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Friday, February 13, 2009

Are imperfections a plus, something to search and cherish?




... and life and music imperfections? IMO, an interesting interaction field, indeed.
I was listening few moments ago to an old Claudio Rocchi disk, as I'm so fond of the original 1971 vinyl record I only listen to it on special occasions... with friends, when I'm happy, when I want to listen to filterless, untamed analog Progressive Better World, when Imagination and Braveness in Music was paramount... well: Claudio Rocchi's Volo Magico nr. 1 on thick Ariston vinyl or on Japan issue nice-disk replicating original strangely fold out cover isn't a perfect studio recording, not a perfectly produced Top 10 hit, Madonna-like product... some inspired, hot musician and friends had a recordist friend using a primitive mixer and a (now) cheap Revox' RtoR spinning... the sound is zest-like as a June morning in Connemara... 6 & 12 strings acoustic guitars, voices, mellotron, cheap upright pianos, a friend playing an incredible solo Gibson hollow-body electric bass - something weird'n'rare now as yesterday... nothing more, BUT the music is so powerful and deep and new it stood the almost 40 years hiatus to these very modern days as brand-new!
The mixing, sound-on-sound, multitracking technique is far from perfect... but these young musicians "did it"!
This miracle happens seldomly... early Incredible String Band's, Popol Vuh's Hosianna Mantra, Yeti by Amon Duul, some late, Daniel Lanois' produced His Bobness discs, early Neil Young's, David Crosby's If I could only remember my Name... technique, recording are secondary to the deepness and easyness of music flowing, flooding directly and misteriously from Musicians hearts.
A comparison in female beauty... Winona Ryder, better yet... Uma Thurman isn't a perfect woman... but her strange profile, her nose, her class, charme, statue-like body... the almost magical blend of all this, plus the impalpable breath of intelligence, irony and life experiences... voilà: one of most beautiful (public) woman ever...

Some cold, super-perfect productions... too many to name... never get this God breath, this uniqueness... in rock or ancient music... the coldness in Kenneth Gilbert's harpsichord or Ton Koopmann's crazyness, Leonhardt or Clemencic's approach - academy voices vs. gipsy, natural voices... what's the one "giving more" to listener... is the silence between movements, the absence of strings noises or, rather, the life musician was able to infuse to his performance?

Life is a fractal-like affaire: between white and black there are zillions colours shades and nuances... definitely, Beauty is on same vein and you cannot lie to your D.N.A.!

As Robbie Basho wrote on "Song of the Stallion" liner-notes: " I was asked to sum up my philosophy of life and music... "my" philosophy is quite simple: soul first, technique later, or "Better drink wine from hands than water from a pretty cup", of course the ultimate is wine from a pretty cup!"

... again: one of the most beautiful girlfriend I had in my teens had a slightly broken tooth in her soooo beautiful smile... when she grew up she fixed it and - she also knew it - loosed her uniqueness... a sad story.
Like an overproduced disc...

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