A True Original Sandy

Once in a while you find music that you would have never thought you would hear in your lifetime. You hear this music and wonder how this either escaped you or when it did come out, what were people thinking. Once in a while you hear something that ten, even twenty years down the line it finally catches up to you. In the age of internet and computers and technology this might be heard or not. It might be somewhere in the middle or even a music fan like myself might catch it that curve. It always baffled me that music like this came out. Where was it's audience or even then what people loved this stuff that anytime this music was around did people go see it or try to tell others about it.

In 1963 when Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo came out, I am sure there were people who had no idea what this was. There might be even people who do and like me I wonder what they would have thought about this stuff. I don't know much of the story behind this, but when I heard it after doing the 21st century thing (downloading) I was struck by the uniqueness of this music. What was the goal of this music. Was it to turn heads? What was Vanguard records thinking? They were a folk label sure, but was there a point that they might have stumbled upon something so different that they had to put it out or did they see some vision that we all missed and now is some kind of talked about classic.

A fusion of the most different musical forms, folk, blues, bluegrass, jazz & more, with a unique use of guitar & banjo. That is what Amazon said about it. It sure is, because I hear all kinds of influences. It is way different then what was coming out at the time. Yes, true, the music of that was just before the Beatles made it and the folk music was popular, but this was not political. At least not in the music. There was no words, so he had really nothing to say. When I first heard this I was in shock that a person can create this. I was even more in awe when his funny little remake of "Carmina Burana Fantasy" was on here with Sandy playing Banjo. No orchestra no voice like the piece we know so well.

So if you are interested in something way different then what is really out there or something that really is beyond description, then you should try this out. As all music points out before Leo Kottke, Richard Thompson, and Ry Cooder Sandy Bull did it better then anybody else. Not "rock" by any stretch of the imagination, it's nevertheless easy to see that it could have had an influence on the rock musicians who began incorporating eclectic and Middle Eastern sensibilities into their music a few years later. Even more impressive asking Ornette Coleman's drummer Billy Higgins to sit and and helping along made for interesting music. Try it if you find a copy let me know! I love to hear what you have to say! Enjoy!