Strange and/or Beautiful music I've just discovered

It's taken nearly 40 years for it to find me!

Funny how many times I've had to ask bookstore/recordstore/cafe owner/mixing desk operator 'what is this you're playing?' Found so much cool stuff that way.

Nearly three decades after it was first released, it's a little ironic to recall that this recording, now a word-of-mouth legend, was initially considered a commercial flop.

Willis Alan Ramsey's start as a recording artist came about a little unusually. After being snubbed by James Taylor's producer, Ramsey approached Leon Russell at his motel, following Russell's appearance in Austin with the Allmann Brothers. After listening to Ramsey, Russell invited him to California for another audition. The album that followed, recorded at various locations across the country, took a year to complete. While Russell's Shelter Records was widely considered a haven for those artists alienated by the big labels, Ramsey still reportedly felt that the process of making the album came at the expense of too many artistic compromises. To him, the music business was simply too much about business and not enough about music, even within the relatively loose constraints of "America's answer to Apple Records."

While many "insiders" blamed Shelter Records for failing to support Ramsey's debut album, the surprising truth was that Ramsey himself asked Shelter not to promote it. In an interview with Jan Reid, a journalist for Texas Monthly magazine (and author of "The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock," a fascinating account of the rise of the progressive country scene of the time), Ramsey said: "I just don't like advertisement. I don't like somebody to feel like they've got to shove something down my throat before I'll find out about it. Because I know that people who listen to records as much as I do will gradually hear one if it's any good. Let it stand the test of time."

Words to choke on, perhaps, for a zealous capitalist, but I'd wager that most would agree that this recording has indeed stood the test of time. It's doubtful that Willis Alan Ramsey-a man who couldn't tolerate the oppressive influence of managers, agents, and journalists-will ever be a household name, act in a movie, or make big bucks off of beer commercials. He might never release another recording. That's regrettable, I suppose. Ultimately, though, we should forget the regret and rejoice that this treasure of a recording is available again. It endures as a gift from the soul of a remarkable artist, a man who refused to allow himself to be molded into a commodity. In the prophetic words of Mr. Ramsey himself, "Let it stand the test of time."

It turns out that this was his one album (& that he has died....)

re: Drew Smith - Melee

I LOVED IT!

Snippets of recognizable music float in and out of each other and form reasonably pleasant abstract sound scapes. If abstract sound scapes are your thing, you might like at least a few songs on this album. If they're not, just don't listen to it.