woe_bonnet
If I dropped acid and ate my middle school D&D character sheets in quick succession, I think I'd end up in whatever beautiful universe this album sprang from...
Favorite track: The Ranger and The Cleric.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download this single 42 minute track and also receive bonus source materials which include:
- Facsimile frontispiece of the orginal article by Prof. C.K. Atwood (1930)
- Song-cycle details and chronology
- Complete lyric sheet
- Ackowledgements and web sources used in this recording
- Album cover art (High Quality jpg)
(i) Thoughts Combine (0’00’’)
(ii) The Ranger and the Cleric (4’41’’)
The Ranger and the Cleric
Observed their home of
Eighteen years
From a far-off hilltop
In the forest
Where to them
The light had first appeared
“The village looks peaceful
And contented
Oh but we can hear the march of time”
And silence descended on the clearing
As the thoughts of both combined
Wanderlust
Has dug his restless claws in us
Oh it’s like they always said it was
No-one ever thought that it was true.
And gently
The slightest sound behind them
As the cloak of green was rearranged
A cough and then an introduction
The exchange of very famous names
And then the Prophet told them of
The visions she had seen
The birth of a legend
Behind that shield of green
Of adventures ending in the stars
Beginning in the dust
Of the things that could never happen
And the things that must
Wanderlust
Has spread her gilded wings for us
Oh it’s like they always said it was
No-one ever thought that it was true
(iii) The Visions of the Prophet (8’00’’)
(iv) Agent Provocateur (11’11’’)
A figure in a tavern
In the northern icy wastes
Clutches to a letter
For the three he now awaits
Soon his mission will be done
And he can ride for home
But although with him the tales’ begun
To this day he is unknown
Some say:
A mage disguised in horsehair
Some say he was
A God made man on earth
Some; a simple farmer’s son
Who toiled between the stones
Planting seeds from which his crop
Of epic tales was grown
Some say there was no messenger
Just a single word
Whispered to the Ranger
But the Ranger misheard
“Wanderlust”
It’s like they always said it was
No-one ever thought that it was true
But it was true.
It was now.
(v) In a single word they were bound to begin and never end (15’41’’)
Fragment #1 [unnamed; original source; cat. no. MU-RC-7001] (16’46’’)
(vi) Gentle Deeds of Charity (17’22’’)
Fragment #2 [“Exodus to the stars” cat. no. MU-RC-7209] (20’09’’)
(vii) Tellings [Interrupted] (20’37’’)
Fragment #3 [unnamed; original source; cat. no. MU-RC-7005] (25’37’’)
(viii) Re-tellings (26’11’’)
(ix) Ancient Memories from beneath the Pillars of Creation [containing passages from the cosmic canon - original sources lost] (28’25’’)
This was the last tale
You told me
With the
Saddest eyes
I ever saw
"Beneath the Pillars of Creation
Which fell so many years before…"
I could feel your words
I felt your words
Tumbling down on me
"The Siege of Oort,
The Flight of Nameless Things
Through Phosphorescent
Ancient Halls"
Space expands
Through the fragments
Of the stories I have heard
I could feel your words
I feel your words
Slipping away from me
I forget so much it scares me
And sadly people most of all
A life of floating pieces haunted
By the saddest eyes I ever saw.
The saddest eyes I ever saw
Were yours
(x) Into the future but not into the past [disputed provenance] (35’39’’)
(xi) Vanishing Point [corrupted partial remnant] (38’22’’)
Book of gentle deeds;
Record of our cosmic lives
Paladin and Priest
Who dreamed, starry-eyed
Oh these stories
Contained within are
Messages for
All our times
We hope they travel
Through uncorrupted lines
O don't forget us…
THE RANGER AND THE CLERIC:
Origins and corruptions of a mythic story-cycle
We can trace the origins of the ranger and the cleric story-cycle, (in its most common although significantly incomplete form), to codices compiled in mediaeval Europe circa 1250AD, most of which – as far as we can tell - no longer exist in their original forms. However, many other tellings can be found across different, more distant folklores, wherein mythological characters with direct similarity to those contained in the later stories emanating from mid-western Europe can be found. Indeed, the archetypal paladin, priest and prophet appear to be fundamental characters in early civilizations’ debates around cosmos and chaos.
Across all fragments of these many accounts a common origin-myth can be identified. All involve a warrior and a spiritual figure - both of humble origin - combining forces to wander the land as avenging heroes of the dispossessed and deprived.
It is interesting to note that the appearance of the agent provocateur occurs only in later versions of the myth. Whilst pre-Christian authors usually ascribe a totally altruistic purpose to the protagonists, later versions from Europe rely heavily on the role of an unseen actor in directing the deeds of the ranger and the cleric. As this enigmatic character’s influence increases in significance across the later centuries of the mythos, the role of the female character (usually referred to as a prophet or visionary of some kind) – a role evident in all fragments from antiquity – is consistently reduced to one of lower and lower importance and status.
It is, however - when all is said and done - the cosmic elements of this story that surely prove the most intriguing to both modern folklorist and scientific observer alike. Whilst the initial elements of the tale centre around simple, gentle deeds of kindness and charity (one common story involving the bringing of fine gifts to a poor couple’s wedding, another the saving of livestock during a flood) – the later elements, although recorded nowhere in anything close to complete form – hint at some form of exodus from Earth and ensuing adventures amongst the planets of the solar system, and perhaps even beyond. Knowledge of astronomy, cosmology, rocketry and even Mr. Einstein's new ideas on relativity is implied in pieces of the ancient stories that remain.
Of course, nearly all sources are at best multiple generation copies and have no doubt been corrupted through time and retelling – affected by cultural and religious politics without question. What remains, no matter how fragmentary, is presented here, now.
Professor C.K. Atwood (1930)
(Reprinted with the kind permission of the Atwood estate and the Board of Trustees of MU)
credits
released February 25, 2015
Released on Reverb Worship (Cat No. RW 289) in a limited edition, hand-made CD artifact: Available at: www.reverbworship.com
Performed by Jim Griffin. Inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft, Albrecht Durer, Gary Gygax, Carl Sagan and Arthur C. Clarke.
Robin Parmar provided "Alpha Canis Majoris signal code juniper" for The Signal. He is an electroacoustic composer, improviser, sound artist and a good mate, thanks Robin! Jim Griffin
The Heartwood Institute provided alien radio waves for The Signal, go here to find out why I respect him so much. Mesmerizing and personal soundscapes await you. Jim Griffin
David conducted a Crumar Orchestra for The Signal. I've wanted to collaborate since seeing him perform with Raising Holy Sparks in Limerick many years ago. Visit his page and discover wonder. Jim Griffin
supported by 11 fans who also own “The Ranger and The Cleric”
Awesome !!
Only two tracks available so far but on the evidence of these, this could seriously be album of the year.
'Democracy Cannot Survive' is a hazy, blend of post-rock and prog that drifts into oblivion and back.
'Anger In Storage' combines full on in your face prog with the urgency of King Crimson and the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe. These boys have a wicked sense of humour too, listen to the voice-overs.
distant planet
supported by 10 fans who also own “The Ranger and The Cleric”
Just discovered this from a fellow BandCamper I follow.
This is an outstanding Floydian wave of sound that also is not unlike Steve Wilson's Voyage 34 era Porcupine Tree, complete with TV sound bites to set the mood of a track or transition.
For Prog lovers, this is OUTSTANDING! Just buy it NOW! Meathead9999
