Bobby Brown

Michael Baryshnikov написал(а) к All в Nov 16 00:37:40 по местному времени:

Нello All!

Залит BobbyBrown/(1972)_Enlightening_Beam_OfAxonda

Бобби Браун - это был (есть? вообще-то о нём, кроме того, что написано на пластинке, мало что известно) такой "последний из могикан". Идейный хиппи, который в 60-е переселился на Гавайи и жил там себе в своё удовольствие, на природе, одновременно играя и записывая музыку. Играл он её при этом на разных самодельных и не совсем инструментах. "Человек-симфонический оркестр". Почему сразу уж так "симфонический"? - потому, что только одних струн всяких у него было более 300! а уж духовых... Прибавьте к этому местный колорит, хипповую психоделию в текстах и музыке и получите песни Бобби Брауна.
Воспринимаешь эту музыку не сразу, наворочено там много всего, голос опять же - от высокого, практически женского, сопрано, до тувинского горлового пения... (к словам не придирайтесь, да?)
В общем, передать словами стиль и характер сложно, слушайте!
РЕКОМЕНДУЮ!

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Brown's tendency toward spoken-word, stream-of-conscious soliloquies and overt Middle Eastern instrumentation can occasionally feel a bit more fey and dated than some of his psych peers, but "Axonda" sounds far more complete and wonderfully detailed in its depiction of man and his place within the world than many of his '70s musical cohorts. Each individual song goes through numerous iterations and forms, which present a series of cyclical melodies and atypical rhythms.

And while I was immediately intrigued by Brown's use of harmony and musical didacticism (his views on the conservation of nature are quite evident through his lyrics), the album required repeated listens to completely get its hooks into me. The ways in which he twisted melodies through his homemade instruments required a primer period of adjustment. This wasn't the Bee Gees, after all.

But the album felt honest and open and even seemed to revel in its transparent intentions. Brown signed a good many of the original LPs he sold and included his home address and phone number in case you wanted to get in touch about setting up a performance. These were the actions of a man who honestly felt the need for connection with his audience. There was no musical subterfuge here, only an open invitation to his fans.

Look past the obvious '60s mystical allusions and less-than-subtle views on the environment, and you'll find an album of curiously optimistic insight and impulsive musical creativity. Like his instruments, "The Enlightening Beam of Axonda" helped to define the continued spirit of artists who removed themselves from the artifice of mainstream music. Brown was never going to find acceptance as a radio star or arena headliner. Нis music was too raw, too unpolished. But that's exactly why this kind of music—and his, in particular—should be cherished for the absence of synthetic emotion and rote sentimentality. Though 40 years removed, this album retains its ability to surprise and inspire and manages to evoke a more genial time, when all someone had to do to be heard was pick up a guitar or possibly a "one-man orchestra" and sing.

For the past fifteen years, Bobby has stuck with his vision of a "one man show", always creating new instruments and new styles of singing and playing as he went along. Bobby's voice is perhaps his most remarkable instrument. Covering a six octave range (possibly the widest range ever recorded) it is capable of creating almost any texture he desires. But his "one man band" orchestra is not to be overlooked. Originally composed of about fifty instruments it contained 311 strings and took three hours to set up and tune. Instruments varied from a tiny electrified spring to a monstrous fifteen foot electrified drone. Some were of original invention, while others were electrified versions of instruments found around the world. With this set, he recorded his first album TНE ENLIGНTENING BEAM OF AXONDA. An extension of his doctoral thesis begun at UCLA, it contains a story about possible new discoveries in physics that could lead to technological advances that would in turn lead to a very unique and very optimistic view of the future.

(c) CGR
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Инджой!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.

--- wfido