WEDNESDAY
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A Thought for Today
God’s handiwork is as fleeting as a passing thought and
as solid as a stone.
This
One Does It For Me!
Ken,
Rod is such a prolific writer that just when I think I've got a handle on
all his work, along comes something I've never heard of.
An album called "Something Beyond". Got any information on this one? Is it
still available?
Any help would be appreciated.
Sandra.
This is a new one on me,
Sandra, so I immediately turned to Jay's invaluable database for some
enlightenment.
It's an instrumental album so lyrics are pretty scarce though there is one
song, the words of which I've included below. Here are the liner notes,
written by Mike Joseph, which, as always, make interesting reading.
There's also a timely mention of Arthur Greenslade who sadly passed away
last week.
Rod McKuen’s "Something Beyond"
Instrumental Suite - The Orchestra of Two Worlds
I can bring to mind only three albums of original popular music in the
past several years that remain truly memorable. Henry Mancini’s score for
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, the first Antonio Carlos Jobim - Claus Oberman
collaboration and this album by Rod McKuen, “Something Beyond”.
An album of original music is always a bit jarring; there are no familiar
themes to hang on to and no snatches of melody to associate with favorite
times and people. The listener is forced to consider the music for exactly
what it is and for what it is giving him at that moment. With or without
memory and without association of times gone by, the music in this album
stands on its own. It is beautiful. Literate, unusual and bears the
unmistakable stamp of one of our great modern day composers, Rod McKuen.
Rod McKuen is generally acknowledged as one of the best songwriters in
America today. Not only are his compositions performed and recorded by
this country’s top artists, but his influence has extended to the European
capitals as well. And, with two books of poetry ( “Listen to the Warm” and
“Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows” ) currently on the best sellers lists,
he has in the past year emerged as one of the world’s leading poets.
So much emphasis is put on the freshness of McKuen’s lyrics and their
poetic quality we often forget that he is equally at home as a composer of
music. Though he has written songs with composers the calibre of Mancini,
Aznavour, Gilbert Becaud, Jacques Brel, Marty Paich, etc., on most of his
biggest successes he is the author of both words and music.
In addition to the hundreds of songs he’s written, McKuen’s credits as a
composer include two years of weekly hour long TV scores for Albert
McCleery’s CBS Workshop, a suite of music based on the signs of the
zodiac, his “Concerto for Four Harpsichords” that has been performed by
several of the world’s leading orchestras, and the background score for
the reading of “Listen to the Warm”.
The more than fifty musicians that comprise The Orchestra of Two Worlds
and play Rod McKuen’s music here are some of the most talented in London.
They are conducted by Arthur Greenslade, who did all the arrangements and
who, in addition, is the musical director for most of McKuen’s concerts.
Apparently, Rod is as good at picking arrangers as he is talented at
composing, for the warmth of Greenslade’s charts contributes much to the
enjoyment of this collection.
There is so much music here and it has so many varied colors that it would
be pointless to detail it individually. To listen is enough. Rod McKuen’s
Something Beyond is music for now, tomorrow and... beyond.
Mike Joseph, October, 1967
I
very much doubt Stanyan House
have any copies in stock but you never know what will be unearthed in the
warehouses so keep an eye out for announcements on that site.
Got a favorite McKuen song, poem or story? Want to know something about
his work? Drop me a line at
kenb@mckuen.com and I'll do my best to oblige one Wednesday soon.
- Ken, Johannesburg,
South Africa, December 3
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