Searching for the truth (within the bounds of toxicity)
A review of the book 'Palm Desert' by Rudy VanderLans. 'Palm Desert' is the first book in a trilogy. Each of the books features photographs from the Californian landscape related to a different musical topic.There are only two ways that one can react emotionally after listening to the album Song Cycle. Either you love it or you simply have no clue as to what it is about. I have never encountered anyone who thought of it as simply 'NICE'. Highly complex personal artistic statements tend not to be nice. A complex statement is likely to inspire new artistic works, which are not in danger of being labeled 'nice' either. Either they are perceived as failed experiments; that is, they do not capture/ express/ deny the essence of the work that inspired them - or they are perceived as highly crafted companions/counterpoints to the work that provided inspiriation. It is not possible to achieve a portion of those results. Either you get it or you don't.
The concept of a book inspired by Song Cycle's extraordinary Palm Desert brought those thoughts to my mind several weeks ago, when I read a short announcement about the book. I received my copy this morning. Indeed, the book is not 'nice'. It is BRILLIANT.
An inspiring visual journey through the 'Palm Desert' area of California, undertaken by someone who obviously cares for the works of Van Dyke Parks. Each line of the song is illustrated by one or several images, assembled like snapshots taken during a car journey through the area that inspired the song. Sometimes the relationship of the words and photos are obvious, other times humorous (regard a shot of a bedroom to illustrate the line 'dreams are still born in Hollywood'). Sometimes there appears to be no direct connection between the photographs and the lyrics (or they simply did not translate well from English). Paging through the book for the first time, I was reminded of music video art in its most artificial form. A surreal, sometimes psychedelic, arrangement of atmospheric illustrations not meant to tell a story so much as to create the atmosphere of another place and time. The photographs also spurred on my imagination regarding other lyrics from Song Cycle. The care and skill shown in the compilation of this volume make it far more than just a tribute to the work of Van Dyke Parks , accessible to all who have been touched by Parks' surrealist lyrics and imagery. Beyond that, Pam Desert is a great artistic statement that can easily stand on its own.
 Although the pictures may be enjoyed without a soundtrack, the spirit of the journey is best experienced when accompanied by your
trusted copy of Song Cycle or the CD accompanying the book, featuring Van Dyke Parks' original version of Palm Desert as well as cover versions by Itchy Pet, Honey Barbara and Elliott Peter Earls. Using electronic instruments, the cover artists create unexpected adaptions of the song. Also featured in the book is a foreword by Rudy VanderLans and two essays: One surreal dream/visionary essay called 'Yucca Brevifolia Dixie Cup' by Brian Schorn and 'Song Cycle Revisited', an analysis by Kenneth FitzGerald. The first essay is prefaced with a remark from Van Dyke Parks: "Music has to appear before me". With this book it does. Do I have to say anything more?
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Read more about the background of the Palm Desert and the other books in the trilogy in a vandykeparks.com interview with Rudy VanderLans.
review of part two and three of Rudy VanderLans' trilogy, Cucamonga and Joshua Tree - Joshua Tree, features a musical contribution by Van Dyke Parks, the Joshua Tree Suite
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96 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, 75 full color and duotone photographs, cloth cover with blind emboss, sewn and case bound, with a CD attached in the back. Bonus music CD containing the original track "Palm Desert" by Van Dyke Parks, as well as three adaptations by Emigre recording artists Itchy Pet, Honey Barbara, and Elliott Peter Earls. Playing time 21 minutes.
ISBN 0 - 9669409 - 0 - 3 To order call (800) 944 9021 or go to www.emigre.com/CBPD.html |