Rick Clark's Music I Love Blog - Artist: Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Albums: The Inflated Tear, Left & Right, Volunteered Slavery
I remember where I was when I was working at Pop Tunes in Memphis during the early ’70s and first saw Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s albums, Volunteered Slavery, Left & Right and The Inflated Tear. Honestly, his image wearing the shades, playing multiple saxes at the same time and his body language were almost impenetrable and intimidating, quickly reducing the posturing look of most heavy rock bands of the time into Spinal Tap silliness. Even Kirk’s album titles felt uncompromising and real.
When the store’s demo albums of these releases got chunked, I took them home and dove into listening to this enigma to satisfy my curiosity. What I heard blew me away.
Volunteered Slavery, which is a mix of live and studio recordings, captured my attention from the moment the needle landed on the Side One vinyl with the socially charged chanting of the title track. The following number, “Spirits Up Above,” added another emotional layer with irrepressible choral vocals singing, “Can’t you feel the spirit up above? Up above. Up above. Please don’t fight the spirit sent from love. Sent from Heaven. Up above. Up above.” This is real gospel sung with the spirit of freedom, in spite of the reality of bondage in a country where institutionalized racism ruled (and still rules) the day. So much of Volunteered Slavery feels like a celebration of life. Kirk’s versions of “My Cherie Amour” and “I Say A Little Prayer” are wonderful, and the live performances at the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival are all strong and very enjoyable.
The album Left & Right was a bold undertaking where Kirk is performing with an orchestra. Some of the highlights on that album are the lovely “Quintessence,” “I Waited For You,” and his emotive take on Billy Strayhorn’s “A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing.” The nineteen-plus minute “Expansions” is a great ride with a lot of fabulous blowing. Like a lot of his music, Kirk seamlessly flows from early and avant-garde jazz and blues to gospel.
My favorite album of Kirk’s is The Inflated Tear. Every moment of this album feels like I’m experiencing a very dimensional manifestation of this great artist.
The Inflated Tear opens with the meditative low-key “The Black and Crazy Blues.” It is one of those unassuming tracks that sneak up on you and, after repeated listens, becomes one of your favorite pieces. The second track, “A Laugh For Rory,” is a playful love letter to Kirk’s son, followed by “Many Blessings,” with its light on the toes melody and lovely horn punctuations. One of the highlights of The Inflated Tear is listening to Rahn Burton’s rich fluid piano texturing.
It is very hard for me to express how deeply the title track to The Inflated Tear touches me. It is so visceral. I feel so much pain and spiritual conflict, a cry for a certain kind of resolution and peace. The horns of Joshua surrounding the fortress of a primally wounded Jericho heart. Blood animated by the sky.
I could go on and on about this album, but if you love jazz, you likely already know what I’m addressing. If the music of jazz speaks to you and you haven’t had a chance to become immersed in Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s music, start with The Inflated Tear. Of course, his fans will gladly direct you to many of his other great recordings, like Blackness, I Talk With The Spirits, Domino, Here Comes The Whistleman, We Free Kings, and the one I mentioned above.
This post is also sort of a love letter to the twins who play on my recordings, Rahsaan and Roland Barber. So much of what they do celebrates the spirit of Rahsaan Roland Kirk, not by copying his sound, but by who they are, which is deep, sweet-spirited and real. I feel blessed to have them in the mix. You can hear some of their playing on my recordings on this website like “Faith In Doubt,” “Deep South” and my Memphis Urban-Blues “Crack In The Sky,” which my friend Ned Wharton used for a transitional piece on NPR’s Weekend Edition last year. Thanks, Ned … and thanks Rahsaan and Roland!
If you are interested in checking their performances on those tracks, just go over to the Song tab on the menu on this page and you will find these songs with photos of the gang, credits and lyrics. As always, thanks for listening.