Discover America
Discover America | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 1972 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:09 | |||
Warner Bros. | ||||
Producer |
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Van Dyke Parks chronology | ||||
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Discover America is the second album by American recording artist
The album mostly features songs popularized by early Calypso musicians, as well as songs by
The title of the album is derived from the poem "I Am Waiting" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Background
Most of the album's songs were originally written by early Calypso musicians between the 1920s and 1940s, but had fallen into the public domain by the time Discover America was recorded in 1972. As such, nearly all of the songs are listed as "Public domain; arranged & adapted by Van Dyke Parks." Lyrical themes run a wide range of
Parks would continue his study of Calypso and Caribbean music on his third album,
Songs
Discover America has been described as a work of calypso,[1][2][3] progressive pop,[4] art rock[5] and Americana.[6]
"Jack Palance", is a one-minute clip of
"Introduction" is credited to Samuel Alter, and features an unknown man (likely either Alter or Parks) speaking into a tape recorder about
"The Four Mills Brothers" was written by
"Be Careful" has been described by AllMusic as "a piece of advice from a father to a son when the offspring is approaching the age when love is being considered. A brilliant, almost chamber string arrangement carries the overall melody, yet this is combined with the Trinidad steel band music that Van Dyke Parks was fully and happily involved in at the time."[9] AllMusic credits the song to Leo Robin, but this is an error. The author is currently unknown.
"John Jones" was performed by
A Rykodisc version of Discover America contains a bonus track, a cover of Joseph Spence's "Out on the Rolling Sea (Where Jesus Speaks to Me)".
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork | 8.5/10[12] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [13] |
Uncut | [2] |
Released in May 1972 by
Retrospectively, Jayson Greene
Legacy
In a 1997 interview, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys praised Discover America as one of his favorite albums. He said, "I liked Discover America by Van Dyke – that's the greatest album ever made. Oh. Have you heard it? I've played it, like, 50 times, maybe, over the years. I've really learned a lot from it. It's really something how you play something and you hear something and you don't quite hear exactly the way you did before. It's really different."[19]
Track listing
All songs "public domain; arranged & adapted by Van Dyke Parks" unless otherwise noted.
Side one
- "Jack Palance" (Mighty Sparrow) – 0:59
- "Introduction" (Samuel Alter) – 0:27
- "Bing Crosby" (The Lion) – 2:21
- "Steelband Music" – 2:11
- "The Four Mills Brothers" (The Lion) – 1:28
- "Be Careful" – 2:48
- "John Jones" (Rudy Mills) – 3:08
- "FDR in Trinidad" (Fitz McLean)[20] – 2:27
- "Sweet Trinidad" – 0:56
Side two
- "Occapella" (Allen Toussaint) – 2:41
- "Sailin' Shoes" (Lowell George) – 2:09
- "Riverboat" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:02
- "Ode to Tobago" (Lord Kitchener; arranged & adapted Van Dyke Parks) – 5:13
- "Your Own Comes First" (Lord Kitchener; arranged & adapted Van Dyke Parks) – 3:24
- "G-Man Hoover" (Sir Lancelot) – 2:55
- "Stars and Stripes Forever" (John Philip Sousa) – 1:00
A Rykodisc edition added "Out on the Rolling Sea (Where Jesus Speaks to Me)" to the end of the album.
Copyrights and legalities
Nearly all tracks on Discover America are listed on the album sleeve as being "Public domain, arranged & adapted by Van Dyke Parks". However, many of the songs' original artists were still alive in 1972, but were not given writing credits on the album. At the time,
The Copyright Act of 1976, signed into law only four years after Discover America was recorded, greatly changed copyright laws in the US, extending the copyright of the artist to either 75 years or the life of the author plus an additional 50 years.
References
- ^ a b Greene, Jayson (July 5, 2012). "Van Dyke Parks: Song Cycle / Discover America / Clang of the Yankee Ripper". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c McKay, Alastair (June 29, 2012). "Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle/Discover America/Clang Of The Yankee Reaper". Uncut. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Lynksey, Dorian (May 9, 2013). "Van Dyke Parks: 'I was victimised by Brian Wilson's buffoonery'". The Guardian. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ a b "The Following Artists Wish to Announce Their News". Billboard. Vol. 84, no. 22. May 27, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
- ^ a b Sculatti, Gene (October 1972). "Van Dyke Parks: Discover Americana". Creem. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ AllMusic review: "Discover America."
- ^ AllMusic review: "Steelband Music."
- ^ AllMusic review: "Be Careful."
- ^ a b AllMusic review: "FDR in Trinidad."
- ISBN 1-85227 745 9.
- ^ Pitchfork review
- ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
- ^ Valentine, Penny (February 7, 1976). "Van Dyke Parks: The Clang of Van Dyke Parks". Street Life. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Verna, Paul (March 7, 1998). "Albums". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 10. p. 60. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ "Billboard Album Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 84, no. 26. June 24, 1972. p. 56. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
- ^ Leviton, Mark (September 1972). "Van Dyke Parks: Discover America". Words & Music. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Lester, Paul (June 1998). "Brain Wilson: Endless Bummer". Uncut.
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