Viking of Sixth Avenue

This new release from Honest Jon's is the first overview of Moondog's amazing artistic life - including recordings spanning from 1949 till 1995, with numerous 78s and various other vanished records revived for the first time (not to mention a couple of Weegee photographs!). Though the compilation is rooted in the decades Moondog regularly lived rough in New York City, performing on street corners - 'the Viking Of Sixth Avenue' - at the same time it lays the music's claim to the future. It makes vivid sense of his inspiration of fans from Igor Stravinsky to Bob Dylan, Mr Scruff to Frank Zappa, Charlie Parker to Elvis Costello, Janis Joplin to Anthony And The Johnsons. As Moondog put it himself in 1989 - 'I still love horned helmets and swords and spears. I like to feel that I'm loyal to my past. I wouldn't want to be on the street anymore. But, you know, that led to a lot of things.' 2005. Album Description

A Good Place to Start

This is a very good place to start with Moondog's music. I disagree entirely with the previous reviewer as to the quality of the performances. Here, "Bird's Lament" is more dynamic, faster paced and, as with most of this cd, a lot of fun. If you can't find anything to like on this disc (for instance, "Theme and Variation" or "Chaconne in G" or the lovely "Fog on the Hudson"), it may just be that the man's music is not for you.

The work here consists mostly of miniatures from a musician who began life as a percussionist and it shows: his sense of rhythm is fantastic. I've heard it said that Moondog's work prefigures the minimalism of Terry Riley or Steve Reich, but it's less formally rigorous and much more playful: a sudden burst of melody, great counterpoint (his debt to Bach is even more obvious on some of the other discs available), eccentric use of voice, and even traditional songs.

The music is odd and familiar at the same time. It deserves to be more widely known. September 25, 2007

No Fleas on Moondog

This is the only Moondog recording I own so far. I plan to get more . I've heard his name mentioned time and time again in relation to many other artists I listen to. I thoroughly enjoy this recording. It reminds me of the the tapes of experiments I've done over the years - little snippets of ideas. This is happy music from a man sincere enough about what he was doing to do without a lot of comforts for a long time. That sort of dedication I feel deserves at least 4 stars. This might not be his classic set of recordings, I have yet to find out for sure, but it's a good one. I don't regret buying this it in the least. July 2, 2007

lament over Bird's Lament

I'm a new fan of Moondog, having heard "Bird's Lament" and falling in love with its complementing saxophones. I hastily purchased this album solely because that song was on it, without finding out more about who was performing it. The rendition of that song on this album was sorely disappointing. The saxophones play second tune to the other brass and their final playfulness is completely drowned out in this version. Other songs on the album equally fail to impress. I later discovered that the version I heard was from the German Years discs and I'm going to have to buy that album now to redeem my impression of this talented composer. April 24, 2007

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