Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness

Last updated
Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness
KerouacTribute.jpg
Studio album by
Various Artists
ReleasedApril 8, 1997
Genre Spoken word
Length79:30
Label Rykodisc
Producer Jim Sampas

Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness is a 1997 spoken word tribute album released through Rykodisc featuring late Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac's work performed by various artists. Notable performers include: Michael Stipe, Allen Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp, and Patti Smith. Seven out of the twenty-five tracks are strictly spoken word pieces, while the rest feature music. [1]

Contents

Background

Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness was produced by Jim Sampas, a musician in Boston-area bands, [2] whose aunt was married to Jack Kerouac. [3] Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo was brought on board as associate producer, and he enlisted Thurston Moore, Eddie Vedder, Michael Stipe, and others to the project. Sampas said of the Kerouac work chosen for the album, "The mainstream books are more appealing, more accessible, but we wanted to do things people hadn't heard before, open people's eyes to work never published before." Through literary executor John Sampas, previously unpublished material was made available. [2]

The album contains two tracks not written by Kerouac: album opener "Kerouac," performed by rock band Morphine, and "Letter to William S. Burroughs" / "Ode to Jack," in which gonzo-journalist Hunter S. Thompson departs from Kerouac's text to recite his own "Ode to Jack." [4]

Poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti were recorded live at the New York University Kerouac tribute at Town Hall in 1995. [2] Ginsberg's performance of "The Brooklyn Bridge Blues" is missing the final tenth chorus. This was due to a faxing machine error which stuck the last pages together when Ginsberg was faxed the lyrics. The final chorus is read by musician Eric Andersen instead, recorded on a DAT recorder from the Brooklyn Bridge. [1] Singer Patti Smith's performance with guitarists Thurston Moore and Lenny Kaye was recorded live at the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival in 1995. [4]

The majority of the texts are taken from Pomes All Sizes (1992), except "Letter to William S. Burroughs" and "Letter to John Clellon Holmes," which are from Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters, Vol. 1, 1940–1956 (1995), "MacDougal Street Blues" is from Book of Blues (1995), and "Madroad Driving..." and "Have You Ever Seen Anyone Like Cody Pomeray?" are from Visions of Cody (1972). [5] "Dream: "Us Kids Swim off a Gray Pier...", "America's New Trinity of Love: Dean, Brando, Presley", "Dream: "On a Sunny Afternoon...", and "The Brooklyn Bridge Blues" are previously unpublished. [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [7]

William Ruhlmann, writing for AllMusic, wrote in his review: "Kerouac was not a fan of rock music, instead preferring bebop jazz, so the closest tracks to what he himself would have preferred are associate producer and Sonic Youth member Lee Ranaldo's excerpt from a letter to John Clellon Holmes, accompanied by saxophonist Dana Colley, Warren Zevon's "Running Through – Chinese Poem Song," accompanied by pianist Michael Wolff, and Matt Dillon's "Mexican Loneliness," with a jazzy sax and bongo accompaniment ... The selections present a good sampling of Kerouac's literary concerns, and, whether appropriate or not, the recordings demonstrate his extensive influence." [1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Jack Kerouac, except where noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicPerformerLength
1."Kerouac" Mark Sandman Sandman, Billy Conway Morphine 2:54
2."Bowery Blues" (spoken word) Lydia Lunch 1:55
3."My Gang" Michael Stipe Michael Stipe 2:23
4."Dream: "Us Kids Swim off a Gray Pier..." (spoken word) Steven Tyler 1:34
5."Letter to William S. Burroughs" / "Ode to Jack"Hunter S. Thompson ("Ode to Jack")(spoken word) Hunter S. Thompson 1:41
6."Skid Row Wine" Mark Ashwill, Tim Bradlee, Bill Bronson, Louis Echavarria, Maggie Estep Maggie Estep and the Spitters5:51
7."America's New Trinity of Love: Dean, Brando, Presley" (spoken word) Richard Lewis 6:06
8."Dream: "On a Sunny Afternoon..." Helium Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Helium 2:04
9."MacDougal Street Blues" Joe Strummer Jack Kerouac and Joe Strummer 2:48
10."The Brooklyn Bridge Blues" (choruses 1-9) (spoken word) Allen Ginsberg 5:47
11."Hymn" Eddie Vedder Eddie Vedder, Campbell 2000 and Sadie 7 3:12
12."Old Western Movies" Tomandandy William S. Burroughs and Tomandandy 2:32
13."Silly Goofball Poems"  Gregory A. Hormel Juliana Hatfield 4:02
14."The Moon" John Cale John Cale 3:01
15."Madroad Driving..." Come Johnny Depp and Come 3:28
16."Have You Ever Seen Anyone Like Cody Pomeray?" (spoken word) Robert Hunter 3:48
17."Letter to John Clellon Holmes" Dana Colley, Lee Ranaldo Lee Ranaldo and Dana Colley 2:36
18."Pome on Doctor Sax" Anna Domino Anna Domino 1:45
19."Mexico Rooftop" Rob Buck, Danny Chauvin Rob Buck and Danny Chauvin1:25
20."The Last Hotel" Patti Smith Patti Smith with Thurston Moore and Lenny Kaye 3:47
21."Running Through–Chinese Poem Song" Michael Wolff Warren Zevon and Michael Wolff 3:34
22."Woman" Anton Sanko, Lee Ranaldo, Lenny Kaye Jim Carroll with Lee Ranaldo, Lenny Kaye and Anton Sanko 2:25
23."Loneliness, Mexican" Joey Altruda, Joe Gonzalez, Pablo Calogero Matt Dillon with Joey Altruda, Joe Gonzalez and Pablo Calogero3:19
24."Angel Mine" Inger Lorre Inger Lorre and Jeff Buckley 5:24
25."The Brooklyn Bridge Blues" (chorus 10) (spoken word) Eric Andersen 1:59


Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  2. 1 2 3 Grady, John. "Interview with Jim Sampas, the disk's producer". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  3. ↑ Friedman, Roger (April 4, 2017). "Jack Kerouac's Estate Takes A New Turn as Longtime Custodian John Sampas Dies at 84". Showbiz411.com . Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Grady, John. "Kicks, Joy, Darkness review". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness (Liner notes). Various Artists. Rykodisc. 1997.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ Asher, Levi (January 7, 1997). "Beat News". Literary Kicks . Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  7. ↑ Kim, Wook (April 11, 1997). "Album Review: 'Kerouac — kicks joy darkness'". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved December 19, 2022.
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