Judee Sill (album)
Encyclopedia
Judee Sill is the eponymous debut album by the American singer-songwriter and musician Judee Sill
. Released on September 15, 1971, it was the first album on David Geffen
's Asylum label. Backing musicians include John Beck
and Jim Pons
from The Leaves
. While the majority of the album was produced by Henry Lewy, Graham Nash
handled the duties for the single "Jesus Was a Cross Maker", with his production designed to aim for radio airplay.
The songs that appear on Judee Sill were mostly composed in 1969-71. In 1969, Sill was hired by The Turtles
to write songs for $35 a week for their publishing company, Blimp Music. The earliest of these are "Lady-O," which was recorded by the band, "Crayon Angels," "My Man on Love," "Lopin' Along Thru the Cosmos," "Enchanted Sky Machines," and "Abracadabra."
The latest additions to the album were "The Archetypal Man," "Ridge Rider," and the single "Jesus was a Cross Maker." Originally, two other new songs, "The Pearl" and "The Phoenix," were slated for inclusion, but were removed from the track list to make room for "Jesus was a Cross Maker." They were re-recorded and appeared on Sill's second album, Heart Food
, in 1973.
Musically, the songs are delivered in an acoustic style on guitar and, for "Jesus was a Cross Maker" and "Enchanted Sky Machines," piano. The songs, after work by Sill and Lewy, feature elements of folk, country, and gospel, but also a strong classical influences. Two of Sill's biggest influences were Bach
and Ray Charles
. Lyrically, Sill's songs follow a similar theme of finding redemption, and are influenced by her interest in the occult
and the Rosicrucian
order.
, and she also opened for Cat Stevens
, Gordon Lightfoot
and Tom Paxton
. A full opening-act performance, recorded on October 3, 1971, in Boston in support of Crosby & Nash, appears on the Rhino reissue of Judee Sill. The set was recorded two days after the release of the "Jesus was a Cross Maker" single.
Sill did not enjoy working as a support act. She told NME
in April 1972: "At the start it was hell. As I walked on stage I used to think, "Oh God I'd rather die than do this. I'd rather stick a knife in my heart than go out and say, "Nice to be here!" Unfortunately, sometimes I've played with rock groups which is - urrrrrgh - terrible, ridiculous in fact. If somebody is ready to hear rock and roll they're ready to have a certain part of their mind or body stimulated. It's asking too much of anybody to suddenly switch round and have another part of them stimulated by something else." http://kneeling.co.uk/frames2.asp?pages/jsill/default.asp
Side one
Side two
Production
covered "Jesus Was A Crossmaker" on his 1995 album Mutineer
.
"Jesus Was A Crossmaker" was also covered by The Hollies
. A cover by Rachel Yamagata was featured in the opening credits of the Cameron Crowe
film Elizabethtown
.
Jackie Leven
wrote and recorded a tribute to Sill in 2006 entitled "The Silver In Her Crucifix" on his recent album Oh What A Blow That Phantom Dealt Me.
Robin Pecknold, lead singer of Fleet Foxes
, often performs "Crayon Angels" during the band's live shows.
In 2007 Canadian singer Lori Cullen
covered the song "Lopin' Along Thu The Cosmos" on her cd "Buttercup Bugle".
Judee Sill
Judee Sill was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, she released two albums, then worked briefly as a cartoonist before dying of drug abuse in 1979.Her eponymous debut album was released in late 1971 and was followed around eighteen months...
. Released on September 15, 1971, it was the first album on David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
's Asylum label. Backing musicians include John Beck
John Beck
John Dalton Beck is an American football quarterback starting for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
and Jim Pons
Jim Pons
Jim Pons was a bass guitarist and singer for several 1960s rock bands, including The Leaves, The Turtles, and The Mothers of Invention....
from The Leaves
The Leaves
The Leaves were an American garage band formed in California in 1963. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966. Theirs is the earliest release of this song, which became a rock standard.-History:...
. While the majority of the album was produced by Henry Lewy, Graham Nash
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
handled the duties for the single "Jesus Was a Cross Maker", with his production designed to aim for radio airplay.
Songs
Sill had played piano since her childhood, and honed her skills at reform school in the early 1960s where she was sent for forging checks. After a drugs bust, Sill spent time in jail where she kicked her heroin addiction and made a promise to pursue a songwriting career.The songs that appear on Judee Sill were mostly composed in 1969-71. In 1969, Sill was hired by The Turtles
The Turtles
The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
to write songs for $35 a week for their publishing company, Blimp Music. The earliest of these are "Lady-O," which was recorded by the band, "Crayon Angels," "My Man on Love," "Lopin' Along Thru the Cosmos," "Enchanted Sky Machines," and "Abracadabra."
The latest additions to the album were "The Archetypal Man," "Ridge Rider," and the single "Jesus was a Cross Maker." Originally, two other new songs, "The Pearl" and "The Phoenix," were slated for inclusion, but were removed from the track list to make room for "Jesus was a Cross Maker." They were re-recorded and appeared on Sill's second album, Heart Food
Heart Food
Heart Food is the second album released by American singer/songwriter and musician Judee Sill. It was released on David Geffen's Asylum label in March 1973 to acclaim but minimal sales. Sill wrote, arranged, and produced the album, with influences from Bach and Ray Charles...
, in 1973.
Musically, the songs are delivered in an acoustic style on guitar and, for "Jesus was a Cross Maker" and "Enchanted Sky Machines," piano. The songs, after work by Sill and Lewy, feature elements of folk, country, and gospel, but also a strong classical influences. Two of Sill's biggest influences were Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
and Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
. Lyrically, Sill's songs follow a similar theme of finding redemption, and are influenced by her interest in the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
and the Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
order.
Live
Sill began touring as an opening act in late 1970, a year before the release of Judee Sill. Her first major tour was with Crosby & NashCrosby & Nash
In addition to solo careers and within the larger aggregate of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the musical team of David Crosby and Graham Nash have performed and recorded regularly as a duo, mostly during the 1970s and the 2000s.-History:...
, and she also opened for Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
, Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
and Tom Paxton
Tom Paxton
Thomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
. A full opening-act performance, recorded on October 3, 1971, in Boston in support of Crosby & Nash, appears on the Rhino reissue of Judee Sill. The set was recorded two days after the release of the "Jesus was a Cross Maker" single.
Sill did not enjoy working as a support act. She told NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
in April 1972: "At the start it was hell. As I walked on stage I used to think, "Oh God I'd rather die than do this. I'd rather stick a knife in my heart than go out and say, "Nice to be here!" Unfortunately, sometimes I've played with rock groups which is - urrrrrgh - terrible, ridiculous in fact. If somebody is ready to hear rock and roll they're ready to have a certain part of their mind or body stimulated. It's asking too much of anybody to suddenly switch round and have another part of them stimulated by something else." http://kneeling.co.uk/frames2.asp?pages/jsill/default.asp
Track listing
All tracks arranged and composed by Judee Sill.Side one
- "Crayon Angels" – 2:35
- "The Phantom Cowboy" – 1:40
- "The Archetypal Man" – 3:35
- "The Lamb Ran Away with the Crown" – 3:10
- "Lady-O" – 3:10
- "Jesus Was a Cross Maker" – 3:20
Side two
- "Ridge Rider" – 4:28
- "My Man on Love" – 3:23
- "Lopin' Along Thru the Cosmos" – 3:00
- "Enchanted Sky Machines" – 2:40
- "Abracadabra" – 1:54
Personnel
- Judee SillJudee SillJudee Sill was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, she released two albums, then worked briefly as a cartoonist before dying of drug abuse in 1979.Her eponymous debut album was released in late 1971 and was followed around eighteen months...
– guitar, vocals - Clydie KingClydie KingClydie Crittendon is an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist....
, Rita CoolidgeRita CoolidgeRita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
, Venetta FieldsVenetta FieldsVenetta Fields is an American singer best known as session musician for leading rock and pop acts of the 1970s including Pink Floyd, Barbra Streisand, Steely Dan and the Rolling Stones...
– background vocals - Don BagleyDon BagleyDonald Neff "Don" Bagley is an American jazz bassist.Bagley received formal training on the double bass. He studied in Los Angeles and played in 1945 with Shorty Sherock and Wingy Manone, and in 1948 with Dick Pierce. From 1950 to 1953 and sporadically thereafter, Bagley played with Stan Kenton;...
, Bob Harris – orchestration
Production
- Henry Lewy, John Beck, Jim Pons - productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Graham NashGraham NashGraham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
- production on "Jesus Was a Cross Maker" - Larry Cox - engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
on "Jesus Was a Cross Maker" - Andy ZaxAndy ZaxAndy Zax is a music historian and producer of CD boxed sets and reissues by Talking Heads, Rod Stewart, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Judee Sill, John Cale, Nico, The Neon Philharmonic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, The Sisters of Mercy,...
- reissue production
Cover Versions & Tributes to Sill
Warren ZevonWarren Zevon
Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
covered "Jesus Was A Crossmaker" on his 1995 album Mutineer
Mutineer
Mutineer is an album by American singer/songwriter Warren Zevon, released in 1995. .-Track listing:All tracks composed by Warren Zevon, except where indicated.#"Seminole Bingo" – 3:10...
.
"Jesus Was A Crossmaker" was also covered by The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
. A cover by Rachel Yamagata was featured in the opening credits of the Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
film Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown (film)
Elizabethtown is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Alec Baldwin has a small role as a CEO of an athletic shoe company and Susan Sarandon appears as a grieving widow...
.
Jackie Leven
Jackie Leven
Jackie Leven was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician. After starting his career as a folk musician in the late 1960s, he first found success with new wave band Doll by Doll...
wrote and recorded a tribute to Sill in 2006 entitled "The Silver In Her Crucifix" on his recent album Oh What A Blow That Phantom Dealt Me.
Robin Pecknold, lead singer of Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes are a folk rock band which formed in Seattle, Washington. They are signed to the Sub Pop and Bella Union record labels. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes...
, often performs "Crayon Angels" during the band's live shows.
In 2007 Canadian singer Lori Cullen
Lori Cullen
Lori Cullen is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Her style draws on a diverse blend of pop, folk and jazz influences.Cullen's most recent album, That Certain Chartreuse, is an album of covers, featuring songwriters such as Bee Gees, Gordon Lightfoot, Suzanne Vega, King Crimson, Kurt Swinghammer and...
covered the song "Lopin' Along Thu The Cosmos" on her cd "Buttercup Bugle".