This remarkable big little achievement, the brainchild of Britisher Morgan Fisher in 1980 had only one requirement: each song had to one minute or less in length. This week’s experiment explores short music from this and other wispy projects. Here’s the complete list of the participants and a diminutive sample of the lp’ s wares. It turns out a second Miniatures record was made as well as a 40th anniversary retro!
“1/1. ollie halsall & john halsey / bum love
1/2. the residents / we’re a happy family + bali ha’i
1/3. roger mcgough / the wreck of the hesperus
1/4. morgan fisher / green and pleasant
1/5. john otway / mine tonight
2/1. pete challis & phil diplock / my way
2/2. robert wyatt / rangers in the nightst
2/3. stinky winkles / opus
2/4. mary longford / body language
2/5. andy ‘thunderclap’ newman / andy the dentist
2/6. david bedford / wagner’s ring in one minute
3/1. fred frith / the entire works of henry cow
3/2. maggie nicols / look beneath the surface
3/3. joseph racaille / week-end
3/4. the work / with wings pressed back
3/5. neil innes & son / cum on feel the noize
4/1. herbert distel / toscany in blue (last minute)
4/2. lol coxhill / an end to the matter
4/3. ken ellis / one minute in the life of ivan denisovich
4/3. steve miller / alice
5/1. norman lovett / john peel sings the blues badly
5/2. patrick portella / serrons nous les coudes
5/3. george melly / sounds that saved my life
5/4. robert fripp / miniature
5/5. andy partridge (xtc) / the history of rock’n’roll
5/6. phantom captain / breather
6/1. ron geesin / enterbrain exit
6/2. alejandro viñao / an imaginary orchestrina
6/3. quentin crisp / stop the music for a minute
6/4. simon desorgher / tetrad
6/5. ralph steadman / sweetest love (lament after a broken sashcord on a theme of john donne)
6/6. r.d.laing & son / tipperary
7/1. trevor wishart / beach double
7/2. john white / scene de ballet
7/3. ivor cutler / brooch boat
7/4. hector zazou / do tell us
7/5. michael bass & ellen tenenbaum / a miniaturization of bartok’s sonata for two pianos & percussion (3rd movement)
8/1. martin chambers (the pretenders) / a swift one
8/2. bob cobbing & henri chopin / refreshment break
8/3. dave vanian (the damned) / night touch
8/4. metabolist / racing poodles
9/1. gavin bryars / after mendelssohn (137 years)
9/2. 1/2 japanese / paint it black
9/3. simon jeffes / arthur’s treat
9/4. mark perry / talking world war iii blues
9/5. michael nyman / 89-90-91-92
10/1. david cunningham (the flying lizards) / index of ends
10/2. kevin coyne / james, mark & me (in the manner of tom waits)
10/3. etron fou leloublan / hep!
10/4. neil oram & ken campbell & the science fiction theatre of liverpool / the minute warp
10/5. pete seeger / chorale from beethoven’s 9th symphony
”
Andy Partidge from XTC
“If you can’t explain something in a few words, try fewer. ”
“The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible.” ”
Drawing by Bob Jordan
“It’s hard to pinpoint the congealments in human history that dictated the length of a piece of music. Who knows how long it will take to communicate its intent? A difficult business. Yet somewhere in the development of radio, the duration of a person’s attention span was surmised. After all, there were products to sell.
Apparently around 3 minutes became allowable! How do vague stereotypes like this ever get traction? Enter the radio experiment conducted by my colleague Bob Jordan beginning in the late 70’s. The program “Armed for Services” flew in the face of convention, with unique musical examinations of pivotal
issues. Hence the show “90 Seconds Over Italy” was developed. It presented
Bob’s curatorial grasp of a bevy of songs from 10 to 90 seconds long. Together we strung and stretched around eighty of them into one of his Sunday evening episodes. Here’s mostly what happened:”
“90 Seconds over italy
john hartford “the lowest pair”
doug sahm “let’s get it right”
smothers brothers “the bees number”
bert and I “body in the kelp”
ken nordine “clock”
spanky and our gang “1358 pedagogical round”
monkees “band 6”
insect trust “I say live it or live with it”
hp lovecraft “gloria patri”
fugs “marijuna”
ken nordine
carla bley “nostalgia 77 the mirror” “when everything that we know is forever gone”
firesign theatre “abraham lincoln didn’t die in vain” the lonesome american choo choo don wan stop here any more
frank zappa ‘lonely little girl”
“if there were any gods there I knew them not”
van dyke parks “bing crosby”
robert klein “Now you can have every record ever recorded”
neil innes ‘stuck in mrs fletcher’s “
tiny tim “hot and cold water”
insect trust ‘foggy river bridge fly “
bert and i “sassage”
lol coxhill “mango walk”
bert and i “arnold bunker testifies”
ken nordine “queen”
firesign theatre “deep cut discounts”
bonzo dog band “kama zutra”
silk “smooth as raw silk’
sopwith camel “brief synophonia”
the blues magoos “intermission”
mouth sound
john hartford “boogie”
kevin ayers “see you later”
ivor cutler “bicarbonate of chicken”
west coast pop art experimental band “as kind as summer”
kim fowley “ode to sweet sixteen”
neil young “string quartet from whiskey boot hill”
ivor cuter “the other half”
bonzo dog band “the joke shop man”
mel blanc wcuw promo
moondog “why spend the dark night with you”
moondog “be a hobo”
randy newman “every man a king”
patrick sky “under all flags”
st john green “help me close the door”
ken nordine “windshield wipers”
james talley “big taters in the sandy land”
travis shook “don’t want to see no smoke comin out of that toaster”
country joe “the fish moan
“the inhumane man is a bastard no man who wishes to be free shall be alone”
doors “no one gets out of here alive”
langston hughes “dream montage weird nightmare”
hp lovecraft “nothings boy”
brothers of the stone “drug vultures”
soft machine “pataphsical introduction”
james reid “sorry state of staying awake”
michael hurley “ratface “
steve goodman “I aint never you play no blues”
the native steel drum band “out of my dreams”
hampton grease band “spray paint “
firesign theatre “ralph spoilsport motors”
nick drake “harvest breed”
jan akkerman “kemps jig”
alan seidler “duke of ook
john coltrane “introduction to concert in japan”
staple singers “lets go home”
carla bley “stay awake “
flamin groovies “going out theme”
dan hicks “skippys farwell” ”
And so on. You can check the list in further detail on the net.
“Van Morrison and Faces
Capital Theatre
Port Chester, New York
Spring 1970
Performing songs primarily from his recently released album, Moondance and some selections from his soon to be released, His Band and Street Choir, Van, while hardly a showman, fronted a very strong band and put on a powerhouse of a show.
Faces, which was a combination of three musicians from the band, Small Faces (Ronnie Lane, bass, Ian McLagan keyboards and Kenney Jones, drums) and two from The Jeff Beck group (Rod Stewart, vocals and Ronnie Wood, lead guitar) had released their first record earlier that year to mostly mediocre reviews. Live they were a wildly entertaining white rhythm and blues band.
Both Van and Rod were born in 1945, and in 1970 when they were 25 years old they had amazing vocal chops. By 2022, Rod had been married 4 times, had seven kids and had sold over 250 million records. Van had released over 40 albums, but during the pandemic he came under fire for his anti-mask and anti-vax comments.
Ryan Walsh, the author of the excellent Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968 had this to say about Van Morrison in 2021.
“This turn toward the alt-right didn’t come out of nowhere. Broadly speaking, Morrison’s career arc looks something like this: He went from being a brash teenage wunderkind with his band Them, to a promising young solo artist (“Brown Eyed Girl”), to a moody, soulful poet casually creating masterpieces (“Astral Weeks” and “Moondance”), to a middle-aged curmudgeon showcasing occasional moments of brilliance (“Common One”), until he slowly devolved into a boozy-uncle type, cranking out boilerplate blues LPs while leaning on his earlier legacy to fill concert halls.”
Ouch!
If you want to listen to the (self-selected) best recordings by Van Morrison and Rod Stewart, these are my favorites:
Van Morrison
Astral Weeks
Veedon Fleece
It’s Too Late To Stop Now
Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast
Rod Stewart
Jeff Beck – Truth
Gasoline Alley
Every Picture Tells A Story
”