The Marble Index (album)
Encyclopedia
The Marble Index is the second solo album by Nico
, recorded in 1968 and released in 1969. The album featured long-term associate John Cale
, who had worked briefly with Nico during her stint with The Velvet Underground
. Cale had an extensive background in various avant-garde settings, working with minimalist
composer LaMonte Young, among others.
Nico wrote all her own songs on the record and plays the harmonium
. The record has influenced a wide array of various artists, such as Coil
, Steve Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Jocelyn Pook
, Jackson Browne
, Elliott Smith
and Dead Can Dance
.
Trouser Press
described the album as "Nico's disturbing poetry" set to "even more disturbing music; the result is one of the scariest records ever made. Unlike Chelsea Girl
, in which Nico tried to adapt to an outmoded chanteuse tradition, The Marble Index blasts her off to her own universe."
, Denmark
on 14 February 1982 by saying, "This song I wrote for Richard Nixon
on Halloween
. I want to dedicate it to Ronald Reagan
." The performance was later included on the 1982 live album
, Do or Die: Diary 1982
.
"Frozen Warnings" went on to be one of the most performed song from this period of Nico's career. It appears frequently in the extensive volume of live recordings from her final years, including from her famous performance at the Library Theater in Manchester. The song also exists in two studio versions, one with Cale's synthesizer found on The Marble Index as well as a slightly longer version without the synthesizer but an additional repetition of the lyrics "the frozen borderline."
"Lawns of Dawns" was said to be about Nico's experience with peyote
in the California desert with Jim Morrison
in the late 1960s. Nico commented : "The light of the dawn was a very deep green and I believed I was upside down and the sky was the desert which had become a garden and then the ocean. I do not swim and I was frightened when it was water and more resolved when it was land. I felt embraced by the sky-garden."
"Ari's Song" concerns Nico's only child, Ari Boulogne. While she recorded the track, she brought pictures of the child with her into the booth for inspiration.
"Prelude" is actually a minute-long instrumental of the outtake "Réve Réveiller," which was a song sung in French that was excluded from the album's release.
The album's final track, "Evening of Light," was made into a video clip to promote the album. It features Nico walking around a field with others, including a white-faced Iggy Pop
, who run amok while Nico elegantly strides with the wind blowing her hair in her face. The clip ends with the men erecting a cross and setting it aflame. (The clip was shot behind the Stooges' house in Ann Arbor).
Nico
Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
, recorded in 1968 and released in 1969. The album featured long-term associate John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, who had worked briefly with Nico during her stint with The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
. Cale had an extensive background in various avant-garde settings, working with minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
composer LaMonte Young, among others.
Nico wrote all her own songs on the record and plays the harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
. The record has influenced a wide array of various artists, such as Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, Steve Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Jocelyn Pook
Jocelyn Pook
Jocelyn Pook is a British composer, pianist and viola player.- Biography :Jocelyn Pook’s distinctive style is a product of her diverse experiences in classical, commercial, and so-called world music...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
and Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...
.
Trouser Press
Trouser Press
Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...
described the album as "Nico's disturbing poetry" set to "even more disturbing music; the result is one of the scariest records ever made. Unlike Chelsea Girl
Chelsea Girl (album)
Chelsea Girl is the debut solo album by Nico. It was released in October 1967 by Verve Records, also home to The Velvet Underground. The name of the album is a reference to Andy Warhol's 1966 film Chelsea Girls, which Nico starred in...
, in which Nico tried to adapt to an outmoded chanteuse tradition, The Marble Index blasts her off to her own universe."
Song information
The singer introduced "No One is There" at a live concert in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on 14 February 1982 by saying, "This song I wrote for Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. I want to dedicate it to Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
." The performance was later included on the 1982 live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Do or Die: Diary 1982
Do or Die: Diary 1982
Do or Die: Diary 1982 is an album chronicling Nico's European tour from January 18 to March 28, 1982. It features songs from Nico's albums The Marble Index, Desertshore, The End... and Drama of Exile, which include covers of The Velvet Underground, David Bowie and The Doors.It was originally...
.
"Frozen Warnings" went on to be one of the most performed song from this period of Nico's career. It appears frequently in the extensive volume of live recordings from her final years, including from her famous performance at the Library Theater in Manchester. The song also exists in two studio versions, one with Cale's synthesizer found on The Marble Index as well as a slightly longer version without the synthesizer but an additional repetition of the lyrics "the frozen borderline."
"Lawns of Dawns" was said to be about Nico's experience with peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
in the California desert with Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
in the late 1960s. Nico commented : "The light of the dawn was a very deep green and I believed I was upside down and the sky was the desert which had become a garden and then the ocean. I do not swim and I was frightened when it was water and more resolved when it was land. I felt embraced by the sky-garden."
"Ari's Song" concerns Nico's only child, Ari Boulogne. While she recorded the track, she brought pictures of the child with her into the booth for inspiration.
"Prelude" is actually a minute-long instrumental of the outtake "Réve Réveiller," which was a song sung in French that was excluded from the album's release.
The album's final track, "Evening of Light," was made into a video clip to promote the album. It features Nico walking around a field with others, including a white-faced Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, who run amok while Nico elegantly strides with the wind blowing her hair in her face. The clip ends with the men erecting a cross and setting it aflame. (The clip was shot behind the Stooges' house in Ann Arbor).
Side one
- "Prelude" – 1:00
- "Lawns of Dawns" – 3:11
- "No One Is There" – 3:37
- "Ari's Song" – 3:21
- "Facing the Wind" – 4:55
Side two
- "Julius Caesar (Memento Hodié)" – 5:02
- "Frozen Warnings" – 4:02
- "Evening of Light" – 5:40
Personnel
- Nico: vocals, harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
- John CaleJohn CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
: electric viola, piano, bass, electric guitar, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, bells, mouth organMouth organA mouth organ is a generic term for free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed.Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, and blowing or sucking air to create a...
, bosun's pipe (see Boatswain's call)