Dawn of the Cycads

Dawn of the Cycads
Dawn of the Cycads
Studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Released	September 30, 2008
Recorded	August 1981 – May 14, 1987
Studio	Various Downtown Recorders; (Boston, MA); Le Studio; (Montreal, CA); The Nightstage; (Cambridge, MA); ;
Genre	Prog rock
Length	122:44
Label	Cuneiform
Producer	Richard W. Harte
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic chronology

Last updated December 13, 2021

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

Dawn of the Cycads is a compilation album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, released on September 30, 2008 by Cuneiform Records.^[2] It comprises much of the band's 1980s output, including Birdsongs of the Mesozoic , Magnetic Flip and Beat of the Mesozoic in addition to three bonus tracks recorded during the same era and a live performance recording from 1987 retroactively titled Between the Fires.

Track listing

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sound Valentine"	Roger Miller	3:15
2.	"Transformation of Oz"	Roger Miller	2:20
3.	"Drift"	Roger Miller	2:39
4.	"The Orange Ocean"	Roger Miller	2:28
5.	"Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous"	Roger Miller, Martin Swope	6:15
6.	"Shiny Golden Snakes"	Roger Miller	3:00
7.	"Ptoccata"	Erik Lindgren	3:15
8.	"(excerpts from) The Rite of Spring"	Igor Stravinsky	6:42
9.	"International Tours"	Erik Lindgren	2:50
10.	"Terry Riley's House"	Roger Miller	3:57
11.	"Theme from Rocky and Bullwinkle"	Frank Comstock/Fred Steiner	1:26
12.	"The Tyger"	Martin Swope	3:17
13.	"The Fundamental"	Roger Miller	2:45
14.	"Bridge Underwater"	Roger Miller	5:20
15.	"Chên/The Arousing"	Roger Miller	2:08
16.	"Final Motif"	Rick Scott	3:58
17.	"Pulse Piece"	Roger Miller	3:58
18.	"The Common Sparrow"	Martin Swope	3:58
19.	"POP Triassic"	Roger Miller	3:58

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Lost in the B-Zone"	Erik Lindgren	4:27
2.	"Waterwheel"	Roger Miller	3:53
3.	"Excavation No. 32"	Roger Miller	3:05
4.	"The Beat of the Mesozoic" (Part I)	Roger Miller	5:27
5.	"Scenes from a..."	Erik Lindgren	4:59
6.	"Jay Reeg Intro"		3:00
7.	"Carbon 14"	Roger Miller	3:15
8.	"Chariots of Fire"	Martin Swope	6:42
9.	"Lqabblil Insanya"	Roger Miller	2:50
10.	"Modern Warfare"	Erik Lindgren	3:57
11.	"Slo-Boy"	Erik Lindgren	1:26
12.	"Laramide Revolution"	Roger Miller	3:17
13.	"Pulse Piece"	Roger Miller	2:45

Personnel

Adapted from Dawn of the Cycads liner notes.^[3]

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

Erik Lindgren: Minimoog, Memorymoog, drum machine, percussion
Roger Miller: grand piano, Yamaha CP-70, percussion
Rick Scott: Farfisa organ, Yamaha DX7, percussion
Martin Swope: electric guitar, percussion

Additional musicians

Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet: on "[Excerpts from] The Rite of Springs" and "The Fundamental"
Michael Cohen: snare drum, rototoms and cymbal (1.1–1.16)
Peter Prescott: tom toms on "Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous" and "POP Triassic"
Steve Stain: percussion on "Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous" and "POP Triassic"
Taki: percussion on "Shiny Golden Snakes" and "Bridge Underwater"
Leon Janikian: Clarinet on "Sound Valentine"

Production and additional personnel

Richard W. Harte – production, recording (2.6–2.13)
Ted Jensen – remastering
Tony Volante – recording (2.1–2.5), mixing (1.6–1.16, 2.1–2.5)
Jeff Whitehead – recording (1.1–1.19), mixing (1.1–1.5, 1.19)
Bob Winsor – mixing (1.17, 1.18)

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United States	2008	Cuneiform	CD	Rune 274/275

Related Research Articles

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic is an American musical group founded in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1980.

Erik Lindgren is an American composer and pianist. He runs Arf! Arf! Records, and has led or been a member of several ensembles such as The Space Negros and Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.

Bennettitales Extinct order of seed plants

Bennettitales is an extinct order of seed plants that first appeared in the Permian period and became extinct in most areas toward the end of the Cretaceous. Bennettitales are among the most common Mesozoic seed plants, and had morphologies including shrub and cycad-like forms. The foliage of bennettitaleans is superficially nearly indistinguishable from that of cycads, but they are distinguished from cycads by their more complex flower-like reproductive organs, at least some of which were likely pollinated by insects.

The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, was a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event was held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, approximately one hour north of Philadelphia and less than two hours west of New York City. The festival was founded in the spring of 1998 by Robert LaDuca and Chad Hutchinson, with the first event occurring in 1999. NEARfest quickly grew to become "the most prestigious progressive music festival in the world."

Roger (Clark) Miller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known for co-founding Mission of Burma and performing in Alloy Orchestra.

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<i>Magnetic Flip</i> 1984 studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

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<i>Birdsongs of the Mesozoic</i> (EP) 1983 EP by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

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<i>Faultline</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

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<i>Pyroclastics</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

Pyroclastics is the third studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, released on 1992 by Cuneiform Records. It was their final album with founding guitarist Martin Swope.

<i>Sonic Geology</i> 1988 compilation album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

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<i>The Fossil Record 1980-1987</i> 1993 compilation album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

The Fossil Record 1980-1987 is a compilation album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, released on 1993 by Cuneiform Records. It comprises unreleased tracks from the band's early years.

<i>Dancing on AA</i> 1995 studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

Dancing on A'A is the fourth album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, released in 1995 through Cuneiform Records.

<i>Petrophonics</i> 2000 studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

Petrophonics is the fifth studio album by rock band Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. It was released on September 19, 2000 through Cuneiform Records.

<i>Extreme Spirituals</i> 2006 studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic with Oral Moses

Extreme Spirituals is a collaborative studio album by the group Birdsongs of the Mesozoic and vocalist Oral Moses, released on September 19, 2006 by Cuneiform Records. The album consists of 19th Century Negro spiritual songs re-arranged in the experimental rock/classical style of the Boston-based Birdsongs of the Mesozoic.

<i>The Iridium Controversy</i> 2003 studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

The Iridium Controversy is the sixth studio album by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, released on September 16, 2003 by Cuneiform Records.

A discography of releases by Cuneiform Records.

References

↑ Anderson, Rick. "Birdsongs of the Mesozoic: Dawn of the Cycads > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
↑ Rompers, Terry (2007). "Birdsongs of the Mesozoic". Trouser Press . Retrieved March 19, 2016.
↑ Dawn of the Cycads (booklet). Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Silver Spring, Maryland: Cuneiform Records. 2008.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

Dawn of the Cycads at Discogs (list of releases)
Dawn of the Cycads at Bandcamp

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[allmusic-1] Anderson, Rick. "Birdsongs of the Mesozoic: Dawn of the Cycads > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 19, 2016.

[trouserpress-2] Rompers, Terry (2007). "Birdsongs of the Mesozoic". Trouser Press . Retrieved March 19, 2016.

[linearnotes-3] Dawn of the Cycads (booklet). Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. Silver Spring, Maryland: Cuneiform Records. 2008.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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