{"id":12258,"date":"2024-02-26T12:33:36","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T12:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=12258"},"modified":"2024-03-09T18:28:08","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T18:28:08","slug":"music-farewell-aldebaran-jerry-yester-judy-henske-1969","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=12258","title":{"rendered":"MUSiC: Farewell Aldebaran, Jerry Yester & Judy Henske, 1969"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Well, this arrived in todays mail. I bought it (very<\/em> cheap, via discogs.com). It\u2019s possibly a bit off my usual musical map. But I got it to explore various tendrils that emanate from Tom Waits\u2019 1973 debut, Closing Time<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary connection is Jerry Yester, ex-MFQ (Modern Folk Quartet), and the man who replaced Zal Yanofsky in The Lovin\u2019 Spoonful, who produced Closing Time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yester and Henske, with pet and progeny.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here Yester is working with his then wife, Judy Henske, a folk singer and scenester, once called \u2018The Queen of The Beats\u2019! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other connections with Waits consist in thus first being issued on Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa\u2019s Straight (or was it Bizarre\/Straight?) label. The CE-reissue is on the aptly named Phoenix Records label, with ASH- as the serial no prefix, alluding to a rebirth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Phoenix label CD are-issue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The record disappeared straight into obscurity upon release. But has subsequently acquired something of a cult following. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does it merit one? Hmmm\u2026 I\u2019d say, not exactly. At least not to my<\/em> ears. Or perhaps that\u2019s just \u2018not on first listen\u2019? And, as I listen to it now, I\u2019m not sure how many more<\/em> listens I\u2019d be willing to give it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vocal duties are split between Henske and Yester. Of their two voices, and I\u2019m not really a fan of either, I\u2019d say I marginally prefer his. Hers is a bit more \u2018dated \u201860s folkstress\u2019, and sometimes gets overly strident! For my tastes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music is very much – like the polarised photo in the cover – of its time. And whilst that can be fab\u2019 n\u2019 groovy, it can also just seem a bit mannered and dated. And this stuff, I\u2019m afraid, for me at any rate, leans heftily towards the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lyrically it\u2019s pretty bizarre, the first track, \u2018Snowblind\u2019, sounding almost hallucinogenic. Whereas track four, \u2018St Nicholas Hall\u2019 almost sounds like a text for a church fundraiser! Very odd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently the lyrics are pretty much all Henske\u2019s doing, whilst the music is Yester\u2019s work. Only the opener \u2018Snowblind\u2019 being a collaboration between them both, with, rather oddly it might seem, Zal Yanofsky, whom Yester had replaced in The Lovin\u2019 Spoonful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I prefer the mellower less strident stuff. Such as \u2018Lullaby\u2019. But even then it\u2019s not quite down my boulevard. Whilst musically it is quite wide-ranging, there are moments that nod vigorously towards their folkster heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point I am starting to listen through a second time, and I am also liking it a bit more. Snowblind was a single! It is<\/em> quite poppy. It\u2019s also quite \u2018psych\u2019, even a tad psychedelic. The lyrics are downright weird. And I\u2019m really not keen on the moments where Henske gets screamy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As already alludes to, a product o\u2019 it\u2019s times, methinks! But I do<\/em> like the bass and guitar work on Snowblind: raw and nasty! And I like how Henske bends the note downwards on the word Snowblind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The single of Snowblind was backed by track two, \u2018Horses on a Stick\u2019. Lyrically what we have is more late \u201860s weirdness! I can\u2019t even tell if this is Judith or Jerry singing\u2026 I\u2019m guessing it\u2019s Jerry in the foreground, and both adding harmonies!? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This cranky pop ditty appears to be about \u2018merry go rounds\u2019, or whatever they might symbolically allude to. But this is no \u2018Circle Game\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Track three is the first one I actually outright like. Dominated by Judy, singing in a more mellow vocal vein – very nicely, actually – with keys and guitars backing. The keys sound like harpsichord, celeste, or possibly even clavichord? With a little piano appearing, very effectively, towards the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tinkling keys continue on St Nicholas Hall, albeit now with a warbling monophonic synth line over the top. I like this number, mostly for its strangeness, and the fact I\u2019ve been visiting churches a lot recently. What on earth it\u2019s actually about, if anything other than the obvious, I have no idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something that I\u2019m beginning to discern on a second listen is that chordally and harmonically there\u2019s sometimes a slight jazzy turn, which their folk pop heritage wouldn\u2019t necessarily suggest. It\u2019s only very occasional. But when it happens, it really warms the sound up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Track five \u2018Three Ravens\u2019 is another that I\u2019m coming round to. And – given that the \u2018legendary lost recording\u2019 vibe prob\u2019 derives from the weirder aspects of this album – this is one of the most conventional numbers. It\u2019s kind of pop-folk soused in weird easy-listening, with lush harp and strings. Even brass, as the song crescendos, towards its end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Raider\u2019, which would\u2019ve kicked off side two, in vinyl days of yore, is the most overtly folksy track. Keys, hammer dulcimer (or something like it; (?)?), and harmonica(s?) all add to the trad\u2019 vibes. Yester\u2019s quavering hi-pitched multi-layered vocals are a little bit Jerry Garcia. One of the better tracks, methinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll have to study the lyric sheet\u2026 \u2018Mrs Connor\u2019 sounds like a slightly macabre fairy tale, on first gloss. Musically I like it. The various keyboards, and some vibes or similar tuned percussion, are a good combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather annoyingly, there seems to be an \u2018artefact\u2019 – a disc-fault? – about 1:30 in to track eight, \u2018Rapture\u2019. The vocal is great; and it\u2019s been treated with a very groovy and yet subtle effect that I can\u2019t quite put my finger on. I\u2019m beginning to realise\u2026 maybe this album is<\/em> worthy of cult status? Or at least a few of the tracks, perhaps? This being one such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Charity\u2019 starts out beautifully. But when it hits the chorus it gets a bit declamatory for my tastes. There\u2019s a beautiful folk-pop feel in the verses. Perhaps this patchwork quality is part of this albums simultaneous strengths and weakness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally we come to track ten, \u2018Farewell Aldebaran\u2019, the title number. Here we reach the apotheosis of the albums erratic mix of psych-pop-folk-weirdness. Around the two-minute mark the vocals go all Dr Who\/Davros\/Dalek\u2026 phew!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to admit that on the first listen, I bailed out on this track. It just plain old fashioned did my head in! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the CD player cycles back to \u2018Snowblind\u2019, for play number three, I think Yester and Henske have successfully inserted a sonic, crowbar inside my cranium, and opened it up a little bit\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, this arrived in todays mail. I bought it (very cheap, via discogs.com). It\u2019s possibly a bit off my usual musical map. But I got it to explore various tendrils that emanate from Tom Waits\u2019 1973 debut, Closing Time. The primary connection is Jerry Yester, ex-MFQ (Modern Folk Quartet), and the man who replaced Zal … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “MUSiC: Farewell Aldebaran, Jerry Yester & Judy Henske, 1969”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paGwUa-3bI","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12258"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12258"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12917,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12258\/revisions\/12917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}