Fascinating album! I only played it twice so far and there is still much to digest but I feel eager to play it many times more. That is usually a very good sign.
Fascinating album! I only played it twice so far and there is still much to digest but I feel eager to play it many times more. That is usually a very good sign.
Keep going, it only gets better. My album of the year (as if you didn't know that).Originally Posted by thedunno
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
I need to confirm this. On my first casual listen I understood nothing and put it away for 10 days. But now, after 4 spins, I am already loving it.
I think there are like sections of songs, at least that's how I approach the record at the moment, like the 5 first tracks are a quiet section, then 3 or 4 tracks until On Chemistry constitute a wilder and weirder section, and then the remaining tracks till the end. I don't have the lyrics yet, so I don't know if there is any correlation there too. But yes, there is definitely a strategic flow of music in the album which is essential to connect with, in order to appreciate.
I am not all too familiar with Bob's earlier solo output but to my ears his approach to songwriting seems absolutely unique and fresh. These are adventurous, daring, unpredictable songs, but mainly they are songs, all the elaborate and precarious little details serve the song and nothing more. Lots of straight-forward rock'n'roll too. And lots of humor, humor in the musical aspect of things, I am not referring to lyrics. I do crack lots of smiles when listening to this.
On the Chemistries and Greyfoot Badger are my two favourite songs. That last one has a huge riff right at the end which redeems the whole tension of the album in the most brillant of ways.
A truly excellent album on all counts.
I knew it was going to be possibly questionable FOR A WHILE to some of the people who loved Arx Pilosa and Lawn Ornaments, and who might have been expecting another big exciting start, and knew others would love the atmosphere and songwriting straight off. I also trust my listeners enough to know they will see what going on, if they are at all interested in the first place that is!
That's absolutely right. I still think of albums in "sides", and put all of my albums together with that in mind, but this one has three!
Email me and I'll send them, along with the artwork. bd (at) bdrak.com
The artwork is really a part of it too, once I knew Joe was going to do a map, I began to specifically refer to it in some of the songs.
That's the idea.
VERY NICE of you to say these nice things about it, very happy you are enjoying it.
BD
I don't know if I'd say this is inaccessible to those who liked Arx Pilosa, I hopped on to your stuff with that album and see this as a progression from that. Quick, twisty songs with some funky harmonies goin on, just a lot less of the happy 60's influence that the last album had and more of an ominous, pseudo-backwoods sound. I was hooked immediately, this is some beautiful stuff Mr. Drake!
A vie, a mort, et apres...
Phewww... this one is finally starting to land with me. Its really an album you have to get into the mood of. While it took me so long is probably because i lack some truly dedicated listening time lately and i think thats what this album needs.
Beautifull stuff. Different from the last couple but still very much a Bob Drake album.
My current favorite tune is Sleepy critter. Dare I say; very Sea Nimphy?
That's what I meant when I said I felt it probably wasn't a sort of "instant wow" album, like perhaps Arx Pilosa and Lawn Ornaments were. But it's definitely part of the set of albums that began with Lawn Ornaments, on to Arx Pilosa, and finally L'Isola dei Lupi. The next one, who can say yet.
Feel free to dare, it's a nice thing to say! Though I didn't have anything in mind when I did it except to make a song. I wrote it the classical guitar with a funny tuning, then learned parts of it on the organ, and somewhere along the way had the idea that the guitar bits would be very soft and the organ bits very loud.
BD
www.bdrak.com
this has been getting A LOT of play from me lately - still waiting on my CD from RER so I can dig into artwork and lyrics but really really getting into the flow of the album lately. have to admit the moments with drums are my favourites because i love the drum tone in BD recordings and the beats are super interesting. Also, the keys on Skunks are such a great vibe, really love hearing more play with rhodesy-keyboardy groove heavy stuff of that nature, its a really cool interesting take and mix balance. fantastic engineering as always. i have so much respect for the hustle as an engineer while staying so true to your experimental nature musically and not compromising at all. and the singing, what a brilliant vocalist in my opinion
as an aside, as a musician i am wondering what your approach is in terms of collaboration? is it something you would consider doing online and do you have rates etc? can't help but ask!
Thank you, always glad when someone notices! My drumming is not at all flashy, mostly concentrating on the feel, so I wonder if it's often overlooked! I've spent a lot of time in my life working on groove and getting a drumkit to sound good in a room, and playing with no wasted energy.
That's played on an upright piano and Farfisa organ with Cry Baby. The melody in the horns section is also played on the Farfisa, with the "Attack" slider out, and doubled on banjo. The organ in the choruses ("three of them are thiols..." etc) is our 1940's Hammond. I like having those two organs, each very distinct.
I am not keen on "online" collaborations unless we can be in the same room together at least some of the time, but there is no rule. If I love the music, or you are my pal, I'll do it however it needs to be done.
BD
Got my CD copy yesterday along with the book of fountains!
Presentation is great, the map folding up with the lyrics on the back is great, I found myself reading some lyrics and then flipping it over to search for the spots being spoken about in the songs. Certainly provides a nice layer of extra depth to the album. It's hit me how descriptive the lyrics on this album are, mostly discussing specific elements of the island architecture or landscape or some extrapolation thereof. That's some good lyric writing skills right there.
Thanks. Once the idea for the map came along, which was fairly early in the album's process, and I'd written the title song, it really stimulated the writing of the rest of the songs and lyrics because there was something to hang the whole thing on, so to speak. Note that I also really love writing lyrics too, unlike some of my composer pals who find it a struggle. I get real excited about it! That said, I'm starting to consider doing an instrumental album next but let's see what happens.
BD
www.bdrak.com
Photo book is outstanding.....I really enjoyed that. Very interesting subject matter and composition.
That makes a lot of sense, about having something to hang the lyrics on - I may take a leaf out of your book and get descriptive for my next project! There's some songs I like where the lyrics describe paintings or movies, and I see this in that same kinda style. Ekphrasis!? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekphrasis I envy your enjoyment of lyric writing. I certainly enjoy the pay off of working on it.
Would love to see an instrumental album to see where you'd go with it!
Gotta say your voice is one of my favourite things about your music too tho
So who else has been saying “L’isola dei lupi” to themselves—but probably loud enough that others can hear—sporadically throughout the day? Just me?
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
No but my daughter was humming the melody to "Dont ask as Cat" the other day.....and it took me a few minutes for my meatball to find it in the database.
Y’all should probably spin this album if it’s been a minute. It’s darn fine tuneage will make you feel good about yourself. It’ll make you thinner and your hair will grow back and your boss will finally respect you. Dang. Don’t doubt its power.
Oh.
Also this:
https://bdstudio.bandcamp.com/
New album of instrumentals. I can already feel my scalp tingling. (Because my hair is regrowing. Like, not some douchey comb over thing. Just awesomeness.)
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
Cant wait for my cuddly little piece of art from Bob on this new release - it sounds amazing - and a little different than Bob's previous albums.
HAPPY DAY!
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
It was such fun making those, it reminded me how much I enjoy making visual art, in my sloppy, spontaneous way. I hadn't done it for a long time. One thing I love about it is that it's something I can do while listening to and enjoying music, I can enjoy both activities equally at the same time. Singing along, air-bass/drums, dancing, etc. I spent probably 10 or 12 days working on them, up in my attic art room, a real lovely big mess up there. When I was finished it looked like a box of colored paper and art supplies had exploded! Well it always does though..However, this is Progressive Ears. Do we want to know what music did I dance along and fling glue/paper to whilst cobbling together the funny animals? I'll do my best to remember. It's quite properly PROGGY so have no fear: all the Yes bootlegs I could find, from Tales tour to Relayer tour, Sea Nymphs, Sing to God, all the Uriah Heep albums from the first through Demons and Wizards, Deep Purple's Machine Head, Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies, William D Drake's Yew's Paw, Ives string quartets 1 and 2, all the Focus albums from Moving Waves though Live at the Rainbow (I love that Jan), an album I copied to cassette in the 80's called "Cajun Bands of the 1930's", and the other side "Mountain Music of Kentucky", Led Zep III (it was also on a cassette I made in the 80's) various compilations of tunes from Hollywood musicals, all the music from the Outer Limits I've collected over the centuries...I can't think of what else just now, but I'm sure there were lots more. OH several of Bing Selfish's albums.Cant wait for my cuddly little piece of art from Bob on this new release - it sounds amazing - and a little different than Bob's previous albums.
Anyhow,
BD
www.bdrak.com
Thank you for the reflections and the cool music list! Yew's Paw - mmmmm... love that. I havent heard Moving Waves in forever... have to pull that out. Cheers! EK
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