American Gothic (Album)
| American Gothic | ||||
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| Studio album by David Ackles | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Elektra Records | |||
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
43:13 |
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Studio (s) |
IBC Studios, London |
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American Gothic is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter David Ackles and was released in July 1972 by Elektra Records .
background
Former child actor and literature student David Ackles (1937-1999) previously worked as a songwriter for his record company Elektra Records and released the two little-noticed studio albums David Ackles (1968) and Subway to the Country (1969). American Gothic is widely considered to be his magnum opus . The eclectic concept album is based on musical theater and vaudeville and offers kaleidoscopic insights into the American lifestyle . In his songs, the pianist and singer takes up style elements from traditional American genres such as folk , jazz and gospel . American Gothic has often been compared to the compositions of Aaron Copland , Charles Ives , Richard Rodgers and George Gershwin, as well as the operas of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht . Music critics also drew comparisons with the singers Randy Newman , Scott Walker and Woody Guthrie . In addition, the album was interpreted as a musical variant of a Great American Novel , as it has parallels to the works of American authors such as John Steinbeck .
American Gothic was recorded in London and produced by Bernie Taupin , best known for his collaboration with Elton John . The studio musicians, many of which were directed to the London Symphony Orchestra belonged, by Robert Kirby, among other things, the album Five Leaves Left and Bryter Layter of Nick Drake arranged.
The title of the album refers to the painting of the same name by Grant Wood from 1930. The photo on the back of the record sleeve shows the scene of David Ackles with a pitchfork .
The album was first released on CD in 1993 and was re-released in 2002 by the Collectors' Choice Music label.
Track list
All songs are written by David Ackles.
Page A:
- 1. American Gothic - 3:19
- 2. Love's Enough - 3:15
- 3. Ballad of the Ship of State - 4:16
- 4. One Night Stand - 2:47
- 5. Oh, California! - 2:37
- 6. Another Friday Night - 4:28 am
Side B:
- 7th Family Band - 2:35
- 8. Midnight Carousel - 3:40
- 9. Waiting for the Moving Van - 3:35
- 10. Blues for Billy Whitecloud - 2:36
- 11. Montana Song - 10:05
reception
| source | rating |
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| Allmusic |
 
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American Gothic was received very positively when it was published, the music journalist Derek Jewell even praised it as " Sgt. Pepper des Folk". However, commercially it was a failure, only reaching number 167 on the Billboard charts . David Ackles, who never won a wide audience, retired from the music business a year later after the release of his fourth album Five & Dime . American Gothic is often viewed by contemporary music critics as a “forgotten masterpiece”, for example the German-language edition of Rolling Stone magazine included it in a compilation of the 100 best insider tips.
"Decades later, American Gothic remains one of those great albums that never found its audience. It waits to be rediscovered. "
“ American Gothic , the third album and a little-known masterpiece, is one of the most uncompromising American albums of all time. Ackles paints a colorful, poetic portrait of America - hauntingly dark theater, filtered through the composer's melodic sensitivity. On various levels it becomes apparent that this is less about conventional rock or pop, but more about a dramatic work that refers to classical American composers such as Charles Ives and Aaron Copland as well as to gospel, rock, blues and soul. You have to imagine an art-folk album that bridges the gap between Woody Guthrie's passionate stories and Kurt Weill's arrangements. "
“At first you could recognize a distant relative of Randy Newman in the American songwriter David Ackles, but his third album, produced by Bernie Taupin and orchestrated by Nick Drake arranger Robert Kirby, is Bert Brecht and Kurt Weill's musical theater, the symphonies by Aaron Copland, the songs by George Gershwin and the stories by John Steinbeck . American Gothic is a great American audio novel. "
“Ackles arranged a style medley with echoes of Gershwin, Kurt Weill, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives and Richard Rogers to nostalgic-ironic verses about the dwindling rural innocence of America, their synthesis of European symphonic and local folklore defining the style for the development of an independent American one Music culture. Ackles performed his music-historically disguised song cycle with the dramatic timbre of a concert singer. "
The album was included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .
Elvis Costello , Elton John, and Phil Collins cite Ackle's music as an influence.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Schmidt-Joos, Siegfried u. Kampmann, Wolf (Ed.): Rock-Lexikon 1, 2nd edition, Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag Hamburg 2009, p. 42.
- ↑ a b Dimery, Robert (ed.): 1001 albums - music you should hear before life is over, 8th edition, Edition Olms Zurich 2015, p. 271.
- ↑ a b c d Review by William Ruhlmann on allmusic.com (accessed April 23, 2018)
- ↑ a b Liner Notes for David Ackles American Gothic on richieunterberger.com (accessed April 22, 2018)
- ↑ a b c RS special: 100 best insider tips, part 3, in: Rolling Stone July 2017, issue 273, p. 62.
- ↑ Cratedigger: David Ackles, “American Gothic” on popdose.com (accessed April 23, 2018)
- ^ Billboard Top LP's & Tape, in: Billboard Oct. 7, 1972, p. 56.
- ↑ American Gothic - The Road to David Ackles on terrascope.co.uk (accessed April 23, 2018)