If this isn't one of the greatest pieces of recorded music ever composed, arranged and recorded, I would like to know what is. Also, the melodic line has to be one of the most convoluted and insanely difficult to sing in the world of "prog". Finally, I would like to point out that I get a Stevie Wonder vibe from the entire, "Being" album. And boy, are those chord progressions beautiful.
As you know, it's effectively the centerpiece of their conceptual masterwork, Being (1973), which in itself is arguably one of the most overall clever European "progressive" rock productions from the first half of the 70s. Both "Pedagogue" and "Prophet" make for some of the most intriguing music made for and played by a rock group at the time, meandering in just about every thinkable harmonic direction and with almost every level of composed texture seemingly defying its own sense of initial logic. I've seen the score to "Prophet" and parts of "Pedagogue" myself and can't even imagine what Pembroke must have thought when presented with it and told he was to perform those vocals; he was not an ardent reader of sheets. Interestingly, this release coincides with the debut Hatfield & the North and Henry Cow albums, to which certain aspects of it bear subtle similarities in terms of chordal structures and the orchestration of voices.
Fantastic piece of work by one of the most interesting rock bands ever from the Nordic lands.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Stevie Wonder was one of Jukka Gustavson's overt and acknowledged influences (along with Steve Winwood). "Pedagogue" is actually a complete rewrite of an earlier song that was written and released as a single back in 1970.Originally Posted by florentine pogen
This is my favorite piece of music by anyone ever period. And I sincerely can't think of many activities more fun than singing along with this and Crisader back-to-back.
Somebody, maybe on a Youtube comment, remarked that they felt like the music was being played in reverse order from how it was written. That made me chuckle, although I think it was composed with ironclad logic and compelling form, proceeding forcefully from dramatic peak to dramatic peak.
Where?!?! A few years ago, I transcribed about 1/3 of Pedagogue to the best of my ability and was never convinced I was getting it right. I eventually gave up.I've seen the score to "Prophet" and parts of "Pedagogue" myself
Also, note that if you're listening to the 2001 remixed/remastered version, Gustavson's Fender Rhodes track got dragged about 1/32 note ahead of the beat in the engineer's DAW for the whole song. So, for instance, the whole Rhodes solo in the middle of the song is out of time. To me, it's the worst casualty of the remixing craze of the last 15 years. One of the greatest musicians of the 20th century sounds like he's playing sloppy. AFAIK, it's pretty much impossible to get the original mix 1991 CD or vinyl at a reasonable price now.
The 1991 CD can be had for about $25 with some patience. Worth it, for sure.
Also there is a 2LP vinyl reissue and I believe one album features the original mix, with the second the remix. Why that awful remix wasn't put out of print forever, I haven't a clue ...
My favorite non-British prog album! An absolute treat! I love my original 1990 Love cd, as well as the Svart LP which included the original mix.
"Prophet/Marvelry Skimmer" is my favorite part of the album. Scrotum Scissor, is Pembroke singing on the two tracks you mentioned? Background vocals?
I get the idea Pembroke steered well clear of the studio when Gustavson was up to his Fairyport/Being shenanigans. Although there is a nice live version of the "Fairyport" title track with Pembroke singing credible backup vox.
Yes, Gustavson would apparently often write passages with Pembroke's voice in mind, yet end up handling the difficult parts himself. It's actually quite noticeable already from their second album how this near-antagonism of styles drove a spike in between their disparate modes of songwriting, and I believe Gustavson originally sought to have Pembroke contribute more to the challenge. Ironically, I think this exact "split" is one of the most interesting faccets about the Being album (which came out in '74, not in '73 as I wrote earlier); although presenting no less than three wildly divergent and dinstinguishable approaches, the "Pedagogue/Crisader/Planetist" run smoothly as one - and THAT takes mastering.
And Kurt; I saw the score as a written-off sketch by an acquaintance of mine who was studying music during the early 90s and made it a point of pride to himself to get it right - I also believe it was part of an official task he had bestowed himself in class at the academy. It was he who introduced me to Wigwam in the first place, btw. Good going for him; the other artist he tried to stuff on me was Gayle Moran!
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I think Gustavson does all the vocals on his compositions on Being. The vocalists would sing harmonies on some of each others' songs on earlier albums.Generally, the writer sang the lead vocal. There were only a few actual collaborations, and those were usually Pohjola's compositions that either Pembroke or Gustavson would turn into a song – or, in the case of ”Pride of the Biosphere”, at least a vocal piece. ”Losing Hold” is the only real collaboration with all three writers. It was like that from the start. You can hear it most absurdly on ”Pedagogi”'s B-side ”Häätö”, which is actually three different pieces written and sung by three different writers stitched together. Now that's prog, man!
Being was Gustavson's attempt to make the band work together to a singular end that would reflect their idealised democratic and harmonious spirit, just four high-minded and idealistic musicians working to realise a shared vision. Of course, he found out that the others did not share his pessimistic vision of the world rapidly going to hell in a nice little picnic hamper or his increasingly religious sense of morality. Wigwam was a band of individualists, with different ideas about how things should be done and what intoxicants were acceptable. Pembroke has stated that as Gustavson wrote his texts mostly in Finnish, he had trouble even understanding what ideologies his comrade on organ was trying to promote.
However, Gustavson never planned for Pembroke to sing his material or vice versa. He just created the concept and organised it by themes (communism, capitalism, planterism, religion etc.). Some of these themes he handed out to Pembroke and Pohjola to interpret as they saw fit. Hence, Pembroke's three songs largely pre-date the work on the actual album and were simply given new titles according to their themes. Unity was also attempted by segueing tracks by different writers together. On Fairyport, they had just agreed that each writer should have four compositions on the album. I supposed that way the group could work together yet individually on a common concept.
Yes, the album was written and recorded between late 1972 and November 1973, but it only came out in 1974, partially due to a faulty mix that was only discovered during mastering which precipitated a remix in January 1974.
This is what I've come to learn about the case, yes. I believe in an earlier thread there was also referenced an interview of some sort with either Pembroke, Gustavson or Pohjola elaborating on this exact issue.
Do you know who recites the ridiculous words in "Pride of the Biosphere", Kai? Obviously Pembroke would at times do this kind of silliness on his own turf, but I seem to remember reading that it's someone else's voice in that song.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I wonder if the "faulty mix" is still around. I would be very interested to hear that.
Thanks for this really interesting post.
No, it's Pembroke doing the sermon as a panto chaplain. The words were by Gustavson (translated by Mats Huldén), so this is one of those rare occasions when someone other than the lyricist performs the "vocals" on the track (the other being "Losing Hold", with lyrics by Pembroke but vocals and vocal melodies by Gustavson).
I have no idea. At least all the submixes were availabe for the 2001 CD remix, so it might exist, too. Being was recorded on an 8-track recorder, but they used between 12 and 16 tracks for individual songs. It's reported that the fault was due to mixing engineers being inexperienced and the Finnlevy studio not being quite up to all the tasks. It was actually the first Finnish studio with an eight-track. Fairyport was still recorded on a four-track.
Thanks for all the great info in here. I don't have anything to contribute ("like usual," they said!) but this is one of my all-time favorite albums so I'm enjoying the discussion.
Anyone who enjoys Pembroke's songs on "Being" definitely needs to check out his solo album "Pigworm" which was released the same year as "Being." It's cut from the same cloth and Gustavson & Pohjola play on it as well.
Definitely sounds like Pembroke to me.
^Yes, it's very obviously him. The organ melody in the background is actually very beautiful.
Being is one of those albums that really shines when listened to in a single sitting. There's a certain sense to its overt diversity when taken in as a whole, a sense which otherwise might be lost on, er, "casual" listeners.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Outside of always having assumed that the respective writers sang their own compositions, I've not much to add, but thanks to all for the discussion and info on this most necessary work of musical art.
Hired on to work for Mr. Bill Cox, a-fixin' lawn mowers and what-not, since 1964.
"Arguing with an idiot is like playing chess with a pigeon. It'll just knock over all the pieces, shit on the board, and strut about like it's won anyway." Anonymous
“Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” George Carlin
IIRC, Pohjola composed that after Gustavson asked him to write something that sounds like an old hymn. Pohjola eventually rerecorded it as an instrumental on Keesojen lehto LP with the title Kädet suoristavat veden.
Forgive the self-indulgence, but there's only one place on the entire internet where this achievement would be remotely appreciated.
I've spent six months (on and off) transcribing Pedagogue, and it's finally done. Now I don't know what to do with it. Whether to re-record it from scratch with a bunch of musicians, or bung it online as a MIDI file / score for approximately two people to be impressed by. Anyway, there you go. I have Pedagogue coursing through my veins. Well done me.
If I'd known that this VIRUS was going to happen, I'd have spent the summer indoors doing it instead. Hey ho. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Dedication, passion, fanaticism... :-D. I hope you end up doing something with it...
I've made an attempt before up to about half way through the first verse. I was never satisfied I was getting it right with the chord voicings and what I was coming up with was really awkward to play in places. Great job regardless. It's my favorite song of all time.
I just have to put my hand up as someone who would like to see that score or MIDI data. In any case, well done you, indeed.
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