Incredibly Strange Music, Volume II

by A. Juno, V. Vale

"Incredibly Strange Music" is a comprehensive guide to little-known yet amazing vinyl recordings -- mostly from the 50s, 60s, and 70s -- like Muhammad Ali Fights Tooth Decay, Jayne Mansfield reading Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky and Me, Sebastion Cabot (yes, Mr. French of Family Affair) "singing" songs by Bob Dylan, and tons more

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Reference, Art

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jeffrey Bumiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily one of the most fascinating and entertaining books I have ever read. I read it obsessively, wide eyed and full of joy. A strange and glorious trip into a world of music beyond the everyday and the predictable. Features incredible interviews with Jello Biafra (a record collecting maniac) Ken Nordine (of Word Jazz infamy) Robert Moog, Yma Sumac, Elisabeth Waldo, and more. Read all about the insanity that is "The Click Kids-Jesus is a Soul Man" and "Barbara, The Gray Witch", and "Stompin' Tom and The Hockey Song" just to pick a few favorites. This book will have you running all over town to get on your hands and knees and sift through thrift store record bins. I used to have the CD that accompanied this book, but I have no idea what happened to it. I can only hope that it is somewhere waiting for some lucky person to snatch it up and have their world exploded, in the best of ways.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 2 of this remarkable series on music one doesn't normally think about. This series was the first to give attention to the world of Exotica and its importance to its then culture as well as now. There are two way at looking at Exotica. Kitsch or as serious composition. I look at it as a serious music form - and so does Vale and Co. Also fascinating insight into the world of record collecting.

[Adam Bregman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume II of Research's Incredibly Strange Music begins with a lengthy interview of Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys, who is an avid collector of every sort of strange music. I plan to reread that interview and take some notes. Among the music he mentions, I have been recently digging Twink, a psychedelic group I'd had never hear before. Particularly fascinating to me were the interviews with exotica artists Korla Pandit and Juan Esquivel, as well as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer, Robert Moog and a short autobiographical piece written by Peruvian singer, Yma Sumac. All have since passed away. This came out in 1994, which is when I should have read it. Otherwise, Volume II delves more into serious record collecting, not all of it strange. I bought the CD too.