martes, 19 de abril de 2011

1978 LP MOONDOG "H'ART SONGS"


I'm Just A Hop Head 2:42 High On A Rocky Ledge 4:25 Do Your Thing 3:07 Enough About Human Rights 3:35 I'm This, I'm That 3:47 Aska Me 1:58 I'm In The World 3:38 Here's To John Wesley Hardin 6:58 Choo-Choo Lullaby 5:51 Pigmy Pig 3:15

H'art Songs is one anomaly in the composer's output during this period, as each of the songs are considerably traditional in form with a sing-song, almost pop-oriented mentality.

All the songs consist of Moondog singing to minimal, catchy piano accompaniments and occasional percussion.

Moondog sings with a quavering sincerity in his voice that recalls Robert Wyatt while the pathos and humor in the lyrics to songs like "Enough About Human Rights" ("What about hog rights?/What about frog rights?") and "I'm Just A Hop Head" ("...and so I'll be, till I'm dead/I started hopping when first I hopped into bed") suggests the innocent despair of Daniel Johnston.

The simplicity in these songs, however, is misleading, as the repetitive melodies are blessed with subtle chord structures that gradually take on an epic, even otherworldly, feel.

This singular quirkiness and radiant uniqueness in approach makes this music distinctly Moondog.

Highly accessible yet criminally overlooked, H'Art Songs' music reveals a fascinating stage in Moondog's artistic development, blessed with the understated beauty that makes his work so