https://youtu.be/MgmAg6XsH34

First time on CD & Digital, includes rare and previously unissued material!

I once saw Ginsberg do a gig at the Troubadour in L.A. He was doing Blake stuff. I thought, “This all connects.” —Van Morrison


The original 1970 MGM album on CD and Digital for the first time, plus a second disc of rarities and previously unissued songs. Lester Bangs, in Rolling Stone magazine, said the album was, “like a labor of love, a salute from a young visionary to an ancient sage.”

Allen Ginsberg began “tuning” William Blake’s poetry in 1968 (inspired by attending the tumultuous protests at that year’s Democratic Convention in Chicago), but the origin of the album dates back to a 1948 vision or “auditory illumination” as he called it, of William Blake reciting poetry to him in his Spanish Harlem apartment. Moved by this, Ginsberg began to set Blake’s poetry to music. In 1969, he began recording musical versions of Blake’s poetry with Peter Orlovsky, and jazz legends Bob Dorough, Don Cherry, Elvin Jones! 19 of those songs were released the following year as Songs Of Innocence And Experience. That material finally arrives on CD and Digital as The Complete Songs Of Innocence And Experience in 2017. In addition to the original LP, 2 previously unissued tracks have been added: an alternate take, as well as a song intended for the LP, but left off due to time constraints.

But, that is not where the story ends. In 1971, Ginsberg returned to the Blake material, recording 11 songs in San Francisco with avant-garde cellist Arthur Russell—four of which were never issued. The ensemble also recorded 3 Tibetan mantras with a Buddhist choir—resulting in a full on psychedelic East-West experience—also all previously unissued. This material comprises a second CD, truly making this Complete. With restoration and mastering from Grammy
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Po raz pierwszy w wydaniu kompaktowym, podwójne wydawnictwo, zawierające poezję Williama Blake'a w wykonaniu jednego z najwybitniejszych przedstawicieli literatury i poezji ery beatników, Allena Ginsberga. Płyta, która oryginalnie miała premierę w 1970 roku, ukazuje się dla uczczenia 20. rocznicy śmierci Amerykanina. Została wzbogacona o wcześniej niepublikowane nagrania (drugi dysk). W książeczce zaś znajdują się niepublikowane wcześniej zdjęcia, wywiady z muzykami sesyjnymi.



Allen Ginsberg wyjaśniał, że do nagrania takiego albumu pchnęła go wizja/iluminacja, jaką miał w 1948 roku, w której sam William Blake recytował mu swoje wiersze. W nagraniach wspomogli go Peter Orlovsky oraz jazzmani - Bob Dorough, Don Cherry, Elvin Jones. W 1971 roku Ginsberg nagrał dodatkową porcję (11 utworów, w tym kilka tybetańskich mantr) wieszy Blake'a w San Francisco z wiolonczelistą Arthurem Russellem. Cztery spośród nich nigdy wcześniej się nie ukazały. Teraz można je usłyszeć na bonusowym CD.


First time on CD & Digital, includes rare and previously unissued material!

I once saw Ginsberg do a gig at the Troubadour in L.A. He was doing Blake stuff. I thought, “This all connects.” —Van Morrison


The original 1970 MGM album on CD and Digital for the first time, plus a second disc of rarities and previously unissued songs. Lester Bangs, in Rolling Stone magazine, said the album was, “like a labor of love, a salute from a young visionary to an ancient sage.”

Allen Ginsberg began “tuning” William Blake’s poetry in 1968 (inspired by attending the tumultuous protests at that year’s Democratic Convention in Chicago), but the origin of the album dates back to a 1948 vision or “auditory illumination” as he called it, of William Blake reciting poetry to him in his Spanish Harlem apartment. Moved by this, Ginsberg began t.......
more