The Beginning (Jandek album)
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| The Beginning | ||
 |
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| Studio album by Jandek | ||
| Released | 1999 | |
| Recorded | Unknown | |
| Genre | Outsider music / Folk Music / Blues / Classical | |
| Length | 43:23 | |
| Label | Corwood Industries | |
| Producer(s) | Corwood Industries | |
| Jandek chronology | ||
|---|---|---|
| New Town (1998) |
The Beginning (1999) |
Put My Dream on This Planet (2000) |
The Beginning is the twenty-eighth album by Jandek, and his only for (1999). Corwood Industries release #0766, it finishes the "second acoustic phase" and includes a fifteen and a half minute solo piano instrumental that is surprisingly adept.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Considered the seventh and final album of the "second acoustic phase" (which begins with Twelfth Apostle), The Beginning starts out much like its predecessor, New Town. These are minimal acoustic pieces, though the tuning seems a little less harsh than on the last album, and Jandek almost sounds warm singing "hello, it's February." That leads to a re-visit of New Town's "You Standing There" (that is not so different from the original, though a little brisker), and then several tracks that deal with topics from levels of turkey juice in the blood (a metaphor for..?)to pleading for love to paying the bills ("Lonesome Bridge" begins "I heard this from the management/don’t think twice just pay the rent"). Then things sound REAL familiar. "A Dozen Drops" begins by revisiting "Nancy Sings" ("A dozen drops/fall from your face")and ends by saying "God came between us" (a song from Lost Cause) while his slow guitar picks out despairing notes. And then?
As "The Electric End" brought the "electric phase" to an ear-splitting close, so does "The Beginning" bring this phase to its end, but it's different. Rather than a feedback-drenched screamer this is a solo piano instrumental that continues for over fifteen minutes. Those expecting an approximation of Cecil Taylor without the training are in for a stunner, as Jandek turns out to know a thing or two about the piano. Sure, some of it is stumbling around (and he has a thing, unsurprisingly, for the sustain pedal), but then this is obviously an improvised piece, and it's filled with passion (there are both fiery moments and some genuinely beautiful ones)and skill (not just anyone can do the runs that he throws around partway through the track). The song ends abruptly, as if the tape ran out in performance (a nod, perhaps, to "European Jewel (Incomplete)?").
Many speculated, again, that this was the obvious end. "A Dozen Drops" seemed to bring an end to the "Nancy" sequence and "The Beginning" seemed like it might, in fact, be the end. It should also be noted that, at this point, the only discs available were the CD's (and even then, Graven Image had gone out of print), meaning that there was very little Jandek music available outside of private collections. Soon after this came out a re-issue of Ready for the House appeared. So was this really it, and was he now going to finish his career off by slowly reissuing his catalog? No. Turned out he had a lot more to say (twenty-one albums more at this point) and his next step would be more controversial than anything the artist had put out before.
[edit] Track listing:
- "It's February"
- "You Standing There"
- "I Never Left You Anyway"
- "Moving Slow"
- "Falling Down Deep"
- "Lonesome Bridge"
- "A Dozen Drops"
- "The Beginning"
[edit] Album cover description
Muted, blue overtones, similar to On the Way. The only thing you can make out are the drawn curtains, the doorjamb, and something between the two (a chair, perhaps?)
[edit] Reviews
Yet another start for Jandek... ‘Hello,’ he sings, ‘it’s February.’ For the title tune, Jandek spends fifteen and a half minutes alone on piano! No vocals either. His hammering chords at the high end of the keyboard sometimes sound close to his hard-strum guitar, but the more melodic moments, especially the lower notes, are new sounds for this artist. By virtue of the instrument, Jandek sounds more ‘in tune’ than usual, but listen for those passages where he combines chords to somehow create bell-like sounds, or the high-end ‘crazy’ freak-out stuff that he uses very sparingly. The overall mood of the piece is somber, ‘classical’ in a broad stylistic sense, with free-style flourishes that are maybe unconscious. Pretty great. -- Piero Scaruffi The History of Rock Music Vol. 4
