Van Dyke Parks "Song Cycle" 1968
"Van Dyke Parks has always been one of the great charlatans of US music history!"
Former child actor Van Dyke Parks had reinvented himself as a songwriter, arranger, raconteur, and budding conceptualist when Warner Bros. bankrolled this brave, baroque 1968 debut, which has achieved true notoriety in the annals of '60s California pop.
More heard-of than heard, Song Cycle sailed against the tide of guitar-driven, blues-drenched rock to bet on the orchestral ambitions of Sgt. Pepper, weaving a conceptual tapestry from folk, Tin Pan Alley, and classical strands. In place of generational anthems or confessional love songs, Parks's coy, modest tenor offered intricate, impressionistic wordplay ripe with puns, multiple-entendres, and geopolitical allusions far beyond the pale of countercultural rock. On songs such as "The All Golden," "Palm Desert," and "Laurel Canyon Blvd.," you'll hear poetic links to Brian Wilson's most convoluted, internalized soundscapes, as well as a wily musical intelligence that will either intoxicate or infuriate you. Not unlike a brattier, Californian cousin to Stephen Sondheim, Parks revels in musical and thematic puzzles, and Song Cycle offers his most seductive and challenging ones. - Sam Sutherland
Former child actor Van Dyke Parks had reinvented himself as a songwriter, arranger, raconteur, and budding conceptualist when Warner Bros. bankrolled this brave, baroque 1968 debut, which has achieved true notoriety in the annals of '60s California pop.More heard-of than heard, Song Cycle sailed against the tide of guitar-driven, blues-drenched rock to bet on the orchestral ambitions of Sgt. Pepper, weaving a conceptual tapestry from folk, Tin Pan Alley, and classical strands. In place of generational anthems or confessional love songs, Parks's coy, modest tenor offered intricate, impressionistic wordplay ripe with puns, multiple-entendres, and geopolitical allusions far beyond the pale of countercultural rock. On songs such as "The All Golden," "Palm Desert," and "Laurel Canyon Blvd.," you'll hear poetic links to Brian Wilson's most convoluted, internalized soundscapes, as well as a wily musical intelligence that will either intoxicate or infuriate you. Not unlike a brattier, Californian cousin to Stephen Sondheim, Parks revels in musical and thematic puzzles, and Song Cycle offers his most seductive and challenging ones. - Sam Sutherland
Producer: Leonard Waronker1 Vine Street (R Newman)
2 Palm Desert (Van Dyke Parks)
3 Widow's Walk (Van Dyke Parks)
4 Laurel Canyon Blvd. (Van Dyke Parks)
5 The All Golden (Van Dyke Parks)
6 Van Dyke Parks (Public Domain) say what now?
7 Public Domain (Van Dyke Parks) come again . . . ? What the heck?
8 Donovan's Colours (Donovan Leitch)
9 The Attic (Van Dyke Parks)
10 Laurel Canyon Blvd. (Van Dyke Parks)
11 By The People (Van Dyke Parks)
12 Pot Pourri (Van Dyke Parks)
CD bonus track 13 The Eagle And Me (Arlen/Naiberg) (originally released as a single on Warner Bros)
Then came 'Discover America' and we all bought the album thanks to my old friend and collegiate pal Steve Roberts I think! . . .
“Still she walking’ about with she face like Jack Palance - Go To FRANCE!”
The All Golden - Van Dyke Parks
The Mighty Sparrow's 'Jack Palance' Discover America
Van Dyke Parks "Discover America" 1972
While I dig "Song Cycle" quite a bit, I prefer "Discover America", Van Dyke's sprawling, tropical fever dream. What does it sound like? I liken it to giving a bunch of Disney characters lost in Trinidad with nothing but a bottle of booze and a bag of coke. I dunno. It's a whole hill of fun and a big kick in the rubber parts. Light the tiki torches, crank it up, and relax. - By Patrick Crain (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma United States)
After reading reviews for other Van Dyke Parks albums, I'm amazed at how easily this one gets overlooked; Mr. Parks certainly has many strong albums which deserve heaping amounts of credit (Song Cycle and Jump! come to mind first), but to me this one is the perfect blend of the artistic sensibilities of "Song Cycle" and the listenability and pop/catchiness of "Clang of the Yankee Reaper" (The albums released just before and after "Discover America").
To my ears, this one has just the right combination of elements from both albums, and has proven to be the one I come back to listen to the most. Some people may gripe that there are a number of covers on this album (as another reviewer mentioned, "Roosevelt in Trinidad" contains a number of the original versions): But this is where Park's talent for instrumentation, arranging and personalizing material shines through. This album swells and swoons in all the right places; it is a funky feverish haze with exquisite instrumentation, arrangements, and just the right mix of artistic pretention and outright feelgood funkiness. A tropical cocktail that'll shake you! - By Josh Z. Bonder "a sound painter" (Toronto)
After reading reviews for other Van Dyke Parks albums, I'm amazed at how easily this one gets overlooked; Mr. Parks certainly has many strong albums which deserve heaping amounts of credit (Song Cycle and Jump! come to mind first), but to me this one is the perfect blend of the artistic sensibilities of "Song Cycle" and the listenability and pop/catchiness of "Clang of the Yankee Reaper" (The albums released just before and after "Discover America").To my ears, this one has just the right combination of elements from both albums, and has proven to be the one I come back to listen to the most. Some people may gripe that there are a number of covers on this album (as another reviewer mentioned, "Roosevelt in Trinidad" contains a number of the original versions): But this is where Park's talent for instrumentation, arranging and personalizing material shines through. This album swells and swoons in all the right places; it is a funky feverish haze with exquisite instrumentation, arrangements, and just the right mix of artistic pretention and outright feelgood funkiness. A tropical cocktail that'll shake you! - By Josh Z. Bonder "a sound painter" (Toronto)
Van Dyke Parks "Clang Of The Yankee Reaper" 1976
Shedding the florid orchestrations of SONG CYCLE and the West Indies explorations of DISCOVER AMERICA, Van Dyke Parks' third album stands as perhaps his most straightforward set of independent songs.
Though CLANG includes none of Parks' original compositions, the set contains the essence of his sound and shines a light on his skills as an orchestrator and as an arranger. The title song is classic Parks, its lyrics evocative of movement, changing times, and Americana. The steel band sound that had empowered DISCOVER AMERICA is again employed to fine effect, most notably as one of the orchestral flavors in "Another Dream." A wonderful parade-band version of Pachebel's "Canon In D"--sounding like football game halftime entertainment commandeered by a group of scholars--closes the album.
Though CLANG includes none of Parks' original compositions, the set contains the essence of his sound and shines a light on his skills as an orchestrator and as an arranger. The title song is classic Parks, its lyrics evocative of movement, changing times, and Americana. The steel band sound that had empowered DISCOVER AMERICA is again employed to fine effect, most notably as one of the orchestral flavors in "Another Dream." A wonderful parade-band version of Pachebel's "Canon In D"--sounding like football game halftime entertainment commandeered by a group of scholars--closes the album.
