The American Metaphysical Circus
Encyclopedia
The American Metaphysical Circus is a 1969 psychedelic
album by Joseph "Joe" Byrd
. It was recorded after his departure from the band The United States Of America
, and featured some of the earliest recorded work in rock music utilizing extensive use of synthesizers and vocoder
, along with an extended group of West Coast studio musicians Byrd named the Field Hippies.
. Two of the more unusual tracks on the record are "Mister Fourth Of July" - a ragtime tune complete with scratchy 78RPM-style effects, and "Leisure World"
, featuring narration from long-time ABC
voice-over and "Ghoulardi
" originator Ernie Anderson
in an ode to California's first retirement mega-community.
Among the musicians featured on the record are prominent West Coast studio musicians Tom Scott
and the late Ted Greene
, who is credited with the album's stellar guitar work in one of his few recorded appearances. Meyer Hirsch was a member of the Buddy Rich
Big Band and is an experimental composer. Vocalist Victoria Bond has gone on to a prominent career as a classical composer, conductor and vocalist. Fred Selden, a student of Byrd's at UCLA, joined the Don Ellis
Orchestra (led by Byrd's partner in the UCLA New Music Workshop), received a Grammy nomination, and later returned to UCLA to receive his Ph.D.
The extensive use of effects, delays, echoes, backwards vocals and other recording tricks and techniques are reminiscent of some of the experiments and work carried out by George Martin
as well as Pink Floyd
. Byrd in fact referenced Martin in a 2004 interview http://www.cloudsandclocks.net/interviews/Byrd_interview.html.
http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/04/23/copyright/index.html and follow-up in regards to a letter filed in the infamous Napster
music copyright case, that despite estimated sales of at least 100,000 units for The American Metaphysical Circus alone, he had never received a penny of royalties for either The United States Of America or The American Metaphysical Circus from Sony/Columbia/CBS.
Because "The American Metaphysical Circus" offered a markedly different sound in its intense horn and woodwind arrangements and even more novel content than on the earlier "The United States of America
" release, many fans of the earlier record are not as enchanted with the latter, and vice-versa. In the UK, the first United States of America was more well-known and highly regarded, in part because of the inclusion of one track on a popular Columbia sampler album, The Rock Machine Turns You On
, which was not released in the United States. In the U.S. the remarkable persistence of "The American Metaphysical Circus" kept it in print for nearly twenty years in the Columbia catalog, whilst "The United States of America" was relegated to cut-out
bins shortly after its 1968 release.
It has become a popular and oft-repeated misconception, with the more recent revival of interest in The United States of America, that The American Metaphysical Circus was not as popular or a commercial success, whereas factual information discussed by Byrd surrounding the Napster case and the experience of American record enthusiasts confirms exactly the opposite.
Prior to its re-release, mint vinyl copies of The American Metaphysical Circus were sold by collectors for prices sometimes in excess of $100US, and the both the original 1969 issue and 1996 CD still command premium prices on collector Web sites. Atlantis Records described the 1999 re-release as "sought after 60's American Psych/Electronic rock classic from United States of American mainman Joseph Byrd" http://www.atlantisrecords.com/new-july99.html. Gatefold Records offered "Welcome re-issue of the 1969 followup to the United States of America album (Joe Byrd was the leader of that group). Trippy Moog and electronics noodling mixed with stunning bursts of fuzzed out guitars and acid-damaged lyrics". The CD was reissued by the UK label Acadia in 2007.
American Bedmusic - Four Dreams For A Departing President
Gospel Music For Abraham Ruddell Byrd III
The Southwestern Geriatrics Arts and Crafts Festival
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
album by Joseph "Joe" Byrd
Joseph Byrd
Joseph Byrd was the leader of The United States of America, a notable rock band from the 1960s, as well as the psychedelic group Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies, of cult fame through their release The American Metaphysical Circus...
. It was recorded after his departure from the band The United States Of America
The United States of America (band)
The United States of America was an American experimental rock and psychedelic band whose works are an example of early electronic music in rock and roll.-History:...
, and featured some of the earliest recorded work in rock music utilizing extensive use of synthesizers and vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
, along with an extended group of West Coast studio musicians Byrd named the Field Hippies.
Musical Overview
The album is most noted for "The Sub-Sylvian Litanies" which opened Side A. This three part-suite has been described as http://archive.salon.com/tech/letters/2002/04/26/joe_byrd/index.html "an entire acid trip in 11 minutes". Other album highlights include the equally psychedelic "The Elephant At The Door", and the politically-charged "Invisible Man", written for and aimed squarely at President Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
. Two of the more unusual tracks on the record are "Mister Fourth Of July" - a ragtime tune complete with scratchy 78RPM-style effects, and "Leisure World"
Leisure World, Seal Beach, California
Leisure World is a gated retirement community located in Seal Beach, Orange County, California.Construction on the approximately one square mile community was begun in 1960 with the first residents moving in on June 6, 1962. This was the first major planned retirement community of its type in the...
, featuring narration from long-time ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
voice-over and "Ghoulardi
Ghoulardi
Ghoulardi was a fictional character invented and portrayed by disc jockey, voice announcer, and actor Ernie Anderson as the horror host of late night Shock Theater at WJW-TV, Channel 8, in Cleveland, Ohio from January 13, 1963 through December 16, 1966....
" originator Ernie Anderson
Ernie Anderson
Ernie Anderson was an American disc jockey, and television and radio announcer/voiceover artist...
in an ode to California's first retirement mega-community.
Among the musicians featured on the record are prominent West Coast studio musicians Tom Scott
Tom Scott (musician)
Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California...
and the late Ted Greene
Ted Greene
Theodore "Ted" Greene was an American fingerstyle jazz guitarist, music columnist, and music educator active in Encino, California.-Early Days:...
, who is credited with the album's stellar guitar work in one of his few recorded appearances. Meyer Hirsch was a member of the Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
Big Band and is an experimental composer. Vocalist Victoria Bond has gone on to a prominent career as a classical composer, conductor and vocalist. Fred Selden, a student of Byrd's at UCLA, joined the Don Ellis
Don Ellis
Don Ellis was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of unusual time signatures...
Orchestra (led by Byrd's partner in the UCLA New Music Workshop), received a Grammy nomination, and later returned to UCLA to receive his Ph.D.
The extensive use of effects, delays, echoes, backwards vocals and other recording tricks and techniques are reminiscent of some of the experiments and work carried out by George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
as well as Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
. Byrd in fact referenced Martin in a 2004 interview http://www.cloudsandclocks.net/interviews/Byrd_interview.html.
Historical discussion
The album's cult status was confirmed by its presence in the Columbia Masterworks catalog for an estimated twenty years. Byrd reported in 2002 in an interview published on Salon.comSalon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/04/23/copyright/index.html and follow-up in regards to a letter filed in the infamous Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
music copyright case, that despite estimated sales of at least 100,000 units for The American Metaphysical Circus alone, he had never received a penny of royalties for either The United States Of America or The American Metaphysical Circus from Sony/Columbia/CBS.
Because "The American Metaphysical Circus" offered a markedly different sound in its intense horn and woodwind arrangements and even more novel content than on the earlier "The United States of America
The United States of America (band)
The United States of America was an American experimental rock and psychedelic band whose works are an example of early electronic music in rock and roll.-History:...
" release, many fans of the earlier record are not as enchanted with the latter, and vice-versa. In the UK, the first United States of America was more well-known and highly regarded, in part because of the inclusion of one track on a popular Columbia sampler album, The Rock Machine Turns You On
Rock Machine sampler albums
The Rock Machine Turns You On was the first bargain priced sampler album. It was released in the UK, The Netherlands, Germany and a number of other European countries in 1968 as part of an international marketing campaign by Columbia Records, who were known in Europe as CBS.-Marketing campaign:The...
, which was not released in the United States. In the U.S. the remarkable persistence of "The American Metaphysical Circus" kept it in print for nearly twenty years in the Columbia catalog, whilst "The United States of America" was relegated to cut-out
Cut-out (recording industry)
In the recording industry, a cut-out refers to a deeply-discounted or remaindered copy of an LP, cassette tape, Compact Disc, or other item.- History :...
bins shortly after its 1968 release.
It has become a popular and oft-repeated misconception, with the more recent revival of interest in The United States of America, that The American Metaphysical Circus was not as popular or a commercial success, whereas factual information discussed by Byrd surrounding the Napster case and the experience of American record enthusiasts confirms exactly the opposite.
Prior to its re-release, mint vinyl copies of The American Metaphysical Circus were sold by collectors for prices sometimes in excess of $100US, and the both the original 1969 issue and 1996 CD still command premium prices on collector Web sites. Atlantis Records described the 1999 re-release as "sought after 60's American Psych/Electronic rock classic from United States of American mainman Joseph Byrd" http://www.atlantisrecords.com/new-july99.html. Gatefold Records offered "Welcome re-issue of the 1969 followup to the United States of America album (Joe Byrd was the leader of that group). Trippy Moog and electronics noodling mixed with stunning bursts of fuzzed out guitars and acid-damaged lyrics". The CD was reissued by the UK label Acadia in 2007.
Track listing
The Sub-Sylvian Litanies- "Kalyani" – 3:52
- "You Can't Ever Come Down" – 3:02
- "Moonsong: Pelog" – 3:47
American Bedmusic - Four Dreams For A Departing President
- "Patriot's Lullabye" – 2:49
- "Nightmare Train" – 3:20
- "Invisible Man" – 3:33
- "Mister 4th of July" – 1:48
Gospel Music For Abraham Ruddell Byrd III
- "Gospel Music" – 4:29
The Southwestern Geriatrics Arts and Crafts Festival
- "Sing-Along Song" – 4:05
- "Elephant at the Door" – 5:13
- "Leisure World" – 2:36
- "Sing-Along Song (Reprise)" – 0:48
Credits
- Pot - Piano, Conductor, Harpsichord
- Ed Sheftel - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
- Christie Thompson - Vocals
- Ernest "Ernie" AndersonErnie AndersonErnie Anderson was an American disc jockey, and television and radio announcer/voiceover artist...
- Voices - Fred Selden - Clarinet, Saxophones, Flute
- Ted GreeneTed GreeneTheodore "Ted" Greene was an American fingerstyle jazz guitarist, music columnist, and music educator active in Encino, California.-Early Days:...
- Guitar - Joseph Hunter Byrd - Organ, Producer, Vocals, Keyboards, Conductor, Synthesizer
- Larry Kass - Tabla
- Michael Whitney - Guitar (Classical)
- Chuck Bennett - Bass Trombone
- Victoria Bond - Vocals
- Bob Breault - Engineer
- Ray Cappocchi - Tuba, Tenor Trombone
- Dana Chalberg - Flute, Piccolo
- John Clauder - Percussion, Drums
- Susan de Lange - Vocals, Electronic Voices
- Meyer Hirsch - Flute, Saxophones
- Don Kerian - Trumpet, Cornet
- Gregg Kovner - Drums, Percussion
- Tom ScottTom Scott (musician)Tom Scott is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble The L.A. Express.-Biography:Scott was born in Los Angeles, California...
- Clarinet, Saxophones, Flute - Harvey Newmark - Bass (uncredited on album)
- Harihar Rao - Percussion (uncredited on album)
- Paul Welborne - audio reproduction consultant
- Roger Phillip - assistant to Joseph Byrd
External links
- Salon.com 2002 Interview with Joseph Byrd on Napster case
- Follow-up letter on Salon.com referencing the Byrd Interview
- 2004 Interview with Joseph Byrd on CloudsAndClocks.net
- Interview with Dorothy Moskowitz, 2003, in Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine
- MySpace site for The American Metaphysical Circus
- Amazon customer reviews
- Article in the April 26, 2002 Providence Journal "Subterreanean Homepage Blues"
- http://www.kurthanson.com/archive/news/042402/index.asp
- http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/2002/04/23.html#a1515
- http://www.bu.edu/law/scitech/volume8issue2/pasquale.pdf
- http://msl1.mit.edu/ESD10/sslinks/links.php?search=salon
- http://www.atlantisrecords.com/new-july99.html
- http://www.gemm.com
- http://www.babyblaue-seiten.de/index.php?content=review&left=year&albumId=6761&year=1969
- http://www.pooterland.com/index2/bandsmenu/bands_b/bands_b.html