http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Tue, 8 Jul 2008 20:43:26 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-731629 Mr. Salvatori, Would like as much info as you can muster about the Last Ritual. I bought this lp when it first came out in'69 and have played it regularly ever since, i posted it on my blog awhile ago, so if anyone wants to hear it, head over to Redtelephone66 http://redtelephone66.blogspot.com/ i also have the Chelsea Biege lp that included most members of The Last Ritual. speaking of Tom Wilson's productions, does anyone know what ever became of Harumi? that was another fantastic record!!! 731629@blogcritics.org Tue, 8 Jul 2008 20:43:26 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-731628 Mr. Salvatori, Would like as much info as you can muster about the Last Ritual. I bought this lp when it first came out in'69 and have played it regularly ever since, i posted it on my blog awhile ago, so if anyone wants to hear it, head over to Redtelephone66 i also have the Chelsea Biege lp that included most members of The Last Ritual. speaking of Tom Wilson's productions, does anyone know what ever became of Harumi? that was another fantastic record!!! 731628@blogcritics.org Tue, 8 Jul 2008 20:42:32 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-728018 I was just thinking of the Last Ritual and have that album in my collection. I need to convert it to a cd before I lose it. 728018@blogcritics.org Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:11:44 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-726377 I've wondered for over 25 years why nobody seemed to care about Tom Wilson. Glad to see I was wrong, hopefully someone will finally write a book about him. The VU's Banana lp, the Soft Machine's 1st lp, Like a Rolling Stone, and probably the most successful 'remix' ever - Simon & Garfunkel's Sound of Silence... That alone should get the man's name etched in stone somewhere as one of the most important producer of the last 50 years. Listen to the Dolph's acetate to realize how sensitive TW was in handling the VU. For that record alone, he is for me one of the all-time greats. 726377@blogcritics.org Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:24:30 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-699184 Wow! How beautiful to find this tribute! I was just listening to Nico's fabulous "Chelsea Girl". I've always loved the chamber folk production by Tom Wilson, which has influenced so many folk recordings since. And I was amused to discover that Nico wanted a full rock band instead with no strings or flute. Seems that Tom Wilson just ignored her, another wise decision from a master producer! Someone should really do a film about him. It's not often that record producers are celebrated, but Tom was in a pivotal position straddling 60s avantgarde and mainstream pop. For me, a black man into folk, rock & punk, he is mos def a true black role model. & so sweet to see his friends & family commenting here too! 699184@blogcritics.org Sun, 2 Mar 2008 16:34:06 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-691502 Tom was the man ..Met and know his daughter Darien who is a character if there ever was one.. I think thay should do a movie about his life and it would be cool.I told my wife about 20 years ago a movie about Ray Charles would be good and they did it...Anyways I never knew just how influential he was with other bands besides Velvet Underground......He was groundbreaking and great...A star ?Give him a street! 691502@blogcritics.org Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:20:47 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-690210 RE: JIM BOURGET Your last post was on October 5, 2005 but apparently you were in a car accident, which resulted in a fatality, in Nigeria in October 2001. I was told that you had no family. Please contact me, a fellow Bourget, to verify some things. You may contact me at my URL or just by posting another message. 690210@blogcritics.org Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:54:07 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-645419 Wilson's work with the Velvet Underground also puts him at the conception of punk. 645419@blogcritics.org Fri, 26 Oct 2007 18:02:12 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-645411 Tom Wilson is the greatest unsung hero of rock & roll. He invented folk rock. Before Wilson and his work with Dylan and Simon & Garfunkle, rock & roll was bubblegum. It didn't say anything. Wilson realized before anyone else that rock could have a message. His work with Dylan preceded The Beatles' "Rubber Soul" when Lennon & McCartney began to write serious lyrics and their music took an adventurous turn. Tom Wilson is as important as Sam Phillips and Sir George Martin in the development of rock as a cultural force. The music industry could use someone like him in these times when mediocrity and crass stupidity is celebrated on MTV. 645411@blogcritics.org Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:49:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-640893 To S. Salvatori - - I am the "someone" who posted earlier about Gabriel, guitarist of The Last Ritual. I too, saw them at the Electric Circus in about 1968,only I believe I saw them at night. Incredibly, the 2 other then-unknown groups on the bill were Alice Cooper and Sha Na Na ! ( sorry if this is getting a little OT )The sax player was Kenny Lehman, who I knew from Juilliard, and who went on to a successful Disco-producing career. Dead or alive ? This is the kind of speculation Gabe would LOVE, and let's hope it's the latter. If you need to contact me, I'm in the book ( phone or Union. ) 640893@blogcritics.org Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:20:03 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-631126 OMG I had no idea Tom Wilson was so instrumental in launching Zappa's career. I've been a Zappa fan all my life and never bothered to look at the production credits of his first recordings. Not sure if George Duke was in the band that early. Wonder if he knew Tom Wilson? If so, he'd probably be a great guy to contact. I know of Mr. Wilson's work through "The Last Ritual" - one of his lesser-known psychedelic projects for Lumumba Productions. Recording and remix engineer: Jack "Super Baby" Adams. Advice printed on the rear album cover: "Achtung! IS VERY HEAVY MUSIC. PLAY LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE. YES!" And it actually does sound better the louder you play it. Interestingly, the music was quite dynamic. During the quiet interludes it's just dripping with an awesomely wet reverb that sets an incredibly sensual "mood". You can sometimes find a copy of this in a record shop on Bleeker Street, NYC. Actually, I sometimes see it online for $30. Wonder if anyone from that project ever got any royalties? The production was top notch, using only the best NY session musicians. My Dad played Bass Trombone in that band. A few years earlier he had graduated from Berklee in Boston with some greats...Gary Burton, Steve Marcus, Sadao Watanabe, Graham Collier, et. al. He took "The Last Ritual" gig thinking it would be financially beneficial. I know it certainly wasn't his musical forte. I remember he dragged our whole family to a club (The Circus?) for a rare afternoon appearance. I was around eight years old - it made a life-lasting impression. It was so LOUD! The women were so HOT and the energy was so ELECTRIC – it was sensory overload for a pre-pubescent kid. Looking back I probably inhaled a lot of second hand funny stuff that day; though I'm sure my parents would never have brought us if they'd had any clue that kind of stuff would be happening right in the club. Dad still shudders at the mention of that band. Says he could never hear himself playing because it was too loud; but of course as a kid I really dug it and I played the record over and over again (to his chagrin). Another great NYC horn player in that band was Sharon Moe. She played French Horn and I think she sang some of the ooh la la la's. She is still a very well respected NYC "Classical" horn player. Someone mentioned the guitar player, Gabriel, in an earlier post. Anyone know if he's still alive? He had an awesome sound that was cutting-edge late 60's! If anyone wants more scoop on this project, email me and I'll see if I can pick Dad's brain for any more details. He's getting old now and I haven't talked to him about this stuff in years but he's still amazingly lucent at times. 631126@blogcritics.org Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:13:05 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-629746 After communicating with Eric Olsen and Al Kooper as well as a number of my own colleagues, I've decided to start work on a full fledged bio on Tom Wilson. Rather amazed no one has done one by now, to be honest. I very much look forward to communicating with many of you who knew and worked with this fascinating cat. This is obviously a story worth telling. Anyone who'd like to get in touch in advance, feel free: srprazak(at)aol(dot)com Steven Prazak Atlanta 629746@blogcritics.org Fri, 7 Sep 2007 17:55:11 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-627830 Rick wrote : Eric, great article. I worked for Tom's recording studio in 1975. He was a beautiful man with great vision. Yes, that is him laughing at the beginning of Bob Dylan's 115th Dream. He told me Bob liked recording with Tom because he would come in run the songs down on acoustic guitar and leave. Tom would overdub the band later. This is not true. The Dylan tracks were recorded live in the studio (Dylan & band playing together, as the tape rolled). Listen to any outtake as proof. The only exception was 4 tracks that Wilson o/d backing musicians on, December 1964, and never issued. 627830@blogcritics.org Mon, 3 Sep 2007 14:26:19 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-619219 Fantastic piece! I am a big fan of this man's work. Thanks for writing this most informative article. 619219@blogcritics.org Sun, 5 Aug 2007 15:15:21 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/10/23/154347.php#comment-595350 Dear Darien It's me ... Emily, Was listening to Simon & G this am and thought I would look up your Dad online ... sure enough there was a photo with Dylan, then you and T. e-mailing on this ... I'll call Ginny ... I've wanted to get to you since you came to visit Peabody that one time ... Em 595350@blogcritics.org Sun, 27 May 2007 11:32:39 EDT