Joseph Hunter Byrd (born Dec 19, 1937) is an American composer, participant together with academic. After showtime becoming known every bit an experimental composer inwards New York together with Los Angeles inwards the early on together with mid-1960s, he became the leader of The US of America of America, an innovative precisely short-lived band that integrated electronic sound together with radical political ideas into rock music. In 1968 he recorded the album The American Metaphysical Circus, credited to Joe Byrd together with the Field Hippies. After working every bit a record producer, arranger, together with soundtrack composer, he became a academy instructor inwards music history together with theory.
Originally released on Columbia inwards 1968, The US of America of America is 1 of the legendary pure psychedelic infinite records. Some of the harder-rocking tunes pick out a fun identify recklessness that recalls aspects of early on Pink Floyd together with the Velvet Underground at their freakiest; the sedate, exquisitely orchestrated ballads, peculiarly "Cloud Song" together with the wonderfully titled "Love Song for the Dead Che," are with the best relics of dreamy psychedelia. Occasionally things acquire every bit good excessive together with self-conscious, together with the attempts at comedy are a chip flat, precisely otherwise this is a nigh classic.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Rock groups are supposed to live hatched inwards garages together with inner-city lofts, non the upper reaches of academia. That wasn't going to halt Joseph Byrd, experimental composer together with ethnomusicologist from the UCLA New Music Workshop, from devising a programme inwards 1967 to approach rock'n'roll from the contrary direction.
Byrd, who had frequented avant-garde circles since hanging roughly with Terry Riley, LaMonte Young, together with Virgil Thomson inwards the early on '60s, used the US of America of America to convey cutting-edge electronics, Indian music, together with "serious" composition into psychedelic stone together with roll. The group's sole, self-titled album inwards 1968 was a tour de strength (though non without its flaws) of experimental stone that blended surprisingly melodic sensibilities with unnerving blasts of primitive synthesizers together with lyrics that could gain from misty romanticism to hard-edged irony. For the relatively few who heard it, the tape was a signpost to the time to come with its collision of stone together with classical elements, although the textile crackled with a tension that reflected the US of America of America itself inwards the slow '60s.
By mid-1968, the grand experiment was over. Conflicting egos, a drug bust, together with commercial pressures all contributed to a rapid split. The US of America of America may pick out had their roots inwards the halls of higher learning, precisely ultimately they were prey to the same variety of mundane tensions that broke the spirit of many a band that lived together with died on the streets.
From the fourth dimension Byrd founded the band inwards Los Angeles with colleague Michael Agnello, says vocalist Dorothy Moskowitz, "group dynamics were never a rigid indicate inwards the USA." Moskowitz, Byrd's ex-girlfriend, had a background inwards writing together with performing for musical theater. She moved from New York to California to bring together the grouping and, every bit she puts it, supply "the requisite schmaltz." Bassist Stu Brotman, 1 time of the stunningly eclectic L.A. psychedelic grouping Kaleidoscope, was also an early on member.
But he together with Agnello were gone yesteryear the fourth dimension the grouping began recording for Columbia. Agnello, a radical sort, was contestation with Byrd over leadership of the band, together with non certain the deed should fifty-fifty live signing to a tape label inwards the showtime place. "When you lot enquire why the grouping broke up, well, why did the grouping fifty-fifty tape afterward it broke it up?" points out Moskowitz.
Yet the lineup that cohered for the album brought impressive credentials to the table. Electric violinist Gordon Marron expanded the instrument's parameters with a divider that could raiser or lower it an octave, every bit good every bit tape echo units together with band modulators. Rand Forbes played an unfretted electrical bass, together with drummer Craig Woodson would tinker with his good inwards odd ways, attaching contact microphones to his laid together with suspending slinkies from cymbals to acquire a musique-concrete effect. Ed Bogas added organ, piano, together with calliope.
Most of the textile was penned yesteryear Byrd together with Moskowitz, the latter of whose alto delivered the lyrics -- which are alternately evocative together with foreboding -- with a cool precision reminiscent of an icier Grace Slick. Byrd was chiefly responsible for the electronic textures that would supply the album with its nigh distinguishing characteristics. This was 1968, remember, when synthesizers had rarely been employed on stone records. What Byrd crafted were non simulations of strings together with horns, precisely exhilarating, frightening swoops together with bleeps that lent a vehement compaction to the faster numbers, together with a beguiling repose to the ballads. Byrd had crucial assist inwards his endeavors from Richard Durrett, who designed the Durrett electronic music synthesizer used yesteryear the band, together with from Tom Oberheim, who pioneered the purpose of the band modulator employed yesteryear the USA. Nico, Moskowitz has recalled, tried unsuccessfully to bring together the band, afterward leaving the Velvet Underground.
Add to this mix a fascination with modal playing together with Indian music. Byrd together with Moskowitz were serious students of North together with South Indian music, together with had already made little-known contributions to a Folkways LP of Indian music yesteryear Gayathri Rajapur together with Harihar Rao, recorded inwards 1965. Country Joe & the Fish, the Doors, together with others were opening the gates for modal playing inwards stone together with roll, together with the USA were 1 of the showtime ones through; Frank Zappa had also opened the possibilities for incorporating ideas from contemporary composition into a stone format. And therefore at that topographic point was Byrd's application of concepts from Charles Ives, which mistaken marching bands moving from contrary sides of the stereo spectrum...
While nigh plainly an antecedent of Broadcast's icy, out-rocked torch songs (indeed, "The American Metaphysical Circus" out-Broadcasts Broadcast), you lot tin require heed the US of America of America's nervous, modulated psychedelia inwards acts every bit various every bit Current 93 together with Pram. This was daring stuff, fifty-fifty inwards 1968, when seemingly every band was splicing tape, echoplexing the hell out of everything together with by together with large existence far-out. USA pick out long been relegated to the specialist together with trainspotter bins, precisely their debut is every bit worthy of uncovering together with critical re-evaluation every bit Can together with Neu! were a few years ago. Necessary history lessons, here.
Track listing
01. "The American Metaphysical Circus" (Joseph Byrd) 4:56
02. "Hard Coming Love" (Byrd, Dorothy Moskowitz) 4:41
03. "Cloud Song" (Byrd, Moskowitz) 3:18
04. "The Garden of Earthly Delights" (Byrd, Moskowitz) 2:39
05. "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar" (Byrd, Moskowitz) 3:51
06. "Where Is Yesterday" (Gordon Marron, Ed Bogas, Moskowitz) 3:08
07. "Coming Down" (Byrd, Moskowitz) 2:37
08. "Love Song for the Dead Ché" (Byrd) 3:25
09. "Stranded inwards Time" (Marron, Bogas) 1:49
10. "The American Way of Love"
"Metaphor for an Older Man" (Byrd)
"California Good fourth dimension Music" (Byrd)
"Love Is All" (Byrd, Moskowitz, Rand Forbes, Craig Woodson, Marron)" 6:38
Bonus tracks:
11. "Osamu's Birthday" (Byrd) 2:59
12. "No Love to Give" (Moskowitz) 2:36
13. "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar" (Byrd, Moskowitz) 3:45
14. "You Can Never Come Down" (Byrd) 2:32
15. "Perry Pier" (Moskowitz) 2:37
16. "Tailor Man" (Moskowitz) 3:06
17. "Do You Follow Me" (Kenneth Edwards) 2:34
18. "The American Metaphysical Circus" (Byrd) 4:01
19. "Mouse (The Garden of Earthly Delights)" (Byrd, Moskowitz) 2:39
20. "Heresy (Coming Down)" (Byrd, Moskowitz) 2:32
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