Sir Richard Bishop
Polytheistic Fragments
Drag City 2007
01. Cross My Palm with Silver
02. Hecate's Dream
03. Elysium Number Five
04. Rub' Al Khali
05. Free Masonic Guitar
06. Cemetery Games
07. Quiescent Return
08. Saraswati
09. Tennessee Porch Swing
10. Canned Goods & Firearms
11. Ecstasies in the Open Air
Rick Bishop, Sir Richard Bishop... a Magellan of the British underground, no doubt. Hearing him and James Blackshaw and folks like that has always made me want to hit a guitar right away. Bishop, in particular, managed to forge a unique, recognizable sound, drawing from Europe, Asia, Africa and beyond. Spacey, understated, late-night and austere: a sound I love, and one that more and more, since the passing of Sun City Girls, he seeks to broaden and reveal in solo. Besides having a suggestive title/cover, Polytheistic Fragments aims at appropriating all exotic influences into a complete work. Bishop plays acoustic/electric guitar, oud, piano and percussion, with some blues/jazz touches that seem rather new to the palette. Half improvised and half composed, as usual - a record that blurs culture, as expected. Far from an issue, but I wish he'd emphasize on other instruments more often, such as the piano. Or why not bring a few guests in? Would they have to belong to aristocracy as well?
"In my opinion, most organized religion is a load of crap. When it comes to Judaism and the many denominations of Christianity, even Islam, everybody is fighting over whose god has the biggest dick, when in fact, they were all castrated centuries ago. I'm more attracted to certain elements within the Hindu Pantheon, the terrible deities of Tibet, animism, magic, voodoo, and other less-respected forms of so called 'religion'. They all offer much more in the ways of god or goddess-like experience. Nothing organized about any of it. All encourage pursuits by the individual and are not geared toward the masses. Hinduism is perhaps the most un-organized of all. There just isn't a filing system big enough in the galaxy to ever contain it, therefore ensuring its validity and power until the end of time. Ever since I can remember I've had a keen interest in the darker side of the mystical experience. I was exposed to it at an early age and I attribute that to my family's relation to Freemasonry more than anything else. I did attend the local Methodist Church for a few weeks when I was 9 years old, at my parents' request. No sir, didn't like it! It had absolutely no meaning and was the dullest thing and the biggest waste of time I had experienced in my life up to that point. When I told my folks I hated it they just shrugged their shoulders and said I didn't have to go anymore. They were the coolest! I then started attending the local Order of DeMolay, an organization for children of Freemasons. That was a little more interesting at first; meetings were inside the Masonic lodge with the skulls and the all-seeing eye, the checkered floor, the black and white pillars, and other odd symbols. I didn't understand it at all but there was a mystery about the whole ordeal. I eventually lost interest in it because, as a young teenager, there were plenty of vices awaiting me. Regardless, I think those Masonic connections, however short-lived they were, stayed within me and later encouraged me to begin my own studies into the mystery cults, the history of magic ritual, eastern mysticism, etc., a few years later." -R.B.
>> rapid / mihd (54mb) "In my opinion, most organized religion is a load of crap. When it comes to Judaism and the many denominations of Christianity, even Islam, everybody is fighting over whose god has the biggest dick, when in fact, they were all castrated centuries ago. I'm more attracted to certain elements within the Hindu Pantheon, the terrible deities of Tibet, animism, magic, voodoo, and other less-respected forms of so called 'religion'. They all offer much more in the ways of god or goddess-like experience. Nothing organized about any of it. All encourage pursuits by the individual and are not geared toward the masses. Hinduism is perhaps the most un-organized of all. There just isn't a filing system big enough in the galaxy to ever contain it, therefore ensuring its validity and power until the end of time. Ever since I can remember I've had a keen interest in the darker side of the mystical experience. I was exposed to it at an early age and I attribute that to my family's relation to Freemasonry more than anything else. I did attend the local Methodist Church for a few weeks when I was 9 years old, at my parents' request. No sir, didn't like it! It had absolutely no meaning and was the dullest thing and the biggest waste of time I had experienced in my life up to that point. When I told my folks I hated it they just shrugged their shoulders and said I didn't have to go anymore. They were the coolest! I then started attending the local Order of DeMolay, an organization for children of Freemasons. That was a little more interesting at first; meetings were inside the Masonic lodge with the skulls and the all-seeing eye, the checkered floor, the black and white pillars, and other odd symbols. I didn't understand it at all but there was a mystery about the whole ordeal. I eventually lost interest in it because, as a young teenager, there were plenty of vices awaiting me. Regardless, I think those Masonic connections, however short-lived they were, stayed within me and later encouraged me to begin my own studies into the mystery cults, the history of magic ritual, eastern mysticism, etc., a few years later." -R.B.
>> love it, buy it (Norman)
6 comments:
beautiful, man.
i'm having Elysium Number Five on repeat...
*sniff*
that's beautiful.
and we have a new 'record of the week'. thank you.
don't be so sure yet ;)
thank you so much. loving this.
you're about to up Cosi's FMM III, aren't you? btw, I'm still wondering, why the over-amazing drones from Peter Wright haven't been winner of the voting. definitely the album of the year, as for me. with the cloud of unknowing. and Blackshaw is recording his next album!
guess i could up FMM III for your private enjoyment; it's a bit patchy otherwise to deserve posting, imo.
as for the voting, there's a large, silent italian majority (of which i'm aware, still) visiting this blog, that can influence the results. both albums were special anyway (okay, so i secretely wished it was PW too, but heck :)
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