The unofficial sub-title of this blog is “Free and legal albums I like”. However sometimes I find an album that I do not like but think it is just too unique or weird to ignore. These two out-of-print albums, now available through Ubu, are a case in point. These two recordings feature the great poet Allen Ginsberg “singing” the poems of William Blake. They were collected originally as two albums, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. The idea of Ginsberg reading Blake would be an easily imagined delight but these attempts at creating actual songs from his poetry is just plain weird. It is also an unique project of the psychedelic sixties. In fact, I don’t think this project would have even been considered in any other time. Ginsberg is joined in the vocals by Peter Orlovsky who adds nothing but a little enthusiasm. The accompanying musicians include two of my favorite jazz artists, Bob Dorough and Don Cherry, yet you would be very hard pressed to be able to identify their contribution. If you must ask for one recommended track, I would pick “Little Boy Lost” because of its brevity and because Ginsberg is almost in tune. Actually, “Laughing Song” is kind of fun. The best thing I can say about these notorious albums is that they are an unique historical artifact and should be experienced at least once.

Both collections are available in 192kbps MP3. After you get your fill, I suggest you go down the page and listen to Ginsberg’s 50s poetry reading that include Howl. Now that’s a keeper!

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