horsemouth, as you know, is a big fan of the blue oyster cult (largely on the basis of hearing don't fear the reaper as a kid). it is probably their best song he has to admit. it is 'creepy but in a good way' as two teenage reviewers recently described it. the album it's from agents of fortune is probably their best too and definitely worth a listen.
in the states they are not just a one-hit wonder band. the later burnin' for you was a hit too. astronomy from the previous album secret treaties is well known enough to be covered by metallica. they tended to let other people write their lyrics so you get the rock critic richard meltzer, patti smith , the manager sandy perlman, the science fiction writer michael moorcock, cult actress helen trees etc.
horsemouth always thought you could do a great cuban version of this song.
but question - what do you think is going on in the song? vampires or suicide?
horsemouth was having a listen to a monastic trio by alice coltrane for the first time in ages. in its modern incarnation on CD it's assembled from songs from three sessions (mostly from two sessions at the coltrane family home and then one track from a session with john coltrane at the van gelder studio).
the original vinyl album begins with ohnedaruth (john coltrane's spirit name, allegedly with pharoah sanders on bass clarinet and ben riley on drums) but features otherwise the trio selections with alice alternating between harp and piano recorded later at the coltrane home with the great rashied ali on drums and jimmy garrison on bass. the voice of john coltrane appears on oceanic beloved (at least according to discogs) and on the sun on the CD reissue. pharoah sanders also appears on lord, help me to be (which seems to be the track that opens the CD.
it is a little confusing (but the music is great). horsemouth can't fault the selections in any form. it's deep and heavy.
later today horsemouth will try ptah el daoud with joe henderson and pharoah sanders.
it was suggested to horsemouth that he should 'put out the live recording warts and all as a bootleg... B/W cover, letraset and typewriter vibe. after a while any bum notes or fluffs or forgotten lines will be part of it´s charm.' as horsemouth said his plan had been to heavily fake it (in the style of thin lizzy's live and dangerous).
it was also suggested that 'it could be your Live in Tazmania... re-record the songs at home and keep the audience sounds...' in reference to fahey's notorious addition of a pre-recorded song to a notionally 'live' album (and under a different title too). fahey was a trickster. he couldn't resist the opportunity to play with expectations and subvert conventions (like carlos castaneda).
last night horsemouth watched jacques tourneur's 1948 berlin express (which is similar to, but not as good as the third man). it has its moments.
today a grey-ish morning. horsemouth kills time (or does it kill him).
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