Customer Reviews

Earth Opera

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

 

 

This band featured Peter Rowan as vocalist and songwriter- he later went on to join Seatrain and work with Jerry Garcia in Old and in the way, as well as having a solo carreer that continues to this day. David Grisman, who would also wind up working with Jerry Garcia ( as well as playing on AMERICAN BEAUTY), who has also made solo music , was another member.
this band was considered to be part of the Bosstown Sound hype/movement, but was quite different from most of those groups. Earth Opera was very jazzy and the disc also shows the strong bluegrass tradition that Rowan and Grisman had come out of. Musically, this is a quite impressive album that is more advanced than the bulk of other Bosstown Sound bands. and Rowan's quivery vocals can occasionally grate on listeners, however.
The lyrics can be pretentious at times, like in "Death by Fire"-but in other instances the lyrics are exceptional. "Dreamless" is a good example. this is a short catchy , hummable number with a nice solo in the middle. The Red Sox are winning is probably the band's best known number, and maybe its best. Beautiful xylophone, old-timey, 1920's type vocals that must be coming through through a megaphone or something. Fine guitar work and superb bass, as well. The lyrics end with Rowan screaming:" Let's make Boston America's number one baseball city! Hooray! Hooray! Kill the hippies, kill the hippies, kill the hippies!" Weird and dated, but if you hear the song, you'll probably crack a smile today. At the time, the Red Sox had just gone from ninth place in 1966 to A.L. champions in their "Impossible Dream" year of 1967.
This is not really a psychedelic album , though traces of it do exist in songs like the aforementioned "Death by Fire," "The Red Sox Are Winning," and "To care at all." "As it was before" is, lyrically speaking, a long philosophical downer of a track , but the music is fine."The Child Bride" is an eerie dirge that sounds much like Tim Buckley. "Home of the brave" is a bitter track dealing with the horror and insanity of war.There's a boring tune "When you were full of wonder", and some of this doesn't gell very well- but this is possibly the best of the Bosstown sound recorings. As such , I recommend it.

It's a joy and a delight that this album has at last been issued on CD, since it is one of the true greats of its era. Even lightweight tracks like "The Red Sox are Winning" are still pleasant enough, but there are plenty of true standouts that are timeless, such as "The Child Bride" and particularly "Death by Fire". Like the Love album Forever Changes, this is one that somehow manages to encapsulate a whole era, and it's a crime that it's been ignored so long.

Earth Opera made an album a year in 1968 and 1969. This is their self titled first.

This band combigned small combo orchectrations with mandolin. There is vibraphone, milkshake smooth acustic guitar, and jazzy drumming. The songs are compact--but Earth Opera is no pop group. Their sound is elegent, working ornate dynamics within convental stong structre.

Peter Rowan made this great band brilliant. He had a bluegrass backround-- did the mandolin work here--but it was more jazz grass, so he is ampley able to handle these arrangements.

More important, he is a singer who could make the Boston Phone Book sound good over a Letterman backing track. He has an authoratative, operatic voice. (Hence the groups name? I don't know.) When he sings, you perk to attention. His voice is high, but can be thick with sadness, even doom.

This fits perfectly here, since this 1968 disc is filled with songs about Vietnam and the cultural devide then englufing the U.S. The lyrics don't mention King, RFK or Chicago directly, but listening, to both words and music, you feel the thick air of that long, hot, terrible year.

The next year, this group made The Great American Eagle Tragedy. Click, and I'll tell you that story.

Earth Opera was a boston sound band. I know, I was there. Peter Rowan was the driving force. Billy Mundi drummed for Frank Zappa and then Rhinocerous. David Grisman was madolin man since moby dick was a minnow, check him on Gratful Dawg dvd with Jerry. Any way every RED SOX fan needs this song in their collection. The Red Sox Are Winning. This song has been around since the late 60's. As for Peter Rowan he went on to Seatrain and they need to be in every good rock collection too.. So start listening. I loved Eden's Children, Beacon Street Union were good too. Ultimate Spinach was a favorite too but then if you wanted to make out it was Orpheus for the young and in love.... Only in Boston. Thanks Amazon for having your library at my fingertips. Charlie

I had a copy of this on vinyl and used to listen to it quite often. I wasn't really sure what kind of music it really was because I was experimenting with my musical taste at the time---it sure wasn't Top 40. So glad that this is available on CD now. Sure wish the Red Sox were winning......maybe they should start playing this tune at Fenway.

I recall hearing the anti-war "Red Sox are Winning" on local Boston radio -- among of the better of that category. And during Summer, 1968, saw them every Sunday, for free, on Cambridge (MA) Common.

This (and their "American Eagle Tragedy") are the best of the "Bosstown Sound" grab bag, though those were on MGM, and Earth Opera on Elektra -- itself a worthy distinction. And are exceptional artifacts of the era, and then some. Rock? Jazzy blugrass? Folk? Yes.

There are many favorites on this, but the spirit in which I heard them all those years ago is best embodied in "When You Were Full of Wonder". I still wonder, but it's not so pristine as then. Or insecure.

Buy this, and "American Eagle Tragedy," before they go out of print again.

Intriguing but ultimately discardable record. The most useful reference point is probably the early "pretty" Tim Buckley albums with their florid mix of folk and jazz, but Earth Opera comes off more dainty and less tuneful. And Peter Rowan's voice isn't nearly as powerful or versatile as Buckley's. On the positive side, the clear production and polished, acoustic arrangements make this disc surprisingly undated and easily able to blend in with contemporary "freak-folk" acts. So, I see potential for this album being re-discovered. And of course, the Grateful Dead fanbase always will be around. Favorite track: the more tightly melodic "When You Were Full of Wonder," which hits me from a pleasing Dylan/Donovan angle.