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Obscure No. 5 - Jan Steele / John Cage



    Side A - Jan Steele

  1. All Day [lyrics by James Joyce, vocals by Janet Sherbourne]
  2. Distant Saxophones
  3. Rhapsody Spaniel

    Side B - John Cage

  1. Experiences No. 1
  2. Experiences No. 2 [lyrics by E. E. Cummings, vocals by Robert Wyatt]
  3. The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs [lyrics by James Joyce, vocals by Robert Wyatt]
  4. Forever and Sunsmell [lyrics by E. E. Cummings, vocals by Carla Bley]
  5. In A Landscape




LP released on Island Records, Obscure No. 5, 1976

Brian Eno's Obscure Records label released only 10 albums during its existence from 1975 through 1978. Some of these have been reissued on CD (among them Eno's own 1975 masterpiece Discreet Music), but for some reason the album Voices and Instruments (Obscure No. 5, 1976) only exists on out-of-print vinyl. It is a very quiet and beautiful record, featuring three compositions by Jan Steele on one side, and five compositions by John Cage on the other side. Lyrics are by James Joyce and E. E. Cummings, performers include Jan Steele, Richard Bernas, Steve Beresford, Fred Frith, Robert Wyatt, and Carla Bley. It is not just mellow, it is avant-mellow...