Those Who Know History Are Doomed to Repeat It

Henry Kaiser | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sst Records
• ASIN: B000000M48
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,162 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Mason's Children

2. (The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance

3. The Andy Griffith Show Theme: The Fishin' Hole

4. Ode to Billie Joe

5. Flavor Bud Living

6. Dark Star/The Other One

7. I Love You, You Big Dummy

8. A Carrot Is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond

9. Alice in Blunderland

10. Mirror Man/Alice in Blunderland

11. Colors for Susan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sense of what the songs are about, May 22, 2001

By 

a superintelligent shade of the color blue (minneapolis) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Those Who Know History Are Doomed to Repeat It (Audio CD)

A couple of notes here... first, this album has the *sickest* guitar solo in my entire record collection. And i collect sick guitar! It's Henry Kaiser's second solo in "Ode to Billy Joe", an exercise in howling feedback harmonics and radical whammy vibrato that screams all the emotions the dark lyrics just whisper.

Second, a friend and i used to use this album for a hippie test... his roommate was a popular hippie, and most his friends were lame, but occasionally some were cool. Of course, all of them listened to the Grateful Dead endlessly. So, when we met one who seemed okay, we'd play "Dark Star". If s/he loved Kaiser's version, s/he was cool. If s/he hated it... well, someone was listening to the Deadhead culture, not the music itself, and couldn't deal with anyone breaking the surface form (and therefore didn't understand the deep structure of the music).

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars KICKS BUTT!, January 5, 2006

By 

L. filosa "nicodog" (Chandler,Az) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Those Who Know History Are Doomed to Repeat It (Audio CD)

All my adult life I have been cursed with ears that listen without a prefabricated expectation,and I often feel a stranger to popular opinion.Forgive me, but I don't understand why anyone would give this CD a devastatingly bad review because he/she had,for whatever reason, mistakenly thought it would be different-I guess one could also fault it for having no Coltrane solos, being a lousy polka CD,and one of the oddest paul mcartney albums ever!
That being said,I personally cannot imagine how it could be any better!Kaiser's solo's are imaginitive,emotionally charged and brilliantly executed,the production is crisp and punchy,and the song choices were obviously made with love,care and not a little good humor.There are long,DEAD-esque space jams,perky belew-like exclamations,and just overall great,explosive moments.If you like the set list,and the samples above interest you-buy it!You won't be disappointed.If you're looking for somone else's cd-this isn't it.All in all,this one will be in my car cd player as a staple thru 2006.Well worth the money,even at these prices.Thanks,Henry!

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfection selection of covers!, November 18, 2010

By 

PuroShaggy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Those Who Know History Are Doomed to Repeat It (Audio CD)

Each of the covers chosen for this all cover album are so perfect that in a way, this feels like a greatest hits album. Henry Kaiser in his various incarnations has never made "easy listening" music and to be honest, is somewhat of an acquired taste. On this album, however, he manages to balance a more accessible sound- thanks to an inspired choice of covers- with his eclectic electric sense of composition (sorry but really, he is eclectic and electric.)
The album kicks off with "Mason's Children", which at the time of its original release, was the first officially released version of this long lost Grateful Dead song. Not a great song, but enjoyable and for historical purposes, an inspired first song offering. Then the next three songs just nail it. Three songs you may not know by name, but when you hear them, you know them, and Henry and his band perform them perfectly. "The Ode to Billie Joe" is the climax of the trio- and possibly the highlight of the album- and features some excellent guitar work.
The second half of the album is a series of Captain Beefheart tracks sandwiching an epic in length but not quite so in execution "Dark Star-> The Other One". The Beefheart tracks work, as expected, especially the "Alice in Blunderland-> Mirror Man-> Alice in Blunderland" pairing. But the attempt at lengthy improvisation just does not work, proving that "free falling through space" musically really only works when you know what you are doing.
A really strong album. It doesn't change the world, but it's well worth the listen.