Rundgren recorded this live at a free concert he set up at Wollman Rink in Central Park on August 25, 1973, and used the audience to create the choir. The concertgoers were given lyric sheets with the chorus and asked to sing along - Rundgren rehearsed them a few times and then did a few recordings. After getting what he needed for the song, he proceeded with the show. A photo from the event appears on the back cover of the album.
The Central Park audience was used on the right channel in the mix during the chorus; the left channel is another audience from a similar concert Rundgren put on in San Francisco's Golden Gate park on September 9, 1973. This means when you listen to the song on headphones, you're hearing the West Coast crowd in your left ear and the East Coast in your right, a geographically accurate representation symbolic of the nation. The collective choir is credited as "The First United Church Of The Cosmic Smorgasbord."
Choose Todd!
There is nobody left to chooseâ¦
Pretty cool factoid, thanks Steely! Its always a good day when Todd knowledge increases.
Rundgren recorded this live at a free concert he set up at Wollman Rink in Central Park on August 25, 1973, and used the audience to create the choir. The concertgoers were given lyric sheets with the chorus and asked to sing along - Rundgren rehearsed them a few times and then did a few recordings. After getting what he needed for the song, he proceeded with the show. A photo from the event appears on the back cover of the album.
The Central Park audience was used on the right channel in the mix during the chorus; the left channel is another audience from a similar concert Rundgren put on in San Francisco's Golden Gate park on September 9, 1973. This means when you listen to the song on headphones, you're hearing the West Coast crowd in your left ear and the East Coast in your right, a geographically accurate representation symbolic of the nation. The collective choir is credited as "The First United Church Of The Cosmic Smorgasbord."
Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Jan 21, 2024 - 3:44pm
Untitled- Pearl Jam. An interesting suite of a song that brakes into a heavy metal attack upon the ears! Then the sped up tribute to the ballet Gayane. I never heard this before. And I own the CD. Lack of sensory perception, I guess. When one uses a song this long on your mix... it really cuts into the volume of songs. Lol!
Dogs of War- Pink Floyd. A Momentary Lapse of Reason deeper cut! Not my favorite song from that album. A Waters sounding song without the Roger.
Pride of Man- Quicksilver. A âhitâ from these guys. They always bring back memories to me of discovering FM radio back in the day. I still have a few 45âs of them from that time. The end of an era for me when I quit buying singles.
Road to Moscow- Al Stewart. I love his story telling songs. Interestingly, I thought this was a R. Paradise standard... it is not.
Darkness- The Police. A deeper cut. Which is a good thing. Not Driven To Tears a least.
Woke Up This Morning- Nazareth. A sad, sad true tale. Never heard this one before.
Todd- Heavy Metal Kids. A Todd Rundgren song Iâm not familiar with.
Sky Pilot- The Animals. A psychedelic classic! And you used the long version with the glorious bag pipes! I still have the 45 of this from when it came out. I realized back then, when you had to flip the single over to get the whole long version played... 45âs were on my list to replace with proper LPâs. Thank you for this one.
Some Motherâs Son- The Kinks. Another true sad tale. One can never go wrong with The Kinks.
Rich Man- Climax Blues Band. Never heard this one before. I didnât know these guys could rock like this.
The Unknown Solder- The Doors. An anti- war classic that depresses me. Well, anti- war classics are supposed to do that...
Baba OâRiley- The Who. One of my favorite Who songs. I just love it when Pete chimes in on the song. Always loved Peteâs vocals. Now if youâll excuse me... I need to pee.
Song of 1984- Todd. Sing along with Mr. Rundgren. The audience was really into this one. We survived 1984. Well, the year anyways. The end is always near.
âWar!... what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!â
This is one of a few mixes I knew each artist.
Kurt. Thanks for your popping in once a year. I'd be happy if you were back on the regular rotation list. I always enjoy what you contribute here to the Mix.
And as always... thanks for the fine work you did on the interesting theme here.
Contrary to the timeliness of the theme this was started back in August by Coldmiser's request for something by Love Sculpture. I now see the typo, oops. The Mars part of the piece is from Holst's The Planets. There are also a couple from my very first mix, Sky Pilot and Rich Man. The Unknown Soldier was in another. The Black Jack thing is just another way to say "21"
Anyway, I hope that it worked at some level and if The Sabre Dance was too long, it is the first track and easily skipped. I tried to end it on a happier note.
Not a good mix for rush hour, hence the warning ...
As always thank you for your yearly December contribution to the club! I feel like all year your Vinyl Only Spin posts are a preview to what you will put out on your mix. I'm sure you love putting it together while enjoying your collection. 21 mixes, that's impressive! My review of the 21st....
- Mars - This was wild on headphones! I didn't realize it was from the Holst classic.
- Waters Less Floyd - This is classic PF without the drama of Roger. I always like how they use Sax in progressive rock music.
- Pride of Man - If your vinyl is the original from 1968 then it is amazing how good it still sounds.
- Al Stewart - This guy usually doesn't come up in the conversation of great guitarists, but base on the picking in this song alone I'd say he is under-rated in that regard.
- The Police - Hits aside (and they had many!) it gets lost a bit how good musicians this trio was.
- Woke up this Morning - Talk about having a bad day! Dogs and Cats dying, House burns down...should have stayed in bed.
- Heavy Metal Kids - "Somethings gonna give pretty soon" - I would like to hear someone do a good cover of this song
- The Animals - These guys were good weren't they!
- Some Mother's Son - I'm a casual Kinks fan, but I really wish I had a vinyl copy of Arthur.
- Climax Blues Band - "Rich Man Wins, Poor Man Pays" - the timeless tale
- Unknown Soldier - The Doors had the best Anti-War songs
- The Who - They were at the top of their game on this track and album.
- Sons of 1984 - In my top 5 Todd songs! When I saw him tour this album back in 2010 he closed with this tune and the audience was still singing the refrain for a couple minutes after the curtain closed. The memory still brings warm feelings to me today.
I sensed a bit of a War theme throughout, not sure if that was on purpose or subconsciously. With all the war in the world today it felt current despite the age of the music. I really dug the blend of familiar and unfamiliar selections from well known artists. All of these tracks would be right at home on the RP Rock Mix (hint hint Bill & Alanna). Thanks for the grooves Kurt!
Contrary to the timeliness of the theme this was started back in August by Coldmiser's request for something by Love Sculpture. I now see the typo, oops. The Mars part of the piece is from Holst's The Planets. There are also a couple from my very first mix, Sky Pilot and Rich Man. The Unknown Soldier was in another. The Black Jack thing is just another way to say "21"
Anyway, I hope that it worked at some level and if The Sabre Dance was too long, it is the first track and easily skipped. I tried to end it on a happier note.
Not a good mix for rush hour, hence the warning ...
Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Jan 6, 2024 - 7:00am
Lazy8 wrote:
Most travelling tunes are about how hard it is; I wanted a few that point out the positive side. And I do love the color of it all.
This band of sisters has been on a bunch of my mixes. Became a fan when they visited to pick up a mandolin that my youngest built for them. You can see it in action here:
17. âThe Great Defectorâ Bell X1. I like this one too! Three in a row! I have a few X1 songs on my playlist. I will add this one. Thanks for that.
Most travelling tunes are about how hard it is; I wanted a few that point out the positive side. And I do love the color of it all.
18. âOn My Wayâ SHEL. Iâve never heard of this artist before. Nice upbeat tune here. And you can dance to it.
This band of sisters has been on a bunch of my mixes. Became a fan when they visited to pick up a mandolin that my youngest built for them. You can see it in action here:
This got put together (in the sense of adding artwork and cutting down to CD length) in a hurry but it's been kicking around in a folder on my server for years. Which you might be obvious by the age of these selections; I don't think there's anything here from after 2017.
Which is nobody's fault but mine. I veged my deadline. Trying to bring fresher stuff in a more-timely manner next time.
It leans heavily toward folky stuff, and I made a half-hearted effort to make it rock harder but in the end I just went with what I liked. I embrace my granola-and-flannel roots. And yeah, Darrel Scott and Tim O'Brien figure prominently this time. Not sure why that came about other than that I really like them and they visit this theme often.
ColdMiser wrote:
- Time to talk to Joseph - Quintessential Lazy 8 tune to open. Dig the banjo work!
From a brilliant collaboration, Memories and Moments. Not a bad song on it. These guys work together so naturally that it's hard to tell who is playing what.
- John Stewart - One for the Gipper? Was he from Tennessee?
California, but back before it became all....y'know, California.
- A Crooked Road - Is this a cover? Has a John Denver sound to it.
Very original. He has done two cover albums, one of Ben Bullington and one of Hank Williams, but he's far more likely to be covered.
This one is pretty personal; he nearly wrecked himself with substance abuse and seems to have pulled himself out of it.
- Tony Furtado - I'm hearing a Mark Knopfler influence here.
It's possible; Knopfler is a god among guitarists, but Furtado is pretty folky. His early work was all on Rounder Records and this song is so old no one knows who wrote it.
- Yuka Honda - Japanese Accordion music? Who knew!
This is pretty tame for her, she made a name for herself in the avant-garde band Cibo Matto. Always interesting tho.
- Highway One - Hearing this I decided I need more Waifs in my life. Time to rectify that.
Man, start anywhere with this band! They are always intersting.
Your mix is just chock full of great songwriting. I foresee many future listens in the Airstream in my own road journeys.
Glad it hit the right nerve, and I hope it sparked some curiosity about some under-appreciated artists.
...and I just caught the typo in the Yuka Honda track title. Should be "River", not "Rover".
Also can't figure out how to size the image above. If it's unreadable you can see it here.
First off, thanks for cranking this out so quickly. I was remiss in reminding you earlier. As always you put out a quality product, visually and sonically. My notes along the listening journey:
- Time to talk to Joseph - Quintessential Lazy 8 tune to open. Dig the banjo work!
- John Stewart - One for the Gipper? Was he from Tennessee?
- RHCP - I don't know these guys much other than their hits, this was a good deep track.
- A Crooked Road - Is this a cover? Has a John Denver sound to it.
- Tony Furtado - I'm hearing a Mark Knopfler influence here.
- Yuka Honda - Japanese Accordion music? Who knew!
- Warren Zevon - This tune gets lost on this album as there are so many Zevon classics on it. Nice to be reminded that it's worthy.
- Lyle Lovett - Joshua Judges Ruth is probably my favorite album of his. "I make my bed, where I lay my head" words to live by.
- Emmylou Harris - An American Treasure if there ever was one.
- Carla Sciaky - Great use of percussion instruments on this, Shakers, Triangle, Bongos. All just sort of blending into the background.
- Traveling Alone - One of Isbell's best! Very evocative.
- Highway One - Hearing this I decided I need more Waifs in my life. Time to rectify that.
- Tom Waits - This guy is as original as they come. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I'll listen to his gravely voice any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Your mix is just chock full of great songwriting. I foresee many future listens in the Airstream in my own road journeys.
Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Jan 2, 2024 - 7:19pm
Lazy8 wrote:
Great theme!
1. âTime To Talk To Josephâ Tim OâBrian and Darrell Scott Mostly Modern Banjo?
2. âBellyful of Tennesseeâ Jon Stewart. How can you go wrong with Jon Stewart?
3. âRoad Trippinâ â Red Hot Chili Peppers. I like this one.
4. âA Crooked Roadâ Darrell Scott. A twofer from Darrell. Nice folksy vibe here. Well, kinda the whole theme of your mix... of course.
5. âMiles Awayâ Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I have always like the Yeahs. A noisy departure from the rest of this disc.
6. âRove Riley Roveâ Tony Firtato. Another nice mellow folksy tune with some nice lyrics.
7. âDriving Down by the Hudson Riverâ Yuka Honda. A Japanese American with a very short,
French sounding song about an American river. Seems to cover it all. Interesting.
8. âBacks Turned...â Warren Zevon. Not familiar with this one. It is very good. Thanks for including
this one.
9. âWalk Beside Meâ Tim OâBrian. Another twofer! Lots of folk going on here.
10. âIâve Been to Memphisâ Lyle Lovett. I know this one. I always liked Lyle.
11. âA Ways to Goâ Emmylou Harris. I know this one too. I always liked Emmylou.
12. âSmall Dark Movieâ Greg Brown. Recognize his voice. I've never heard this one before. Bluesy folk.
13. âFocus on the Roadâ Carla Sciaky. Love the lyrics on this.
14. âWalk on Boyâ Scruggs, Watson, Skaggs. Not the usual bluegrass from at least two of these
guys. Nice good advice song.
15. âTraveling Aloneâ Jason Isbell. Here you go. Seems Mr. Isbell makes a lot of our personal
picks for MCC. And I know why. I love this one. Itâs in my personal playlist.
16. âHighway Oneâ Waifs. Another nice one. Comes in second place for me. Right after the
previous song.
17. âThe Great Defectorâ Bell X1. I like this one too! Three in a row! I have a few X1 songs on my playlist. I will
add this one. Thanks for that.
18. âOn My Wayâ SHEL. Iâve never heard of this artist before. Nice upbeat tune here. And you
can dance to it.
19. âThe Long Way Homeâ Tom Waits. A classic! Nice anchor song for your theme. Itâs good you
put it here.
Thanks for your work. And I really enjoyed your artwork! Nice job all the way around.
Location: Really deep in the heart of South California Gender:
Posted:
Dec 29, 2023 - 8:28pm
ColdMiser wrote:
2024 First Half Lineup
January - Cold Miser
February - Kurt from LaQuinta
March - Steely D
April - Lazy 8
May - Miamizun
June - Open. Maybe someone might step up and do a guest appearance mix. No full time commitment required.
January - Cold Miser
February - Kurt from LaQuinta
March - Steely D
April - Lazy 8
May - Miamizun
June - Open. Maybe someone might step up and do a guest appearance mix. No full time commitment required.
January - Cold Miser
February - Kurt from LaQuinta
March - Steely D
April - Lazy 8
May - Miamizun
June - Open. Maybe someone might step up and do a guest appearance mix. No full time commitment required.
January - Cold Miser
February - Kurt from LaQuinta
March - Steely D
April - Lazy 8
May - Miamizun
June - Open. Maybe someone might step up and do a guest appearance mix. No full time commitment required.
