MICHAEL MANTLER "The Hapless Child" Edward Gorey LP NM/VG+ Gatefold BLEY R Wyatt

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The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Stories Review by Brian Olewnick

A surprising step after his earlier work with the Jazz Composer's Orchestra and their juxtaposition of avant-garde soloists in a modern orchestral context, Mantler created a virtual prog rock album, setting Edward Gorey's Freudian/gothic texts to music that owes far more to Henry Cow than Cecil Taylor. Enlisting ex-Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt on vocals and Jan Garbarek alumnus Terje Rypdal for some soaring guitar work, he managed to create a very convincing, enjoyably literary recording with potentially large appeal. The song structures are fairly consistent and the melodies often catchy, alternating from somber dirges (quite appropriate to the text) to up-tempo rockers. Much of the success accrues to Wyatt, whose reedy, intelligent voice gives exactly the right ironic inflection to Gorey's eerie tales. When in the title track he lightly sings the opening line, "There was once a little girl named..." then drops into a minor mode for, "Charlotte Sophia," you know things don't bode well for the song's heroine. Indeed, all of the lyrics are compelling little stories and it's to Mantler's credit that his compositions couch and project them instead of competing for attention. The Hapless Child has assumed a bit of cult classic status as a one-off prog rock project and it largely deserves the rep, holding up reasonably well over time.

Michael Mantler – The Hapless Child (And Other Inscrutable Stories)

Michael Mantler - The Hapless Child  (And Other Inscrutable Stories) album cover

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Label: WATT (2) – WATT/ 4

Format:

Vinyl, LP

Country: US

Released:

Genre: Jazz, Rock, Non-Music

Style: Spoken Word, Experimental, Avantgarde

A1 The Sinking Spell 5:12

A2 The Object-Lesson 4:58

A3 The Insect God 5:00

B1 The Doubtful Guest 4:45

B2 The Remembered Visit 6:25

B3 The Hapless Child 6:59

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – WATT Works

Copyright © – WATT Works

Copyright © – Edward Gorey

Recorded At – Grog Kill Studio

Recorded At – Manor Mobile

Recorded At – Britannia Row Studios

Mixed At – Britannia Row Studios

Mixed At – Scorpio Sound

Lacquer Cut At – Masterdisk

Mastered At – Europadisk

Printed By – MacMurray Press

Bass Guitar – Steve Swallow

Drums, Percussion – Jack DeJohnette

Engineer – Alan Perkins

Engineer, Mixed By [Scorpio Sound] – Dennis Weinreich

Guitar – Terje Rypdal

Lacquer Cut By – DC*

Music By, Engineer – Michael Mantler

Narrator [Additonal Speaker] – Albert Caulder

Narrator [Additonal Speaker], Engineer, Mixed By [Brittania Row] – Nick Mason

Narrator [Speaker] – Alfreda Benge

Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer [String], Producer – Carla Bley

Vocals – Robert Wyatt

Words By, Cover, Artwork By [Drawings] – Edward Gorey

Recorded July 1975 through January 1976 at Grog Kill Studio in Willow, NY, with the Manor Mobile at Robert Wyatt's house and Delfina's farm in England, and at Britannia Row in London. Mixed November 1975 at Scorpio Sound & January 1976 at Britannia Row.

Made in U.S.A.

matrix notes:

Ⓓ = the "D" enclosed in a "C" etching of Dave Crawford (2).

(EDP) = the oval stamp of Europadisk.

Matrix / Runout (Side A, runout): WATT-4-A MASTERDISK DC (EDP)

Matrix / Runout (Side B, runout): WATT-4-B MASTERDISK DC (EDP)

Rights Society: BMI

GOLDMINE GRADING

MINT ---- It should appear to be perfect. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains, labels or writing, tears or splits. Mint means perfect.

NEAR MINT ---- Otherwise mint but has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws that do not affect play. Covers should be close to perfect with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident: slight ring-wear, minor denting to a corner, or writing on the cover should all be noted properly.

VERY GOOD PLUS ---- The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. Not too far from perfect. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve or the vinyl or some of the original luster may be lost. A slight scratch that did not affect play would be acceptably VG+ for most collectors.

VERY GOOD ---- Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise, but should not overwhelm the musical experience. Usually a cover is VG when one or two of these problems are evident: ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains, etc.

GOOD ---- Well played with little luster and significant surface noise. Despite defects, record should still play all the way through without skipping. Several cover flaws will be apparent, but should not obliterate the artwork.

POOR ---- Any record or cover that does not qualify for the above "Good" grading should be seen as Poor. Several cover flaws.