Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I Hear A New World

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Here's Joe Meek's pet-side-project thing from 1959, an outer space adventure made in his home studio using all sorts of unconventional and home made goodies and effects. Fascinated by the space program, he explained this project as an attempt "to create a picture in music of what could be up there in outer space." From the wikipedia entry:

This he (as producer) achieved by blending The Blue Men's skiffle/rock and roll style with a range of sound and effects, created by such kitchen-sink methods as blowing bubbles in water with a straw, draining water out of the sink, shorting an electrical circuit, and even banging partly-filled milk bottles with spoons; yet one must listen carefully to detect these prosaic origins in the finished product. Another important feature of the recordings is the very early use of stereophony.

This is 50's futurism at it's most creative and bestest. It was never fully released at the time it was made in '59/60, but two versions were released more recently. The version posted here is the warts-and-all (more authentic) version included in Barry Cleveland's book "Creative Music Production: Joe Meek's Bold Techniques."

The Blue Men with Rod Freeman - I Hear A New World (Alternate Mix)
The Blue Men with Rod Freeman - Love Dance of the Saroos


Full Album:

Joe Meek / Rod Freeman and the Blue Men - I Hear A New World

+ Buy Creative Music Production: Joe Meek's Bold Techniques
+ Buy Let's Go: Joe Meek's Girls