Details
Track Listing
1. Ain't We Got Fun
2. On the Road (Jazz of the Beat Generation)
3. On the Road
4. Come Rain or Shine
5. Orizaba 210 Blues - (with David Amram)
6. When a Woman Loves a Man
7. Leavin' Town
8. Washington DC Blues - (with The David Amram Ensemble)
9. On the Road - (with Tom Waits/Primus)
Album Notes
Some tracks feature musical accompaniment composed by David Amram recorded in 1998 and one track is sung by Tom Waits.
Personnel includes: Jack Kerouac (spoken vocals); Tom Waits (vocals, guitar, percussion); Larry LaLonde (guitar, percussion); Vic Juris (guitar); Midhat Serbagi (viola); David Amram (Lakota courting flute, whistle, ocarina, shenai, French horn, congas, dumbek, frame drum, percussion); Ronald Roseman (oboe, English horn); Jane Taylor (bassoon); Jerry Dodgion (alto saxophone); Ralph Carney (saxophone); John Medeski (Hammond organ); Les Claypool (upright bass, percussion); Victor Venegas (bass); Johnny Almendra (drums, bongos); Candido (congas); Brain (percussion).
Engineers include: Jerry Newman, Biff Dawes, Danny Lawrence.
Includes liner notes by Douglas Brinkley.
Boasting recordings thought for many years to be lost, the historic READS ON THE ROAD should be an easy favorite for any admirer of this beloved Beat poet. What a tasty variety of material there is here--Kerouac singing jazz standards (!), Kerouac singing an original song, and Kerouac reading poems to the sound of David Amram's moving beat scores.
"Ain't We Got Fun" is a hoot, with the poet-turned-crooner scatting to the warm vibes and guitar of a combo of unknown musicians. His home-taped two-minute "On the Road" is a tear-jerking treasure, a little travelin' tale posthumously set to plaintive organ and guitar a la John Medeski and Victor Juris. And who better to reinterpret the aforementioned piece than the inimitable, whisky-throated Tom Waits, along with the wild ones of Primus whooping it up on steel guitar, upright bass, and percussion. The crown jewel, however, is the nearly 30-minute crackle-pop acetate taping of our Lowell, Massachusetts hero reading unaccompanied from his seminal text. It's a rare, wonderful treat to hear Kerouac vocalize his rollicking images of jazzmen and Neal Cassady joyrides.
Industry Reviews
...Kerouac effectively manipulates language and rhythm to capture the spontaneity and spirit of improvising musicians, incorporating a potted history of the music itself...
JazzTimes (12/01/1999)
4 out of 5 - ...reveals numerous facets of his artistry....[He] proves wonderfully adept at capturing the sights and sounds of his most enduring work....[He] faux-croons...his way through loopy versions of 4 jazz standards...it's the best bad lounge you'll ever hear...
Alternative Press (01/01/2000)
...this newly discovered unaccompanied reading from ON THE ROAD reminds you what all the fuss was about...
The Wire (10/01/1999)
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