It commonly happens that a musical artist fizzles out but is contractually obliged to provide (say) one more album for release. Usually, the artist resents this obligation and dishes up some rubbish from the vaults (Led Zeppelin's Coda, Bob Dylan's Dylan), or merely compiles a best-of.
However, I read today that two albums I value very highly – Bob Dylan's (1992) and Good As I Been To You (1992) and World Gone Wrong (1993) – were made under contractual obligation. This is not surprising, in retrospect. Not one song on them is an original composition; rather, both albums are unaccompanied acoustic performances of "traditional" folk and blues material. They were released after several albums of sludge in the 1980s with only a small percentage of good material.
Artistically, Dylan was at a low ebb and these two records were seen as a way of taking the pressure off himself and rekindling his muse, whence the rivers of rootsy gold in his three albums since: Time Out of Mind (1997), "Love and Theft" (2001) and Modern Times (2006). His early 90s efforts are curiosities, yet wonderful curiosities, and were it not for that insidious thing known as contractual obligation, we may never have received them.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
In praise of record company contracts
Saturday, March 8, 2008
A beautiful serendipity
Arvo Part (with an umlaut above the a) is one of my favourite composers. What's remarkable about this is that he's still alive. Most modern classical music is fairly inaccessible, but Part's music is very modern and usually hauntingly beautiful. (Some samples of his work can be found here.) Like some other modern composers, it is largely based on simplicity and purity, but this is done to profound rather than academic effect.
Anyway, I was just looking him up on Wikipedia to see if there were any new pieces of which I should be aware (answer: not really) and I happened on a link to a page which lists upcoming performances of his work worldwide. And wouldn't you know it, there's a performance of his Miserere in Adelaide tonight! Now for those who don't know, I'm a few hours' flight from Adelaide, so what good is that? Well, an optimistic visit to the ABC classic FM website was rewarded: they're broadcasting this concert at 11pm!
There are a couple of other pieces in the broadcast, seemingly by other modern composers. Should be an enjoyable and educational evening.