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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
Summary.
The New Wave allowed solitary and fiercely independent musicians to find an audience. Such is the case with Jandek in Texas, who released over 30 albums between 1978 and 2000, and Stevie Moore in New Jersey, who released more than 100 records, cassettes and discs between 1973 and 2000, starting with the hilarious Phonography (1976).
Full bio.
(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)
Out of his New Jersey stronghold, Stevie Moore launched one of the most fiercely independent careers in rock music. From 1968 to 2000, he released more than one hundred titles, including cassettes, albums, EPs, and CDs. The first two official albums,
Phonography (Vitla, 1976 - ReR, 2009),
which is actually a compilation of previous albums, and
Delicate Tension (HP, 1978), are the works of a devotee of the joke-songs of
Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa and Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band.
From his high-school recording On Graycroft (1968) to
his first song-based collection, Invites Comparison (1973), his
music was still maturing, and reached its first modest successes with the
Zappa-esque jazz-rock jams NUN2/ Innuendos (1973) and the
rock opera Apologies To Mr Gottlieb (1974).
Phonography, a compilation of recordings from 1974-76,
notably of the best songs from the cassette Stevie Moore Often (1975)
and from Stevie Moore Or Less (1975),
runs the gamut from
an instrumental synthesized vaudeville theme (Melbourne),
several spoken-word fragments (including 30 seconds of Moore pissing and telling the story of his life),
a piano rag sung in a childish voice (Goodbye Piano),
a drunk distorted extended piece (Moons),
and assorted satires of the Sixties that transcend the imitation of the Byrds and of Merseybeat bands (California Rhythm, I Want You In My Life) and that sometimes approach the verve of the Kinks and the Who
(She Don't Know What to do With Herself, I Wish I Could Sing).
Stevie Moore Or Less (1975) also contains the longer
and percussive Tale of the Sweet Violin, a sort of cross between
Mike Oldfield and
ZZ Top.
The 24-song
Returns (1976), which was later augmented to 35 songs,
Play (1976), with Play and Benefit Of The Doubt,
and Piano Lessons (1977), with the faux-classical lied Broke Up,
launched a more "official" career.
Jesus Rocks (1978), Delicate Tension (1978), Goodbye Piano (1978),
Manufacturers (1978), Shakin' In The Sixties (1986), On The Spot (1987),
Why Can't I Write A Hit, Debbie, U R True, What's The Point,
amount one of the largest and most disordered canons of his age.
R Stevie Moore's discography is clogged with anthologies, among which What's the Point (Cuneiform, 1984) and Contact Risk (Fruit Of The Tune, 1993) stand out. On the former, the lion's share is taken by the seraphic vignettes satirizing the American way of life: Puttin Up The Groceries, Part Of The Problem, Bloody Knuckles, and so on. Moore is above all a craftsman of pop, capable of humiliating XTC (Conflict Of Interest), The dB's (Get The Job Done) and Todd Rundgren (Love Has Doubt) at their own baroque game. The composer's eclecticism also emerges from the instrumental pieces: one inspired by the rocambolesque fanfares of Frank Zappa (World's Fair), one inspired by exotic film soundtracks (Theme From Hurricane David), and one even for barrel organ and ukulele (I Don't Think She Knows). It is precisely in these humble yet at the same time sophisticated arrangements that the secret and trademark of his art lie. Glad Music (New Rose, 1986), featuring Part Of The Problem, and Teenage Spectacular (New Rose, 1987) are the albums of his mature period. Moore is an eclectic composer, capable of ranging from music hall (Goodbye Piano, 1978) to instrumental rock (Ist Or Mas, 1978), from pop (Part Of The Problem, 1985) to musique concrčte (Non Sequitur, 1987). Along with Jandek and a few others, Moore is one of the legendary independents of modern music.
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