Paul Winter Consort: Icarus (live)

**NOW WITH HIGHER-QUALITY AUDIO** This is truly one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard in my life. And apparently I'm not alone. The album from which it comes (Road on A&M Records) has been out of print forever. Try to buy a copy (of the LP, mind you!), and you'll pay $80-$250 on ebay or online stores. You can't buy the track download anywhere that I've found...and believe me, I've looked. I've always said I'd pay good money for a pristine digital recording of the song. Why in the world a record company would not re-release this...I can't even imagine. A little of the history of the song: It was written by a talented guitarist named Ralph Towner in a hotel room in Kentucky when he was on tour in the Sixties with The Paul Winter Consort. They went on to record the song on their album, Road (1968, produced by super-producer Phil Ramone). Someone thought so much of the album that it was taken by astronauts TO THE MOON in around 1970. Two craters on the moon (Icarus and Ghost Beads) were actually named after songs on this album. The song was briefly re-released on an album called Earthdance in the Eighties, but that has long since gone the way of the buffalo as well. I have no idea why the world is being deprived of this beautiful song (there are other renditions, but not nearly as good...even Ralph Towner has been quoted as saying this this live version was the definitive recording of the song), but I've decided to share it here. If anyone has an issue with it, I'd be happy to take it down...but I sure hope that whatever party is responsible will make the song available for sale once again. More about the album here: http://www.livingmusic.com/catalogue/nonlivingmusic/road.html

Found years ago, somewhere on the internet:

"Icarus probably remains Towner's best-loved composition, though its conception was far from romantic.

'We were on tour with Paul Winter and (the late) Colin Walcott and I were just improvising with the sitarand the 12-string in my room, in some funny little motel room in Kentucky. And I thought:: 'Whoa...what's this?' So I kicked everybody out and wrote this thing in one sitting, and orchestrated it right there...and we started playing it the next day. I liked it.'

Indeed!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• paul
• winter
• consort
• ralph
• towner
• road
• earthdance
• icarus

[yodaworks]

thanks for posting..... this inspired me in many respects. Later to "free fly"........ soar.... it's what dreams are made of....

[MishaAtreides]

An epic of gargantuan proportions. I am transported across time and space each time I listen to this masterpiece...

[edkellybchs]

Charles Darling was an incredible Cellist!!!!!

[edkellybchs]

@bokkenneth2 The "Amadinda" was an African instrument made with 2X4s similar to a marimba.....saw the group at Western Connecticut State College in 72....

[BerkLeeDrm]

amherst in the 70's just after john mayall and bruce springstein at the cage....