Back in school days, I visited a friend, and we listened to some records. Her brother owned this strange artifact, and we listened to it, not sure what we were hearing (well, quite sure at one or two points), but it felt as weird as things can be.
I don't recall when I bought it, but there was certainly a Proustian rush as I remembered good times, if not the actual sounds of this record.
The album is the brainchild of American artist/musician David Vorhaus, realised by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop through Brian Hodges, and the visionary genius of electronic music, Delia Derbyshire.
The first half consists of five quite short songs, Love Without Sound, an eerie piece with an engaging vocal track accompanied by various electronic sound effects, alongside vocal backing, with noises bordering on the sexual. There's no 'bordering on' in My Game Of Loving, which starts as a quiet song, with Beach Boys overtones, before a central minute of orgasm sounds to rival and outdo Gainsbourg's Je T'Aime. Here Come The Fleas is much more playful and fun (and the one I remember giggling about all those years ago, after not quite knowing where to look during the previous song). Firebird is a much more conventional song to 21st century ears, a jolly little ditty which bounces along for three minutes, and the first half ends with Your Hidden Dreams, a little anti-climactic after some of the more interesting material heard earlier.
The second half consists of two longer pieces. The Visitation is eleven minutes of darkly atmospheric sounds, with vocal interludes, with a certain compelling feel, while Black Mass: An Electric Storm In Hell starts with a deep chant, before an extended percussion piece (I'm trying not to type 'drum solo') with just enough effects to keep it tolerable, if not always interesting.
I'm not sure if this is of greater historical interest than musical interest, but I've enjoyed revisiting it, and reading more about Delia Derbyshire while listening.
3* - an interesting piece of 1960s' electronica.
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