by
Shane Stornanti
In this review:
Joe Meek
I Hear
A New World (1960)
::
Joe Meek, R.I.P :: |
copyright photo
© Clive Bubley 1967-2005 |
Recorded in 1960 and
then lost until 1991, Joe Meek and The Blue Men's, I Hear
a New World was arguably the first concept album of its
kind, delivering musical answers to questions about the final
frontier.
Essentially this album was
written about a sonic journey into space 10 years before humans
landed on the moon. Lets put this in the context of the era:
1960 and space? People still had concepts of planets made
of cheese and little green men with glass helmets wandering
about (feasting on human Flesh and wailing on short-necked
guitars).
"I wanted to create a
picture in music of what could be up there in outer space,"
Meek said in an interview.
A nontraditional artist in
every sense, Joe Meek was a producer who didn't play or sing
on this or any other album. He was also a deeply troubled
man. Meek suffered from depression and paranoia and was known
for explosive tantrums. A closeted homosexual, Meek was once
arrested for soliciting for "immoral" purposes after
he apparently made a pass at an undercover policeman in an
era when public scorn, fear and anger buried homosexuals under
social taboos and criminal law.
But Meek's swirling, unpredictable
emotions seemed to contribute to his creativity. Thought of
as somewhat of a studio mad scientist, he became a legend
for experimenting with stereo technology and with any effects
he could conjure up. Meek was making British rock history
before the "invasion," years before The Beatles
would even release an album.
Mostly instrumental, a New World contains songs about
waterfalls on the moon and gatherings of dancing aliens. The
sped-up Martian lyrics can only be compared today with songs
by Alvin and The Chipmunks or perhaps the Lollipop Guild from
The Wizard of Oz; cheesy by today's standards, but pretty
cutting edge for the time.
"Yes! This is a strange
record,'' Meeksaid. "I meant it to be."
The album landed in the wasteland outside pop culture, failing
Meek's attempts to market it as a demo album for stereo equipment
salespeople. In the next few years Meek's life began to unravel.
Then, in Feburary, 1967, he fatally shot himself in the head
after shooting his landlady in the back. I Hear A New World
vanished after Meek's suicide. Thirty years later, RPM records
picked it up and released it in its entirety .
Is I Hear a New World a piece of musical history? The
brain child of a genius, a madman? If Meek's work can be resurrected,
understood, even inherited, modern DJs, swimming through stacks
of obscure records, will be the artists who do it.
More on Meek: Meeksville.com
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 Author
S. Stornanti
is a musician and former guitar player for the Boston-based
band, The Colorforms. He is currently working on several
electronic music projects while minding the gap.
Thoughts on Joe Meek or music in general?
Write us.
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