I Hear a New World
Encyclopedia
I Hear a New World - an Outer Space Music Fantasy is a concept album
devised and composed by Joe Meek
and performed by The Blue Men in 1959. It was partially released in 1960 and completely released in 1991 by RPM Records. It was later released by Barry Cleveland, in a more authentic manner, with his book "Creative Music Production: Joe Meek's Bold Techniques".
In its September 1998 issue (175), music magazine The Wire
listed the album in the lead article "100 Records that Set the World on Fire (When No One Was Listening)", It was described being a "profound influence on artists as diverse as Steven Stapleton
and Saint Etienne
".
The title song was covered by Television Personalities, Mark Sultan
, and They Might Be Giants
(2004)
group from Ealing
in London
. As well as I Hear a New World - an Outer Space Music Fantasy, they also recorded as "Rodd, Ken and the Cavaliers" for Joe Meek. The tracks were recorded at Meek's Holland Park
flat, and also in Lansdowne Studios.
The album was Meek's pet project. He was fascinated by the then-new space programme
and proposed that life existed elsewhere in the solar system. This album was his attempt "to create a picture in music of what could be up there in outer space," he explained. "At first I was going to record it with music that was completely out of this world but realized that it would have very little entertainment value so I kept the construction of the music down to earth." This he achieved, as producer, by blending The Blue Men's skiffle/rock and roll style with a range of sounds and effects, created by such kitchen-sink methods as blowing bubbles in water with a straw, draining water out of the sink, shorting an electrical circuit and even banging partly filled milk bottles with spoons; yet one must listen carefully to detect these prosaic origins in the finished product. Another important feature of the recordings is the very early use of stereophony.
The first, eponymous track on the album is also the only one to feature conventional vocals; most of the others are instrumentals, but some feature high-frequency vocals in the style of The Chipmunks
, Pinky and Perky
and The Nutty Squirrels
.
Meek also wrote sleeve notes for each track, in order that he might set the scene for each piece. For instance, the notes for "Magnetic Field" read: "This is a stretch of the Moon where there is a strange lack of gravity forcing everything to float three feet above the crust, which with a different magnetic field from the surface sets any article in some sections in vigorous motion, and at times everything is in rhythm."
Triumph Records
label in May 1960, but only a 4-track 7-inch-E.P. ("Part 1") was released. Only a few demo/preview-copies of the L.P. are known to exist. The rereleases are dubbed from these discs.
A second E.P. was planned, but never appeared; only the sleeve was printed. This, and the cancellation of the album itself, was due to financial problems at the label. This resulted in Meek leaving the label. The band, too, drifted away and returned to the live circuit.
Producer:
Joe Meek
Side 1
Side 2
(Track lengths are from the CD reissue.)
Entry of the Globbots, Valley of the Saroos, Orbit around the Moon, Magnetic Field
Globb Waterfall, The Dribcots' Space Boat, Love Dance Of The Saroos, The Bublight
. The songs were retitled to fit to the theme of the album: "Orbit Around the Moon" became "Husky Team"; "Entry of the Globbots" became "Tune for Short Cowboys"; "The Bublight" became "The Outlaws"; and "Valley of the Saroos" became "Spring is Near".
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
devised and composed by Joe Meek
Joe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
and performed by The Blue Men in 1959. It was partially released in 1960 and completely released in 1991 by RPM Records. It was later released by Barry Cleveland, in a more authentic manner, with his book "Creative Music Production: Joe Meek's Bold Techniques".
In its September 1998 issue (175), music magazine The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
listed the album in the lead article "100 Records that Set the World on Fire (When No One Was Listening)", It was described being a "profound influence on artists as diverse as Steven Stapleton
Steven Stapleton
Steven Peter Stapleton is a British musician and the only constant member of experimental improv outfit Nurse with Wound...
and Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne (band)
Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...
".
The title song was covered by Television Personalities, Mark Sultan
Mark Sultan
Mark Sultan is a Canadian musician and entrepreneur from Montreal, Quebec. He was a member of a number of Canadian garage bands including the Spaceshits, Les Sexareenos, and Mind Controls...
, and They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
(2004)
Production Details
The musicians, "The Blue Men", were originally "The West Five", a skiffleSkiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
group from Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. As well as I Hear a New World - an Outer Space Music Fantasy, they also recorded as "Rodd, Ken and the Cavaliers" for Joe Meek. The tracks were recorded at Meek's Holland Park
Holland Park
Holland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
flat, and also in Lansdowne Studios.
The album was Meek's pet project. He was fascinated by the then-new space programme
Human spaceflight
Human spaceflight is spaceflight with humans on the spacecraft. When a spacecraft is manned, it can be piloted directly, as opposed to machine or robotic space probes and remotely-controlled satellites....
and proposed that life existed elsewhere in the solar system. This album was his attempt "to create a picture in music of what could be up there in outer space," he explained. "At first I was going to record it with music that was completely out of this world but realized that it would have very little entertainment value so I kept the construction of the music down to earth." This he achieved, as producer, by blending The Blue Men's skiffle/rock and roll style with a range of sounds and effects, created by such kitchen-sink methods as blowing bubbles in water with a straw, draining water out of the sink, shorting an electrical circuit and even banging partly filled milk bottles with spoons; yet one must listen carefully to detect these prosaic origins in the finished product. Another important feature of the recordings is the very early use of stereophony.
The first, eponymous track on the album is also the only one to feature conventional vocals; most of the others are instrumentals, but some feature high-frequency vocals in the style of The Chipmunks
The Chipmunks
Alvin and the Chipmunks is an American animated music group created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. The group consists of three singing animated anthropomorphic chipmunks: Alvin, the mischievous troublemaker, who quickly became the star of the group; Simon, the tall, bespectacled intellectual;...
, Pinky and Perky
Pinky and Perky
Pinky and Perky is an animated children's television series first broadcast by the BBC in 1957, revived in 2008 as a CGI animation.-Original series:...
and The Nutty Squirrels
Nutty Squirrels
The Nutty Squirrels were a scat singing virtual band, formed in imitation of The Chipmunks, that had a Top 40 hit in late 1959 with the song "Uh-Oh"...
.
Meek also wrote sleeve notes for each track, in order that he might set the scene for each piece. For instance, the notes for "Magnetic Field" read: "This is a stretch of the Moon where there is a strange lack of gravity forcing everything to float three feet above the crust, which with a different magnetic field from the surface sets any article in some sections in vigorous motion, and at times everything is in rhythm."
Release history
The L.P. was scheduled to be released by Joe Meek'sJoe Meek
Robert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
Triumph Records
Triumph Records (UK)
Triumph Records was a UK record label set up in January 1960 by Joe Meek and William Barrington-Coupe with the financial backing of Major Wilfred Alonzo Banks. The label existed for less than a year and although most of the artistes are unknown, many of the records now sell for high prices in the...
label in May 1960, but only a 4-track 7-inch-E.P. ("Part 1") was released. Only a few demo/preview-copies of the L.P. are known to exist. The rereleases are dubbed from these discs.
A second E.P. was planned, but never appeared; only the sleeve was printed. This, and the cancellation of the album itself, was due to financial problems at the label. This resulted in Meek leaving the label. The band, too, drifted away and returned to the live circuit.
The Blue Men
- Rod Freeman: group leader, guitar, vocals;
- Ken Harvey: tenor sax, vocals;
- Roger Fiola: Hawaiian Guitar;
- Chris White: guitar;
- Doug Collins: bass;
- Dave Golding: drums
Producer:
Joe Meek
Track listing
(Running order of original 1960-scheduled L.P.)Side 1
- "I Hear a New World" 2:44
- "Globb Waterfall" 3:15
- "Entry Of The Globbots" 3:09
- "Valley Of The Saroos" 2:50
- "Magnetic Field" 3:10
- "Orbit Around The Moon" 2:49
Side 2
- "The Bublight" 2:43
- "March of the Dribcots" 2:07
- "Love Dance Of The Saroos" 2:33
- "The Dribcots' Space Boat" 2:16
- "Disc Dance of the Globbots" 2:15
- "Valley of No Return" 3:07
(Track lengths are from the CD reissue.)
Releases
- The Blue Men, directed by Rod Freeman: I Hear A New World - Part 1 (e.p., Triumph Records RGX-ST5000, March 1960)
Entry of the Globbots, Valley of the Saroos, Orbit around the Moon, Magnetic Field
- The Blue Men, directed by Rod Freeman: I Hear A New World - Part 2 (e.p., Triumph Records RGX-ST5001, not released)
Globb Waterfall, The Dribcots' Space Boat, Love Dance Of The Saroos, The Bublight
- (LP, Triumph Records TRX-ST9000, scheduled for May 1960)
- CD (RPM records RPM502) Joe Meek - "I Hear a New World" (the front cover credits Meek, and the back credits Rod Freeman and the Blue Men; also includes audio and film clips of interviews with Meek.
Dream of the West
Four compositions from I Hear a New World were also used on the 1961 album Dream of the West by The OutlawsThe Outlaws (UK band)
The Outlaws were an English instrumental band that recorded in the early 1960s. One time members included Ritchie Blackmore, Chas Hodges, Bobby Graham, Ken Lundgren, Mick Underwood, Reg Hawkins , Billy Kuy and others....
. The songs were retitled to fit to the theme of the album: "Orbit Around the Moon" became "Husky Team"; "Entry of the Globbots" became "Tune for Short Cowboys"; "The Bublight" became "The Outlaws"; and "Valley of the Saroos" became "Spring is Near".
Further reading
- Barry Cleveland: "Creative Music Production: Joe Meek's Bold Techniques" (MixBooks; Vallejo, CA, USA, 2001) ISBN 1931140081
- RW Dopson & AD Blackburn, sleeve notes for "I Hear a New World", RPM reissue.
External links
- http://www.barrycleveland.com/ Barry Cleveland
- RPM Records, UK
- Triumph Records discography: EPs and LPs, "I Hear A New World"
- The Wire'sThe Wire (magazine)The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
100 Records That Set The World On Fire (When No One Was Listening)