Allen Ginsberg - The Complete Songs Of Innocence And Experience (CD)

The original 1970 MGM album on CD and Digital for the first time, plus a second disc of rarities and previously unissued songs. Lester Bangs, in Rolling Stone magazine, said the album was, "like a labor of love, a salute from a young visionary to an ancient sage." Allen Ginsberg began "tuning" William Blake's poetry in 1968 (inspired by attending the tumultuous protests at that year's Democratic Convention in Chicago), but the origin of the album dates back to a 1948 vision or "auditory illumination" as he called it, of William Blake reciting poetry to him in his Spanish Harlem apartment. Moved by this, Ginsberg began to set Blake's poetry to music. In 1969, he began recording musical versions of Blake's poetry with Peter Orlovsky, and jazz legends Bob Dorough, Don Cherry, Elvin Jones! 19 of those songs were released the following year as Songs Of Innocence And Experience.

Track List:

Disc: 1

1. (A) Introduction (B) the Shepherd
2. The Echoing Green
3. The Lamb
4. The Little Black Boy
5. The Blossom
6. The Chimney-Sweeper
7. (A) the Little Boy Lost (B) the Little Boy Found
8. Laughing Song
9. Holy Thursday
10. Night
11. Nurse's Song
12. The Sick Rose
13. Introduction
14. Ah! Sunflower
15. The Garden of Love
16. London
17. The Human Abstract
18. To Tirzah
19. The Grey Monk
20. The Grey Monk
21. Brothels of Paris

Disc: 2

1. A Cradle Song
2. The Divine Image
3. Spring
4. Nurse's Song
5. Infant Joy
6. A Dream
7. On Another's Sorrow
8. Holy Thursday
9. The Fly
10. The School Boy
11. The Voice of the Ancient Bard
12. 0Padmasambhava Mantra
13. Om Namah Shivaye
14. Roghupati Raghava