The Telephone Door That Leads Eventually To Some Love Poems
In Watermelon Sugar
Here Are Some More Sounds Of My Life
Short Stories About California
Boo, Forever
This early-'70s cult classic doesn't just feature hippie/beatnik writer Richard Brautigan reading from his novels "Trout Fishing in America," "A Confederate General from Big Sur" and "In Watermelon Sugar," as well as his s... more »hort story collection "A Revenge of the Lawn" and various poems; it also has such tracks as "Here Are Some More Sounds of My Life," which features the sounds of the author brushing his teeth, taking off his clothes and shaving. In other words, you really are "listening to Richard Brautigan," and if those mundane sounds don't pique your interest, then there are the disarming, poetic moments, like when you hear phones ringing while Brautigan explains why he won't answer the phone, or when he shares the actual sound of the stream he wrote about in "Trout Fishing in America." Special guests include Michael McClure, Imogen Cunningham and Bruce Conner, but for 52 minutes this is pretty much pure Brautigan, as whimsical and searching as ever.« less
This early-'70s cult classic doesn't just feature hippie/beatnik writer Richard Brautigan reading from his novels "Trout Fishing in America," "A Confederate General from Big Sur" and "In Watermelon Sugar," as well as his short story collection "A Revenge of the Lawn" and various poems; it also has such tracks as "Here Are Some More Sounds of My Life," which features the sounds of the author brushing his teeth, taking off his clothes and shaving. In other words, you really are "listening to Richard Brautigan," and if those mundane sounds don't pique your interest, then there are the disarming, poetic moments, like when you hear phones ringing while Brautigan explains why he won't answer the phone, or when he shares the actual sound of the stream he wrote about in "Trout Fishing in America." Special guests include Michael McClure, Imogen Cunningham and Bruce Conner, but for 52 minutes this is pretty much pure Brautigan, as whimsical and searching as ever.
CD Reviews
Fascinating document
Robert | 11/15/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I found it fascinating to hear Richard Brautigan reading his own works, and for that matter, to actually to hear his voice at all. It added a whole new dimension to my attempts to understand him and his work. And it was mostly entertaining to boot. We're very lucky to have this in print. Recommended for Brautigan fans."
It's haunting...
T. R. Martin | Greensboro, NC United States | 01/10/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"...to hear his voice after years of reading and re-reading his works. Priceless."
Good to Hear...
Uncle Borges | Via Lungomare 6 | 09/22/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It is actually good to hear the voice of an icon of the 60's such as Brautigan. I did not expect such a mellow, soft, almost effeminate diction. Bad thing about this CD there's much static noise, so typical of the era (say, recording of the water dripping from a faucet or such).
The questions to ponder are these:
how well has the work of Richard Brautigan sustained the burden of time? And how does his lyrical short fiction compare to his poems heavily imbued with an impromtu surrealist Americana of the 60's."
The Telephone Door to Richard Brautigan
Robert Carlberg | Seattle | 03/09/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album was recorded in early 1969, near the peak of Richard's popularity, as the first of a projected series of spoken word albums on The Beatles experimental record label Zapple. Others in the series would have included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, Charles Olson, Charles Bukowski and Allen Ginsberg. Unfortunately, Zapple crashed and burned after only two releases, "Life With The Lions" and "Electronic Sound," leaving Zapple #3 without a label.
It eventually saw limited U.S.-only release, without much publicity, on EMI Harvest in late 1970 and quickly became a high-priced collector's album. I've seen it trade hands for hundreds of dollars.
What makes this album interesting, besides being the only known recording of Richard reading his own poetry, are the stories and unrehearsed conversations also captured. It was one of the first "audio verité" recordings, setting up microphones in Richard's kitchen and simply capturing the sounds of his life. This unscripted glimpse into 1969 in San Francisco gives not only unusual insights into the writer's life (after a rocket-propelled climb to fame) but also into one of the hotbeds of American culture in a unique time & place.
All in all it's a fascinating document and it's nice to see it mass-marketed finally."
A serene march to oblivion
Kent L. Rockwell | riverside | 01/17/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"poor richard brautigan...gone too soon and by his own poetic hands.
you mustn't have a hippie's sensibility to appreciate this lovely but sparse overview of his work. brautigan's cadence has a touch of stephen hawking's voice machine (seriously, it does), but it is a gentle and intelligent voice that warrants repeat playings. i won't bore you with a critique; brautigan inhabits a private landscape that he aptly reveals with a few well constructed sentences. other writers often take pages to create such vivid imagery.
the cd quality is excellent. any incidental background noise is nicely incorporated into the texture of poem. the only grievance is the playing time of the disc--56 minutes. would've been nice to have had about 25 more minutes of his peculiar musings."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1