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| | | de stijl (usa) #ind 032 cd ed askew “little eyes” compact disc - little eyes
- songs for pilots
- waiting in the station
- little infinite love song
- oh, all the gold and green eyes
- my love is a red red rose
- beds of soft silk
- city of glass
- the face of fire
- old mother moon
- the accordian man
- o the lovely face
- my love is a red, red rose
- jeffery taste
- reasonable man
- rodeo rose
| | 2007 release ; cd version of the second lp from connecticut folk artist ed askew, whose 1968 “ask the unicorn” is a bonafide cult classic, having been released on esp-disk’ ... |
| | de stijl press release... |
| ed askew
little eyes
ind - 032 cd
ed askew grew up in stanford, connecticut, leaving in the early 60s to attend yale university in nearby new haven. a painter, he earned a degree in fine arts. after graduation, he taught briefly at a private suburban high school before returning to new haven. he arrived just in time to take part in the town’s burgeoning music scene, which also spawned future esp artists erica pomerance and bill horowitz.
his original musical instrument was the martin tipple, which he describeds as a “10-stringed instrument shaped like a baritone ukulele.” for several months circa 66-67, he was in a psychedelic folk band called gandalf and the motorpickle, who played at the exit coffeehouse, which was located in the basement of a methodist church.
not long after askew left the gandalf group, esp signed him and released the album that has become known as ask the unicorn. little eyes was recorded immediately following the poorly selling debut. made with little more than ed’s voice and the stunningly modern arrangements of his beloved martin tipple, all the songs were recorded in one continuous take. little eyes is as grand, sad and beautiful a statement as can be expressed. his off key lilt hangs like a seductive pink mist, and settles deeply; you’ll hear these songs long after they are over.
the few concerts which askew did play were self-promoted affairs. with no organized tours, and hardly any press support from esp, ed’s two albums soon descended into hardly-seen-or-heard obscurity status, before finally finding re-release in the past few years.
little eyes was the second album that ed askew recorded. his eponymous debut (reissued under the name ask the unicorn) was one of the gems of the original esp-disk catalogue. strangely-voiced folk music with no easy parallels, packed inside a sleeve showing a negative image of cars burning on the streets of stamford, connecticut, it was as anomolous as any of the label's offerings, and brimmed with a very special disconnectedness. it was even played on an instrument - a martin tiple - which seemed imaginary. who ever heard of a tiple?
over the years, small pieces of ed's story came into the light. the most exciting nugget was the rumor he'd done sessions for a second album, which had been finished, but never issued. this rumor was borne out a few years ago, with the discovery of little eyes - an album which actually supercedes its known predecessor in terms of songwritings, vibe and all else.
a solo set, recorded roughly three years after his debut, ed's plan was to craft an album that recreated his live shows. most of the songs were done in a single take, tape rolling the whole time, spaces to be edited out at a later date. mistakes happened, but were incorporated into the feeling of spontaneity that was part and parcel of the project. and damn, the songs are great.
ed recalls that most were written during the brief period he lived with a woman named jessica in a one room apartment in brooklyn heights, and they have a tenderness recalling pearls before swine at their least cryptic. it should be noted, ed only met tom rapp briefly and does not count him as an influence.
"pearls before swine i only met once," ed recalls. "i was tripping and in no mood to talk to anyone. so it was sort of a non-event. i don't know what they thought. i remember tom rapp - at least i assume it was tom rapp - telling me stollman had sent them some copies of my record and it was one of the strangest things they'd ever heard. but after lou reed and patti smith and all that, i don't think it sounds so strange."
in these days, so long after patti and lou and all that, i'm sure we can just listen to, and embrace the magic that fills little eyes. the actual little eyes session has been appended for this issue by some lovely work recorded at various radio stations, after the album foundered. this material uses more harmonica than ed's studio work and is proof he was ready to produce lots more of the ethereral work that was his special province. perhaps this is the right moment to declare your tastes as being hipper than tom rapp's.
go ahead. free yourself.
- byron coley deerfield ma 2007 |
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