declined to join that increasingly B. vs. W. enterprise (see also the book The Name of This Band is The Talking Heads)--but also he just wanted to record his own stuff and walk around listening to it and making more mixes and/or starting over, like we were talking about upthread. But, however he thought about it at any given point, LIOM and Iowa Dream are v. plausibly cohesive.
I'm still glad that The World of Arthur Russell was my own gateway (I'd heard some other tracks before that, but).

Arthur Russell was recommended to me by Gruff Rhys who described him as a "folk singer", and yeah I was almost baffled when I picked up the World of Arthur Russell. There were a couple of tracks on there that loosely fit the description, so I figured that must be what Gruff was listening to.

Fwiw the one that made me completely obsessed was the First Thought Best Thought box, especially the Tower of Meaning piece.

I am def really into all the posthumous releases but my favorite things of his happen to be the revords he put out while living, pretty much. I don't know if I would say they'e "better" or "more realized" or w/e.

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......