Visions of the Country

Last updated
Visions of the Country
Robbie Basho - Visions of the Country.jpg
Studio album by
Released1978 (1978)
RecordedRecording Etc. Productions, Berkeley, CA
Genre American primitive guitar, progressive folk
Length49:19
Label Windham Hill
Producer William Ackerman
Robbie Basho chronology
Zarthus
(1974)
Visions of the Country
(1978)
Art of the Acoustic Steel String Guitar 6 & 12
(1979)

Visions of the Country is the tenth studio album by composer and guitarist Robbie Basho, released in 1978 by Windham Hill Records. [1] It was restored and remastered by Joe Churchich, Kyle Fosburgh, and John Dark and re-issued by Grass-Tops Recording and Gnome Life Records on September 25, 2013. [2]

Contents

Combining his usual American primitive guitar style with influences from Hindustani classical music and Native American music, the album is notable for Basho's idiosyncratic vibrato vocals and the mystical romanticism of its predominantly pastoral themes. Ignored upon release, the album is now widely regarded as one of the most important works of the American primitive guitar genre.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Great Folk Discography 4/10 [3]
Pitchfork 8.7/10 [4]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Spectrum Culture3.75/5 [6]
Sputnikmusic 5/5 [7]

The 2013 reissue of Visions of the Country has generated renewed interest in Basho's work. [8] [9] Bill Meyer of Chicago Reader called it "a distillation of everything great about Basho's mature work. His acoustic fingerpicking is thrillingly propulsive, full of quicksilver changes in direction, but he never gets lost in it." He found his "ululating, hyperemotional singing" as "the perfect vehicle for his shamelessly ardent pledges of love to nature" and noted his "beatific vision of America whose fever-dream romanticism fit so poorly with the rest of the label's catalog that it went out of print in a flash and stayed that way for more than three decades." [10] Grayson Haver Currin of Pitchfork characterized Basho's singing as inaccessible, writing that it "generally wasn’t what you’d call pretty or subtle. During “Night Way" [...] he obscures the wonderful ribbons of his six-string guitar with singing generously described as zealous. He wails a ceremonial Navajo chant, his voice locking into and falling from falsetto, its vibrato smearing the track with warble. [...] These aren't songs you'd really put on during a party or in a mix for a love interest." He concludes: "His music is, at first, rather off-putting, but ultimately, he imagined modes for the guitar and composition that we’re still reconciling. Marnie Stern sometimes maneuvers against her instrument in the same way, and James Blackshaw explores the same nebulous majesty. But Robbie Basho’s music mostly remains a pan-everything oddball, and Visions of the Country is, at last, once again living proof." [4] The general inaccessibility of the music was again echoed by Spectrum Culture's Mike Randall, who wrote that "his use of obscure modes and his chant-like voice (almost a cross between Antony and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole) tends to skirt any sort of beaten path." "The adventure these songs bring, however," he writes, "makes it worthy of a left-of-center trip". "Leveraging the raga style of Hindu music, Basho successfully used his guitar to visualize the wilderness, sketching the running of water, the ferocity of a charging animal, the reach and power of a mountain." [6] Comparisons to Hindustani classical music were also made by Rob Caldwell of Popmatters , who called it the "quintessential Robbie Basho album, containing dazzling instrumental guitar flights as well as songs featuring his operatic singing and whistling (yes, whistling)." Of the latter, he characterized the whistling on "Leaf in the Wind" as "haunting". [5] "Basho turns a suite about the American West into a courtly romance;" wrote John Mulvey for Uncut , "imagine John Renbourn drawing on Native American myth rather than old English legend, perhaps." He found echoes of Tim Buckley in his voice, "especially" on "Blue Crystal Fire". "Of all the guitarists associated with the Takoma School, it’s hard to think of one who imbued folk music with quite as much mystical portent as Robbie Basho." [8]

Aquarium Drunkard included the album on their unranked list "2013 Year In Review", calling the "long out of print opus [...] an absolute joy. Basho’s gorgeous playing (on both guitar and piano) is presented here in the crystalline sound quality it deserves at last. Visions is a majestic, magical thing, a record that conjures up a shimmering, pastoral landscape of the imagination. It doesn’t get much better than this." [9]

Track listing

All music is composed by Robbie Basho

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Green River Suite"7:46
2."Rodeo"2:32
3."Rocky Mountain Raga"7:38
4."Variations on Easter"4:01
5."Blue Crystal Fire"4:49
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Orphan's Lament"3:46
2."Leaf in the Wind"4:46
3."Night Way"6:14
4."Elk Dreamer's Lament"4:14
5."Call on the Wind"3:04

Personnel

Adapted from the Visions of the Country liner notes. [11]

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog
United States1978 Windham Hill LP WHS C-1005
Germany1981PastelsB-ST-2026
United States2013Grass-Tops RecordingCDGTR-0007
Gnome LifeLPGNM-026

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Fay</span> English singer, pianist and songwriter

William Fay is an English singer-songwriter. His early recordings were released by Deram, but following the release of his second album in 1971, Fay was dropped by the label. His work enjoyed a growing cult status in the 1990s, and his older works were re-issued in 1998 and 2004/2005. Fay's 2012 album Life Is People was his first album of all-new material since 1971. His most recent album, Countless Branches, was released on 17 January 2020.

William Ackerman is an American guitarist and record producer who founded Windham Hill Records.

Robbie Basho was an American acoustic guitarist, pianist and singer.

<i>Taiga</i> (OOIOO album) 2006 studio album by OOIOO

Taiga is the fifth studio album by Japanese experimental rock band OOIOO. It was released on July 4, 2006 by the labels Felicity, Polystar and Shock City. It is an avant-rock and experimental pop album that blends numerous world music influences, particularly African music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windham Hill Records</span> New-age music record label

Windham Hill Records was an independent record label that specialized in instrumental acoustic music. It was founded by guitarist William Ackerman and Anne Robinson in 1976 and was popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

<i>The Tribe</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Caspar Brötzmann Massaker

The Tribe is the debut album by Caspar Brötzmann Massaker. It was released in 1987 through Zensor. In 2019, the album was reissued by Southern Lord.

<i>Black Axis</i> 1989 studio album by Caspar Brötzmann Massaker

Black Axis is the second album by Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, released in May 1989 through Marat Records.

<i>Life Is People</i> 2012 studio album by Bill Fay

Life Is People is the fourth studio album by English singer, pianist and songwriter Bill Fay, released by Dead Oceans in August 2012. Fay had been without a record label after being dropped by Deram Records following the release of his second album, Time of the Last Persecution in 1971, and could not secure a release for his third album Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow. To support himself, Fay took various jobs outside of the music industry, while continuing to record music at home. In 1998, Fay's first two albums were reissued on compact disc by British record label See for Miles Records, prompting a revival of interest in his work, and Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow was finally released in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Gunn (musician)</span> American singer-songwriter

Steve Gunn is an American singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn. He studied art and music at Temple University before moving to New York City. Gunn was formerly a guitarist in Kurt Vile's backing band, The Violators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Aquarium</span> American alternative country band

American Aquarium is an American alternative country band from Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.

<i>Ygg huur</i> Album by Krallice

Ygg huur is the fifth studio album by the American black metal band Krallice. The album was recorded between July 4 and 8 at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves Studio and was self-released digitally by the band on July 30, 2015, with physical versions released in September. The album received widespread critical acclaim for its dense, complex songwriting and unique sound, featuring on a number of end-of-year lists by music publications.

<i>Art of the Acoustic Steel String Guitar 6 & 12</i> 1979 studio album by Robbie Basho

Art of the Acoustic Steel String Guitar 6 & 12 is the eleventh studio album by composer and guitarist Robbie Basho, released in 1979 by Windham Hill Records. It was restored and remastered from the original master tapes by Joe Churchich and Kyle Fosburgh and re-issued by Grass-Tops Recording and Gnome Life Records on October 21, 2014.

<i>The Children of the Night</i> (album) 2015 album by Tribulation

The Children of the Night is the third studio album by Swedish death metal band Tribulation. It was released on 20 April 2015 through Century Media Records.

<i>Konoyo</i> 2018 studio album by Tim Hecker

Konoyo is the ninth studio album by Canadian electronic music musician Tim Hecker, released on September 28, 2018 on Kranky and Sunblind Music. A majority of the album was made from Hecker's visits to Japan, where he worked with a gagaku ensemble, Tokyo Gakuso, in Jiunzan Mandala-Temple Kanzouin on the outskirts of Tokyo.

<i>13 Rivers</i> 2018 studio album by Richard Thompson

13 Rivers is the eighteenth solo studio album by British singer/songwriter Richard Thompson. It was released on 14 September 2018 by New West Records in the US and by Proper in the UK.

<i>Love in Shadow</i> 2018 studio album by Sumac

Love in Shadow is the third studio album by American post-metal band Sumac. It was released on September 21, 2018 through Thrill Jockey. Like the band's experimental collaboration with Keiji Haino earlier in 2018, much of the album was recorded improvisationally. Love in Shadow was followed by a tour of the United States in early 2019.

<i>Body</i> (The Necks album) 2018 studio album by The Necks

Body is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2018 in Australia and on the Northern Spy label in the US.

<i>Acetone</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Acetone

Acetone is an album by the American band Acetone, released in 1997. It was the band's first album for Neil Young's Vapor Records; Acetone's previous label, Vernon Yard, had declared bankruptcy.

<i>This Is a Photograph</i> 2022 studio album by Kevin Morby

This Is a Photograph is the seventh studio album by American indie rock musician Kevin Morby, released on May 13, 2022, on Dead Oceans. The album is inspired by Morby's fascination with the city of Memphis, Tennessee, and was produced by musician Sam Cohen. It features a guest appearance by indie folk singer-songwriter Erin Rae. It was promoted by the singles "This Is a Photograph", "Rock Bottom" and "A Random Act of Kindness". It received acclaim from critics, who praised Morby's vulnerability and assessed it as a new artistic peak.

<i>Carry Me Home</i> (album) 2022 live album by Levon Helm and Mavis Staples

Carry Me Home is a 2022 collaborative album between Americans roots rock drummer Levon Helm and soul singer Mavis Staples, released on Anti-. Made from sessions recorded at Helm's studio in 2011, shortly before his death, the album has received praise from critics.

References

  1. "Robbie Basho: Visions of the Country > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  2. "Visions of the Country". Grass-Tops Recordings. 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  3. Strong, Martin Charles (2010). The great folk discography. Volume 1, Pioneers & early legends. ISBN   9781846971419.
  4. 1 2 Currin, Grayson Haver (August 15, 2013). "Robbie Basho: Visions of the Country". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Caldwell, Rob (August 27, 2013). "Robbie Basho: Visions of the Country". PopMatters . Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Robbie Basho: Visions of the Country – Album Review". Spectrum Culture. 16 September 2013.
  7. "Robbie Basho – Visions of The Country (album review ) – Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com.
  8. 1 2 Uncut (5 September 2013). "Robbie Basho, Danny Paul Grody, Desert Heat reviewed". Uncut.
  9. 1 2 "Aquarium Drunkard : 2013 Year In Review". Aquarium Drunkard. 17 December 2013.
  10. "Robert Pollard's not-at-all-haphazard Honey Locust Honky Tonk and 14 more record reviews". 23 July 2013.
  11. Visions of the Country (sleeve). Robbie Basho. Stanford, California: Windham Hill Records. 1978.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)