Poetry Out Loud #10

01 Let’s Go Hear The Holy Rollers Sing (3:52)
02 Bad Man (2:03)
03 Wilderness (4:49)
04 I Can Sing Falsetto (3:07)
05 Maybe (4:12)
06 Your Love Is A Weapon (after a theme from Howling Wolf) (1:34)
07 Let’s Let The World Go Down (2:44)
08 Going Below (12:18)

Total time 34:30
Released 1977

Number Ten was to be the last Poetry Out Loud installment, a series of sound poetry LPs launched in 1969 by Klyd Watkins and Peter Harleman in collaboration with their respective wifes Linda and Patricia (in Kansas, later Kentucky). The kind of sound poetry championned by Watkins & Harleman is influenced by Native Indian chanting, the so-called ‘drum songs’ and chamanistic ceremonies, as well as beat poetry, eg. Charles Olson’s projective verse, and french sound poetry. The series included extra-contributions from Tony Cowan, Henri Chopin, Bernard Heidsieck and wife Françoise Janicot, but most of the ‘oral poems’ were recorded by the 2 couples in various configurations. All songs on Number Ten were recorded by the trio of Patricia and Peter Harleman with Klyd Watkins, except #4 (‘I Can Sing Falsetto’) by Peter Harleman alone on multilayered vocals. While some issues were recorded during live performances, this is a studio recording with intensive use of delay and reverb effect pedals. These short songs also embark influences such as blues and congregational singing, John Lommax’s field recordings in the Delta even psychedelic far out rock. The use of hand-drum/rattle drum is striking, as well as the heavy doses of delay+reverb. At times, I am reminded british band Zoviet:France’s sound effects palette, loops and sonic accumulation. It is not clear to me wether this was recorded on the spot direct to tape, or if some sketch or plan was devised beforehand, but the trio of singers obviously improvise on some word combinations. The ensemble is smooth to the ears, devoid of some of sound poetry’s excessives moves.

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