American Song-Poem Anthology
Like theLangley Schools Music Project reissue,The American Song-Poem Anthologycaptures a fascinating, if unessential, moment in modern music making. Back in the '60s and '70s, ads in the back of magazines beckoned readers to submit their very own "song-poems," original ditties of often dubious quality. Hopeful songwriters were then given an offer they (thankfully) couldn't refuse: for a few hundred bucks, creative session musicians would do their best to use the public's lyrics and churn out an actual, honest-to-goodness recorded album that they could cherish forever. Some of the finest recorded results--not counting those still awaiting to be discovered in thrift store dime bins--can be found on this often surreal disc. Who can complain about the aptly-titled "Do You Know the Difference Between Big Wood and Brush"? Who can't relate to a song like "I Lost My Girl to An Argentinean Cowboy"? Well, lot's of people. But that's beside the point. It's hard not to love these songs--some patriotic, some romantic, most just plain bizarre--that enterprising young musicians did their best to spice up in any number of different genres (country, funk, disco, and, of course, rock). The songs made byRodd Keithare particularly genius, but fans of novelty music will be hard-pressed to fault any of these 28 oddball cuts.--Jason Verlinde