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LP
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MR 452LP
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With his seemingly endless capacity for creating compositions which have an alluring quality, and which are often wrapped in a mesmerizing arrangement that pays homage to those towering sound constructions made by Phil Spector, Shadow Morton, Brian Wilson and the likes, veteran New York polymath Marc Jonson is also deserving of household name status. Involved in making records since the mid-sixties, Jonson's latest long-play collection is a particularly special glimpse into a secret stash of recordings made between 1979 and 2012 in his tiny flat on Cornelia St., New York's Greenwich Village, during the years we spend living (and surviving) there. These tracks are only now seeing the light of day, with many featuring Jonson at his melodic, awe-inspiring best; soul-baring, honest and vulnerable. Spanning these grooves are such delightfully told stories as "The Man Who Walks On Air," "November Paint Brush," the atypical jazz stylings of the instrumental title cut, plus the revealing light that is "The Moon" and the magical, wide eyed beauty as conjured by "Ages Of Wonder."
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LP
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MR 379-2LP
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Munster Records present a reissue of Marc Jonson's Years, originally released in 1972. More than four decades after its original release, a minor album by an obscure artist from the Vanguard catalog is finally reissued on vinyl. There are recordings on the Vanguard label by more famous artists than Marc Jonson, and discs that far outsold Years (1972) -- but this collection has stood the test of time. Years is not only a stunning debut, but a harbinger of the promise of a young artist. "Rainy Dues" kicks off Years with a tersely honest statement and proceeds to expound on that with a series of observations and claims about a relationship whose literal nature is nebulous but whose emotional reality is dense. "Mary" is a musical sequel to the opener which treats with wonderful lyrics as well as powerfully evocative singing. "Mother Jane" remains a mystery after 30-plus years, but you don't need to understand it to enjoy it -- the pondering is a prize in itself. Side A ends with "Fly", an existential lament depicting alienation from others and self. Listen for the additional voices coming in near the end of the song on the word "fly" with a simultaneous harp flourish. "A Long Song" is the metaphoric and literal centerpiece of the album, falling precisely at the midway point. It's sweet and tender, with a narrator sure of himself. The brief "Autopsy", with its five lines, sung twice, carries a hefty poignancy with a melancholic tune. "Return To The Relief" is a lyrical and musical adventure. The carnival ride of this song finishes with a musical reference to Jackie DeShannon's 1969 popular single "Put A Little Love in Your Heart". "Munich" is the only song on the album which feels "dated" in any way -- one can hear the influence of "Revolution 9" from The Beatles' White Album (1968). The title could obliquely refer to the hostage taking at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany -- the havoc of that event mirrored by the fragmented song. The final track is "The Tredmill" which features a constrained and dulcet voice singing in front of a muted piano, interpolated with occasional drum. In Years, Marc Jonson deftly inserts brilliant production values to songs already possessing beautiful melodies and poetic lyricism. Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
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LP+CD
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MR 374LP
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Munster Records present a reissue of Marc Jonson's 12 In A Room, originally released in 1992. Self-recorded and produced, Marc Jonson's second album came out in 1992, two decades after his debut, the psych folk/baroque pop masterpiece Years (MR 379LP). 12 In A Room was another brilliant display of his gift for beautiful pop music, now available on vinyl for the first time. Includes CD.
"... 'A melody comes into my head 'da-da-dah-da, show me some mer-cy' and I start thinking is that some Motown song from the Sixties? And I go uh-oh, no it isn't, it's mine. I gotta write it down.' So he runs into a candy store and buys a Bic pen and a pad. And then he goes up there to his room, the timeless teen-space where everything stops, where he does his dreaming and his scheming, laughs at yesterday and puts it on tape. From the ELOish opener to the cosmic 'Love Radiates Around', from the Bardo-haunted love ballads to the drowning 'Larry Stein', from the dire conditions of "Cold Weather" to the dire straits of 'Desperate', all the songs on this album were written, recorded and produced in that little 11x14 foot room high above Cornelia Street on a four-track TEAC. It's a little like making your own movie and playing all the parts. Clouds go by -- no clock ticking --night comes down -- guitars strumming -- pulse of the street -- drums smack -- reverb -- mix down to two track -- crash 'till late afternoon -- call up to play it over the phone -- can you hear the words? I'm hungry -- wanna get a bite with me and walk around? But there's a little of the mad scientist, too. 'It's where I get in touch with the thing.' Marc at the controls -- turning all the knobs -- he's everybody in the whole universe and he's blasting off. Head exploding 'till it fits the whole room. Head is room. Room alive! 'A song is a collection of the way a certain period of time feels,' he says. That's where the real weather is, inside." David Dalton
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LP + 7"
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MR 379LP
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RSD 2018 release. First time vinyl reissue. More than four decades after its original release, a minor album by an obscure artist from the Vanguard catalog is finally reissued on vinyl. There are recordings on the Vanguard label by more famous artists than Marc Jonson, and discs that far outsold Years (1972) -- but this collection has stood the test of time. Years is not only a stunning debut, but a harbinger of the promise of a young artist. "Rainy Dues" kicks off Years with a tersely honest statement and proceeds to expound on that with a series of observations and claims about a relationship whose literal nature is nebulous but whose emotional reality is dense. "Mary" is a musical sequel to the opener which treats with wonderful lyrics as well as powerfully evocative singing. "Mother Jane" remains a mystery after 30-plus years, but you don't need to understand it to enjoy it -- the pondering is a prize in itself. Side A ends with "Fly", an existential lament depicting alienation from others and self. Listen for the additional voices coming in near the end of the song on the word "fly" with a simultaneous harp flourish. "A Long Song" is the metaphoric and literal centerpiece of the album, falling precisely at the midway point. It's sweet and tender, with a narrator sure of himself. The brief "Autopsy", with its five lines, sung twice, carries a hefty poignancy with a melancholic tune. "Return To The Relief" is a lyrical and musical adventure. The carnival ride of this song finishes with a musical reference to Jackie DeShannon's 1969 popular single "Put A Little Love in Your Heart". "Munich" is the only song on the album which feels "dated" in any way -- one can hear the influence of "Revolution 9" from The Beatles' White Album (1968). The title could obliquely refer to the hostage taking at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany -- the havoc of that event mirrored by the fragmented song. The final track is "The Tredmill" which features a constrained and dulcet voice singing in front of a muted piano, interpolated with occasional drum. In Years, Marc Jonson deftly inserts brilliant production values to songs already possessing beautiful melodies and poetic lyricism. Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180 gram vinyl; Includes 7" with four extra tracks.
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