Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog features brilliant new re-imaginings of the music of Louis Hardin, aka Moondog, the blind composer who lived on the streets of Manhattan and became known in the 1960s as “the Viking of Sixth Avenue” for his striking appearance. His beautiful and haunting music was an inspiration to Philip Glass and Steve Reich, who referred to him as “the godfather of minimalism.”
Conceived as a collaboration between the Brooklyn-based Ghost Train Orchestra and the legendary Kronos Quartet, the project quickly expanded to include numerous guest vocalists —including Marissa Nadler, Joan Wasser (aka Joan As Police Woman), Jarvis Cocker of Pulp fame, acclaimed singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, and vocalist Petra Haden, known for her striking a cappella works. Collectively it’s a stunning and talented lineup, digging deep to revitalize Moondog’s uplifting message for a new generation.
The vinyl and CD packages include an essay by biographer Robert Scotto, Moondog's song lyrics, extensive in-studio photographs by Dan Efram, and an interview with Kronos Quartet founder David Harrington and Ghost Train Orchestra founder Brian Carpenter, mediated by music historian Irwin Chusid.
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Produced by Brian Carpenter
All music and lyrics by Louis Hardin aka Moondog
All new arrangements by Brian Carpenter, David Cossin, Curtis Hasselbring, Maxim Moston, Andy Laster, and Matt Bauder
Kronos Quartet tracks edited by Zach Miley and mixed by John Kilgore
Ghost Train Orchestra tracks edited and mixed by Brian Montgomery
“High on a Rocky Ledge” mixed by Seth Manchester
Mastered by Bob Ludwig
01 Theme
02 Be A Hobo (featuring Rufus Wainwright)
03 High On A Rocky Ledge (feat. Marissa Nadler)
04 Caribea
05 Why Spend a Dark Night with You? (feat. Joan As Police Woman)
06 Enough About Human Rights (feat. Karen Mantler)
07 I’m This, I’m That (feat. Jarvis Cocker)
08 Speak of Heaven
09 The Viking of 6th Avenue
10 Down Is Up (feat. Petra Haden)
11 Coffee Beans (feat. Karen Mantler)
12 Behold (feat. Sam Amidon and Aoife O'Donovan)
13 Choo Choo Lullaby (feat. Brian Carpenter)
14 Fog On The Hudson
15 See The Mighty Tree (feat. Petra Haden)
16 Bumbo
17 All Is Loneliness (feat. Joan As Police Woman)
Download the full CD booklet for Songs and Symphoniques here.
