Motor-Cycle (album)
Encyclopedia
Motor-Cycle is the debut album by singer-songwriter Lotti Golden
released on Atlantic Records
in 1969. The album is an autobiographical account of Golden's immersion in the life of New York's East Village
, written in music & lyrics because, according to Golden, "a book is too flat.” Motor-Cycle describes the underground world of the late 60's counterculture
, “down to the last seconal capsule.”
Newsweek
hailed Golden as a new breed of female troubadour—an artist who not only sings, but writes her own songs: "What is common to them -- to Joni Mitchell
and Lotti Golden, to Laura Nyro
, [and] Melanie
... are the personalized songs they write, like voyages of self discovery…startling in the impact of their poetry."
Listed among the most influential albums of the era in The New York Times
, "The Best of Rock: A Personal Discography," by music critic Nat Hentoff
, Motor-Cycle is a synthesis of stream of consciousness confessional poetry, R&B infused vocals and a "sometimes satiric mélange of rock, jazz, blues and soul" with lyrics that evoke "a Kerouac novel."
Golden's coming of age saga is likely the first rock concept album
by a female recording artist.On an album of "restlessly epic roadhouse suites" Golden uses the story-based format, featuring a cast of archetypal characters while playing the part of "emcee" of her own "aberrant cabaret."
Music critic Path, of Tiny Mix Tapes
, explains how Motor-Cycle plays like a musical, transporting the listener to the late 60's underground: "Golden gets help on Motor-Cycle from an impeccably arranged Atlantic Records session band… with a flawless, swinging rhythm team. Then, at key moments, the curtain goes up and they've got rows of saxes, trumpets, vibes…and you begin to realize that this is not the same song and dance… it's as if The Velvet Underground recorded for Motown." Golden writes of a "season in hell " she somehow manages to survive. "It's an extraordinary evocation of a life-style… and one girl's plunge into and out of it."
Lotti Golden
Lotti Golden is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and poet. A cult icon of the late 1960s, Golden is best known for her 1969 debut album, Motor-Cycle on Atlantic Records which "captured women's liberation and motorcycle soul in one psychedelic swoop."Winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for...
released on Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in 1969. The album is an autobiographical account of Golden's immersion in the life of New York's East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
, written in music & lyrics because, according to Golden, "a book is too flat.” Motor-Cycle describes the underground world of the late 60's counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
, “down to the last seconal capsule.”
Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
hailed Golden as a new breed of female troubadour—an artist who not only sings, but writes her own songs: "What is common to them -- to Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
and Lotti Golden, to Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved considerable critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th...
, [and] Melanie
Melanie
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία , "blackness" and that from μέλας , meaning "dark". Borne in its Latin form by two saints: Melania the Elder and her grand-daughter Melania the Younger, the name was introduced to England by the Normans in its French form Melanie...
... are the personalized songs they write, like voyages of self discovery…startling in the impact of their poetry."
Listed among the most influential albums of the era in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "The Best of Rock: A Personal Discography," by music critic Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff
Nathan Irving "Nat" Hentoff is an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media and writes regularly on jazz and country music for The Wall Street Journal....
, Motor-Cycle is a synthesis of stream of consciousness confessional poetry, R&B infused vocals and a "sometimes satiric mélange of rock, jazz, blues and soul" with lyrics that evoke "a Kerouac novel."
Golden's coming of age saga is likely the first rock concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
by a female recording artist.On an album of "restlessly epic roadhouse suites" Golden uses the story-based format, featuring a cast of archetypal characters while playing the part of "emcee" of her own "aberrant cabaret."
Music critic Path, of Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, as well as its mix tapes generator.-History:Originally called Tiny Mixtapes Gone to Heaven and...
, explains how Motor-Cycle plays like a musical, transporting the listener to the late 60's underground: "Golden gets help on Motor-Cycle from an impeccably arranged Atlantic Records session band… with a flawless, swinging rhythm team. Then, at key moments, the curtain goes up and they've got rows of saxes, trumpets, vibes…and you begin to realize that this is not the same song and dance… it's as if The Velvet Underground recorded for Motown." Golden writes of a "season in hell " she somehow manages to survive. "It's an extraordinary evocation of a life-style… and one girl's plunge into and out of it."