Customer Reviews

American Metaphysical Circus

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This incredibly creative concept album from the psychedelic 60's deserves to be more widely known. I'm glad I snapped up the CD when it was briefly reissued a few years ago (Sorry, I don't know where to find it today. But keep asking for it!) I had worn my original vinyl out some time ago.

Although it's clearly a "concept album", I wonder just what the concept was ?

Never mind. The music covers a very wide musical spectrum.

Joe Byrd, the band leader and composer was classically trained (he is now a professor of music history) and it shows on this album, even through the hard rock songs.

...

"The Sub-Sylvian Litanies" is haunting music in an alien tongue on an ancient phrygian scale. What more do you need to know ?

"You Can't Ever Come Down" is a bad acid trip set to heavy electric rock music (think "White Rabbit").
"All of the doors lead you further inside. Thousands of eyes and there's no place to hide..."

"Moonsong: Pelog" is a very pretty tune with highly suggestive lyrics, anticipating Sheena Easton's "Sugar Walls" by more than a decade. But the singer's voice sounds so angelic it's hard to believe she could be saying such things !

"Patriot's Lullabye" is my personal favorite. A beautiful choral piece that leads you into an aural NeverNeverland... until some of the lyrics sink in and you realize the song is actually ABOUT lulling citizens into a political deep sleep using soothing patriotic themes and melodies. ( Could this have any relevance today ? No, I don't mean to imply anything by that. Honest.)

"The Sing-Along Song" is a catchy little theme repeated in a variety of old-folk styles, including the legendary Lawrence Welk "a-one-a-and-a-two-a" bubbly sound. It's wickedly funny.

This album is not for everybody. But if you found your way here you probably already know that ! The Salon story mentions that Joe Byrd is "actually a bit embarrassed about the album's odd, trippy feel."

Why is that, Joe ? This is a period piece. But great stuff all the same. The story notes that Portishead (no less !) was looking to cover one of his songs. How, like, HAPPENING is that, baby ?

After his first album with a band called "United States of America," Joe Byrd released this, his masterpiece, in 1969. Even without the aid of mind-expanding drugs it is obvious that metaphysics is central to the overall theme of this great concept album.

The first section, "The Sub-Sylvian Litanies," is an attempt to turn reality inside-out. Literally meaning "beneath the forest," its three odes get right to the core of our very existence. It employs themes built upon the fourth degree of the octal scale, a Greek mode called phrygian.

The middle section, "Four Songs for a Departing President," are a slap in the face to former president Lyndon Johnson. It is a condemnation of both his "Great Society" movement and his perpetuation of the Vietnam War. "Gospel Music" is a tribute to Byrd's brother, Ruddell, who was imprisoned at Leavinworth for evading the draft.

Finally, the third section deals with aging under the sub-heading "The Southwestern Geriatrics Arts & Crafts Festival." Often morose and overly nostalgic, it nevertheless presents a clear view of the way our elders are shuffled off to nursing homes to await death.

The song writing and arrangements are superb, the use of synthesizers is tasteful and the theme is awesome. You have to get out of the box to receive the full experience this album has to offer.

I first heard this album when I was in high school and have over the years worn out two copies of the LP. A friend of mine recently located the album on vinyl and made me a CD. The more you listen, the more you hear...it's absolutely brilliant.

I recently ordered a CD of "The United States of America," also by Joe Byrd. And while TUSOA precedes TAMC--it includes a number of tracks that reappear on TAMC in more refined form--and some consider it the greatest experimental/psychedelic recording of the 1960s, I still feel The American Metaphysical Circus is the masterpiece of this genre.

Joe Byrd disolved the United States of America only to return to the studio in 1969 with a diverse group of musicians (obliquely named "The Field Hippies") and produce The American Metaphysical Circus. Essentially it is an extension of his prior work minus the stellar vocals of Dorothy Moskowitz and the inherent tensions that structured the dynamic of the USofA. Without these factors, The American Metaphysical Circus is often pale in comparison. Still present are the biting political lyrics and the study of American music as well as other musical forms. Often overboard on his willingness to meld traditional pieces of Americana into his political and musical vision, this album is, nonetheless a very worthy addition to the collection of anyone interested in an authentic pursuit of music or, specifically, the work / world of Joe Byrd.

The songs that stand out are
"Kalyani" for its other-worldlyness and layers;
"You Can't Ever Come Down" for being a weak reproduction of the same song on TUSofA.
"Nightmare Train" and "Invisible Man" for being well-crafted.
"The Elephant at the Door" for being the strongest piece on the album -- certainly this is the sole track that stands up to the work on TUSofA. The guitar-work is absolutely remarkable!
"Leisure World" -- a bit of a one-liner that is biting in its ridicule of the social structure within which we encapsulate the elderly.

For those who respect and are intrigued by Joe's authentic search and the energy and intelligence that he brought to psychedelic music, by all means, purchase this cd. Ultimately, it is more of an intellectual foray into American music and politics and less of a happening; however, the stronger tracks are compelling and will draw you into their arabesque choreography and layers. I am convinced that Joe truly understood and wanted to explore the complexity and contradiction that is America.

I originally owned this album as a vinyl record when I was in high school. I bought it for the wrong reason - purportedly the first part of the recording is like an LSD trip. This album kindled my lifelong interest in "new" music. I literally wore the pressing out, I liked it so well.

The pioneering use of a quality synthesizer arraignment superimposed on lyrical vocals. The composer, Mr. Byrd, obviously wrote and orchestrated each piece as though it were a symphonic work. This album is not for people who hate experimental music. John Coltrane's Africa Brass, or Ornette Coleman Shape of Jazz to Come are similar artistic endevors in the jazz vein.

This album did a great deal to change my brain when I was in high school in the early '70s. Concurrent with ingesting a multitude of substances that shall remain unmentioned, this album saw many, many spins on my and my friends' turntables. It was always a significant experience. There is literally EVERYTHING on this record. Vaudeville, jazz, electronic, psychedelic powerhouses, acid rock, spoken word, and much more. Joe Byrd was an unrecognized genius who put out two incredible, ahead-of-their-time records (The United States of America being the other). Sometimes our minds were expanded. Other times our minds were blown. But our minds always received an EXPERIENCE listening to this fine, unique, well-produced and well-composed music. There is nothing else like it. Nothing!

Well, at least it's ridiculously expensive, eh? I'm glad I purchased a copy when it was still sensibly priced. For me, downloads can't cut it--packaging actually counts. Information contained in the booklet and artwork for example. Looks like we're in for a generation that only needs a smart phone/pad, a backpack, and maybe a tarp. Are all things to be vaporized into the cloud? This album was written when possibilities were possible and greed was not the only concern. In this way and in many others this record is time piece material--kind of like Grandma's sewing machine--they only made them that way a long time ago. Thankfully, Joe Byrd didn't have to be a cute fifteen year old girl on a Gibson with lots of heartfelt tear-jerking ghost writing to get recorded. Now, of course, he'd never be pretty enough--he can't even be "nifty" anymore. In my world I pop this in the player not very often. I have a certain respect for it and I'm glad it existed and it's always enjoyable on many and various levels. I'd give it more than five simply for its artifact status and because the market is making it disappear. Clearly, art and music in our time can only exist in a big soup of money.

Melody, performance and lyric combine to make this a tribute to the sixties not to be missed.

I remember hearing this for the first time as a high school student and thinking " I hope this guy has made more albums " but even after finding a copy of his first album (United States of America) this is the One album that defines so much of the 60s for me...the political and social atmospere, the spirit of experimentation and most notably (and sadly) the end of innocence (or at least what was left of it) in this country and culture. Although there are elements of rock in it this record made me realize there is more out there to listen to than guitar based rock bands. This is truly an original work that has no equal. After my vinyl copy wore out I despaired of ever finding it again until a friend gave me a bootleg CD of it for Christmas about five years ago. This album BEGS for re-issuing. You hear that RHINO?!

I'm fortunate enough to have a pristine vinyl copy of this masterpiece. If ever a recording deserved to be digitized and distributed to all mankind, this is it. "Nightmare Train" sounds a bit corny, and "Elephant at the Door" gets a little tedious, but, worked into the whole of the album, they serve their purpose.

I think the first three tracks, segueing as they do, should become our new national anthem.