ILM Listening Chamber 21

This was "This Purple Child" by Howe Gelb from his 1998 solo album "Hisser". The backing band is Grandaddy. The song has been recorded in Howe's living in Tucson, Arizona. My favourite moment is when the sampled trumpet section comes in several times for about one second in the second half. That is so weird. The song has not been recorded by Calexico as far as I know.

Concerning the bands: John Convertino (drums) + Joey Burns (guitar + singing) = Calexico.
Calexico + Howe Gelb = Giant Sand.
Giant Sand + Lisa Germano = OP8.

Lyrics:
there's some monster within slipping from sleeping to arise. and there's some angels there too down and deep within darkening eyes. blood remains cherokee red and eyes still shine old world blue. warm and wrapped in unfurled flag with waiting room smile you drink and get drunk and brag ...of this perfect child. crushed between the slip of dreams hard to explain. new world order and old world birthing pain. warm and wrapped eyes remain cherokee red and blood still shines old world blue this purple child

interesting. i wouldn't have known this was Howe Gelb. but i did think it sounded very 'arizona'. it sounds like its from about 1987, i imagine it to be on a film. this isn't something i'm particularly interested in, it screamed 'Uncut Magazine', but it wasn't bad. i'll stick with this one, and see if my opinion changes.

By the way, when I said this song sounded different (and I thought it was a version of a song I already owned somewhere outside of the Howe Gelb album), I was talking out me arse. Confusing this fine track w/ a Calexico track, whoops. It sounded a lot sloppier than I remember, though - maybe out of the context of the album (where it sounds tighter amidst Gelb's other shambling shenanigans) (which I like), its true shambolic (sic, I bet) nature shines like spurs.

But, yeah, it's a pleasant little ditty.