January 9, 2022

20,000 vinyl LPs 325: Silent Running & Joan Baez

 ~   
vinyl LP front cover 
photo of album cover by Styrous®


Today is the birthday of singer, songwriter, musician, and political activist Joan Baez who was born on January 9, 1941. She has dozens of great albums and songs to use but after mulling them over, I settled on my favorite song by her, Rejoice In the Sun, to use as my tribute to her. The song is not only one of the most beautiful she has sung but one of the most beautiful songs, period.          

I used Rejoice In the Sun for the finale of the Tom White ButohPhoto performance at the Gray Loft Gallery in 2015 (link below).        
 
Baez worked with composer Peter Schickele who orchestrated and arranged three of her albums, Noël (1966), Joan (1967), and Baptism (1968). In 1971, Baez reunited with Schickele to record two tracks, Rejoice In the Sun and Silent Running for the science-fiction film Silent Running
 
The lyrics for Rejoice In the Sun are few but carry a strong message: 
 
Heels of children running wild in the sun
like a forest is your child growing wild in the sun
Doomed in his innocence in the sun.

Gather your children to your side in the sun
tell them all they love will die, tell them why, in the sun
tell them it's not too late for today one by one
tell them to harvest and rejoice --- in the sun.
 
 
The two songs were issued as a single on Decca (32890). In addition to this, another LP was released on Decca (DL 7-9188) and was later reissued by Varèse Sarabande on black (STV-81072) and green (VC-81072) vinyl, this recording.             


vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®

 
The soundtrack for the film was written by bassoonist and P. D. Q. Bach creator Peter Schickele. Rejoice in the Sun was written by Schickele and Diane Lampert.       
 
 

Silent Running movie poster
 
 
Silent Running is one of the most moving, achingly heartbreaking and poignant environmental films ever made; it is at the top of the list of great Sci-Fi films and it is also one of the best roles Bruce Dern has ever had. It was directed by Douglas Trumbull who also involved in one way or another with 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, The Andromeda Strain and The Tree of Life, and directed the movies Silent Running and Brainstorm          
 
 
 
In a nutshell, the story line is of a future in which all plant life on Earth is becoming extinct. As many specimens as possible have been preserved in a series of enormous greenhouse-like geodesic domes, attached to large spaceships, the domes are akin to Noah's Ark
 
 
Edward HicksNoah's Ark - 1846
 
 
Because the domes have been deemed too expensive to operate the crew receives orders to jettison and destroy them and return the freighters to commercial service. After four of the six domes are jettisoned and blown up, Lowell (Bruce Dern) rebels and opts instead to save the plants and animals on his ship. He kills his crew-mates but when another space freighter comes to investigate, Lowell knows his crimes will be discovered and in an effort to save the last forest before the freighter arrives, Lowell jettisons the dome to safety then detonates nuclear charges, destroying his ship and himself. The final scene is of the forest greenhouse drifting into deep space (links to cast and complete plot below).            

 

vinyl LP, side 1 & 2
photos by Styrous®

  
Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
A1 - Joan Baez – Rejoice In The Sun, Lyrics By Diane Lampert - 2:10
A2 - Peter Schickele - The Space Fleet - 3:28
A3 - Peter Schickele - Rejoice In The Sun (Instrumental) - 1:58
A4 - Peter Schickele - No Turning Back - 2:50
A5 - Peter Schickele - Driving Crazy - 2:26
A6 - Peter Schickele - Drifting - 2:08
       
Side 2:
       
B1 - Joan Baez - Silent Running, Lyrics By Diane Lampert - 2:01
B2 - Peter Schickele - The Dying Forest - 2:24
B3 - Peter Schickele - Tending To Huey - 2:55
B4 - Peter Schickele - Saturn - 4:09
B5 - Peter Schickele - Getting Ready - 1:45
B6 - Joan Baez - Rejoice In The Sun (Reprise), Lyrics By Diane Lampert - 1:30
       
Companies, etc.
       
    Licensed Through – MCA Records, Inc.
    Manufactured By – Varèse Sarabande Records, Inc.
    Copyright © – Varèse International
    Published By – Leeds Music Corp.
    Remastered At – KM Records Inc.
    Pressed By – KM Records Inc.
       
Credits:
       
    Composed By, Music By, Arranged By, Producer – Peter Schickele
    Engineer [Tape] – Larry Boden
    Executive Producer – Gil Rodin
    Remastered By – Dub Taylor (3)
    Vocals [Sung By] – Joan Baez (tracks: A1,B1,B6)
       
Notes:
       
Previously Released as Decca DL 7-9188

Reissued on green vinyl.

Two other reissue versions were also released within the same year.
One on black vinyl, and another one on green vinyl but with a
different prefix on the catalog # - VC 81072 ( DB id # 3860981 )
       
Barcode and Other Identifiers
       
    Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout, Variant 1): VC 81072-A △ 23669 ①
    Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout, Variant 1): VC 81072-B RE-1 △ 23669-X ②
    Matrix / Runout (Side A Runout, Variant 2): VC81072A RE1 + (stamp) SLM + △167
    Matrix / Runout (Side B Runout, Variant 2): VC81072B RE2 + (stamp) SLM + △167-X
    Rights Society: ASCAP
 
Peter Schickele Featuring Joan Baez – Silent Running (Original Soundtrack Album)
Label:    Varèse Sarabande – STV-81072
Format:    Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Green Vinyl
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Classical, Folk, World, & Country, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Classical, Folk
         
Viewfinder links:        
         
The Andromeda Strain                 
Joan Baez         
butohPhoto performance            
Bruce Dern            
Gray Loft Gallery             
Peter Schickele         
Douglas Trumbull                
Tom White         
        
Net links:        
         
Gone With the Twins ~ Review              
Retro Trap ~ Review        
Rotten Tomatoes ~ Review        
Silent Running ~          
          Cast            
          Plot                   
Spirituality & Practice ~ Review        
        
YouTube links:        
        
Joan Baez ~     
        Rejoice in the Sun        
        Silent Running                  
Silent Running Trailer                  
Silent Running Intro                   
Silent Running opening prayer                    
Silent Running Robots Play Poker                   
Silent Running Running Over Huey                   
Silent Running Robotic Surgery                   
Silent Running Through Saturn's Rings                  
Silent Running Killing the Crew                   
Silent Running Burying the Body                    
Silent Running Saving the Forest                    
Silent Running Saying Goodbye                    
Silent Running Final Scene                 
Edgar Wright ~ Silent Running (review)        
The Unapologetic Geek ~ Silent Running (review)                 
        
        
        
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Sunday, January 9, 2022       
       
 
 




















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