Customer Reviews

I Hear a New World (Spec)

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

 

 

Within hours of moving into my new home, I began to set up my stereo equipment. I had a hankerin' for some aural lunar travel that could only be quenched by Joe Meek's unbelievably unique and perfect recordings found on the "I Hear a New World" CD. I remember the first time I heard "Magnetic Fields". I was sitting up in bed with my headphones connected to my laptop. After about 18% download progress, I hit "Preview" to sample what was to come. All I could hear was odd noises, clicks, hisses and pops. "Could this be a corrupted mp3," I asked myself. I gave it a few more minutes as the hijacked wifi signal went from "Low" to "Very Low" strength. I was now at 35%. I gave it another "Preview". Then, about one minute into the cacophonic sci-fi journey, I arrived. But what is this sound? A keyboard - an organ - theremin? The driving drumbeat was so heavenly as it took me away from my physical surroundings. The I.V. in my arm seemed to disappear as did the stench of the fella in the next bed. I started to laugh outloud. Nothing was funny at all. I was just so happy. I had struck gold and kept digging. I continued downloading "Love Dance of the Saroos", "Dribcots Spaceboat", "Orbit Around the Moon" as I laughed with delight. Never before or since have I actually LAUGHED with sheer delight.
So, after I set up my stereo, I proceeded to dig through my CD box. "Pink and black," I murmured as I searched. "Looking for pink and black.....Joe Meek and the Bluemen...where are you, CD?" I kept digging for about 20 minutes. It was nowhere to be found. I searched in other boxes. In the DVD box, the Christmas decoration box, the GI Joe box, the Chia pet box...NOWHERE! That's when it dawned on me - "The moon box!" My most special box of all. Of course, there it was sitting right between the authentic moon cheese curd and my Area 51 medallion. I found it. In this album, I have found what I've searched for my whole life. Most importantly, with this music pouring through my head, I've found sanity.

Infamous British pop producer Joe Meek (of TELSTAR fame) attempted his audio manifesto in 1960, and the result was I HEAR A NEW WORLD, a collection of tracks which has finally seen the light of day. Any self-respecting 4-track-owning lover of sublime schlock must indulge. There are moments of rapture between the freshly digitized grooves. Predating Brian Wilson's SMILE by almost seven years, Meek (with a lot of uncredited help) fashioned a whole new acoustic landscape, begging to be traversed. A must!

Hey kids-what was the FIRST rock concept album? was it The Wall? NA!!!! Tommy? NA!!!!!!! it was this album, released in 1960... Talk about space age:This album was released as a double EP back then to demonstrate the wonders of stereo in hi fi shops.Recored by the legendary producer Joe meek(of "Telsatr" fame),This album is his personal twisted visoin on moon people,space and all that mumbojumbospace crap.It has incrediably good sound for its times (lots of reverb,sound EFX),some good tunes(title track and the "hit" magnetic field),but the thing is very simple-only a limted edition of vinykl was produced back then....COLEECTIBLE! So now you can hear it agin(tough it was released in 91),but this time with an additional 35 min interview with meek(very noisey,but quiet interesting for ANYONE in the music biz),and a short movie of meek's work. This is a must for anyone who likes surf,psyc-rock and space.

Joe Meek is certainly an unique character. Obsessed with sci-fi and the paranormal, he aspired to greatness, but his genius wasn't known in his lifetime. Meek was an auteur and one of the most unique figures in popular music history. He should've been made a millionare by the Tornados' hit single "Telstar", but a resulting lawsuit kept that from happening. The best, most accesible introduction to Meek's work is definatly the "It's Hard to Beleive" compilation. If you considor yourself a Meek fan by that point, you may want to check out this unique and surrealistic album. It was possibly, as the other reviewer mention, rock's first concept album (pre-dating Zappa's "Freak Out"). All the songs deal with a journey to moon, and what life may be like on it. It is a bizarre vision to say the least, which includes sped-up voices of space creatures, armies of "Globbots", and plentiful sci-fi noises and sound effects. It is apparent that Meek had really lost his mind by than, which means if you're into outsider music and bizarre records, you'll love this. If you're expecting it to be full of "Telstar"-like rock 'n' roll, you'll be dissapointed. I enjoyed it, but it's certainly a required taste.

An astonishing work, created in the late 50s and in STEREO
For all those who are interested in sound engineering and haven't discovered Joe Meek then this is a challenging introduction.
Basically it's a home studio recording of Mr Meek space fantasy CONCEPT album, him being famous of course for producing 'Telstar' by The Tornados a major hit in the early 60s.
The recording methods used broke all the rules and created a unique sonic lanscape that in the main still sounds fresh and exciting fifty years on. recommended

Not really. For Generation Gauche, a robot is sufficient. For myself, I need the human factor. I know this is hard for children to conceive, but actual instruments are the mark of a performance. Consider: Gibby Haynes uses "Gibbytronix" to enhance the experience. It is never, ever to be seen as the experience itself. Techno is like disco, but the latter had heart, and real human beings; and horrible, horrible fashions. Yet, THEY BOTH SUCK!!!!! Hye, I got your d.j. right here!!!!! Meek had his moments, but as an artist he was well-named. If this has infuriated you, Generation Gauche, read my review of Heinz; not Teresa, not the catsup. Just Heinz. In my view, there is only two people who get by with using a single moniker: Jesus and Jordan.