DAVID ACKLES-musical genius lost to obscurity
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:14 pm
One of my all time favorites...an Elektra artist that was at least given three albums by the great Mr. Holzman--who saw talent that unfortunately was not always seen the by the public at large.
Where Love Is Gone...a fine song while reading
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoJE2B71EJU
David Thomas Ackles (February 27, 1937 – March 2, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter. He recorded four albums between 1968 and 1973.
Describing Ackles's style in 2003, critic Colin McElligatt wrote, "An unlikely clash of anachronistic show business and modern-day lyricism...deeply informs his recorded output. Alternately calling to mind Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin, Robbie Robertson, Tim Hardin, and Scott Walker, Ackles forged an utterly unique sound out of stray parts that comprise a whole that is as uncompromising as it is unrivaled."[1]
Although he never gained wide commercial success, he influenced other artists, especially British singer-songwriters such as Elvis Costello, Elton John and Phil Collins, all of whom are self-declared fans of Ackles. After Ackles's death Costello said, "It's a mystery to me why his wonderful songs are not better known."[2]
Early life
Ackles said of his birthplace, Rock Island, Illinois: "Not a bad place for an incipient songwriter to get a start." His mother came from a family of English music hall performers and his father was a musician.[3] His family moved to Southern California, and Los Angeles became his lifelong home.
For a few years Ackles was a child actor, appearing in six of the eight films in Columbia Pictures' Rusty children's film series made from 1945 to 1949. He played the character "Peanuts" in the second film in the series (1946's The Return Of Rusty, directed by William Castle) and the uncredited role of Roger "Tuck" Worden in the latter five.[4]
His song "Family Band," on the American Gothic album, "has often been mistaken for a parody, but the story of singing hymns in church on a Sunday evening, 'when my dad played bass, my mom played the drums, and I played piano, and Jesus sang the song,'" was autobiographical. "I come from a very strong, almost doctrinaire Christian background, having been raised — God help me — a Presbyterian." he said. "He was a deeply religious and spiritual man," his wife said of him, "a privately spiritual man who did in fact take part in a community of the church, had a daily ritual of prayer."[5] "[G]oing to church, thinking of things spiritually and having a close relationship with God was very important to him." She thought this may have added to his estrangement from the pop music business of the 1970s.[3]
As children he and his sister performed vaudeville-style duets; they later "mutated" into a folk duo. "We sang the most obscure folk songs we could find. The more obscure they were, the more people liked them." He had known from childhood that he wanted to write songs and produce music. ("But a recording artist? Not on your life!")[3]
He studied English literature at the University of Southern California, spending his junior year at the University of Edinburgh, where he studied "West Saxon, the origins of the English language."[2] He earned a masters degree in Film Studies at USC.[6][7] In 1997, when asked why he chose to major in English rather than music, he said, "I wanted to learn to do it all, which meant learning the construction of poetry, so I could write my own lyrics and play construction so that I could write the book to whatever musical I was creating. In the end, it in no way limited my horizons, being an English major. In fact it opened up the possibility to do so many things."[7] His wife said, "His ultimate goal when he was younger was to write, produce, direct, design the sets, do the music, and star in his work. And he could have done it. That's where his heart was."[3]
While working a string of rent-paying jobs after college — "private detective, security guard and circus roustabout" — he was simultaneously composing "musicals, ballet scores and choral pieces. These early experiences and enthusiasms were to leave a mark on his songwriting, and helped form a distinctively theatrical singing style."[3]
Starting music career
Ackles began his recording career as a staff songwriter for Jac Holzman at Elektra Records. None of the songs he wrote were right for any of Elektra's artists, and Holzman suggested that Ackles record his own work. His first album, the eponymous David Ackles (1968), did not achieve commercial success, even when reissued in 1971 as The Road to Cairo, but it was influential among singer-songwriters and featured future members of the group Rhinoceros. This and his follow-up 1969 release, Subway to the Country, contained songs that melded strong theatrical influences with piano-based rock. His songs reflected the views of their character-narrators, many of whom were societal outcasts. In this way he presaged many of the songs of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle.
Subway to the Country was given a larger budget. At first he and Al Kooper tried recording the tracks in a "stripped-back country-rock style," then classically-trained composer Fred Myrow was brought in to arrange and conduct. Twenty-two musicians are credited on the album. Now that Ackles could employ strings, winds, brass and choruses, his elaborate musical style began to develop.
He toured with his songs when he had to, but in spite of his stage experience he was not a showman. His wife recalled that performing live "was very difficult for him....I just don't think he was comfortable being up there as David Ackles. If he was asked to go on and sing and play as Oscar Levant, it might have been easier for him. Any theater piece would have been fine. But to be out there just kind of exposing your soul, I think, was extremely difficult."[9]
American Gothic (1972)
American Gothic, released in 1972, was produced by Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin. Taupin and Ackles became acquainted when Ackles was selected to be the opening act for Elton John's 1970 American debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Taupin said of Ackles's style, "There was nothing quite like it. It's been said so many times, but his stuff was sort of [like] Brecht and Weill, and theatrical. It was very different than what the other singer-songwriters of the time were doing. There was also a darkness to it, which I really, really loved, because that was the kind of material that I was drawn to."[9]
Though the album was recorded and mixed in about two weeks, Ackles worked for two years on its conception and "immensely complex" orchestral arrangements.[3] Of Ackles's four albums, it was the only one recorded in England rather than in America. He used musicians from the London Symphony and a Salvation Army band chorus ("'The only trouble is, it's not the same as the American Salvation Army, so they were elongating all their a's, and he kept saying, "No no no, you've got to get rid of that accent"'").[5] Elektra gave Ackles his biggest budget to date to complete the project and advertised it pre-release as "The Album of the Year."[10] The album was highly acclaimed by music critics in the US and UK: Melody Maker called it a classic and the influential British music critic Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times UK version described it as "the Sgt. Pepper of folk." But sales were again disappointing; it reached only #167 on the US charts.[11]
Later career
After three albums for Elektra, Ackles left the label. He was signed to CBS/Columbia Records by legendary record executive Clive Davis, then president of the company and a long-time Ackles admirer. As he tried to create his first album for Columbia he felt the pressure of expectations engendered by American Gothic's glowing reviews. All too aware that his last album had been called "a milestone in pop and a study in excellence" and "a new direction in pop music" and himself "'an important artist whose work eludes categorisation,'" Ackles began to second-guess himself. "[E]very idea he came up with he discarded, thinking, 'This is not as good as American Gothic.'"[12] He withdrew from the recording studio and produced Five and Dime at home on a four-track recorder. Uncharacteristically he brought in "a modest and simple record" on time and under budget. But before Five and Dime was released, Clive Davis was abruptly dismissed by CBS over an expenses dispute. With the loss of the only executive who had championed it, the new Ackles album fared poorly. It was peremptorily released — the same month Davis was — only in the US, and Columbia would not finance a tour to promote it. Columbia did not renew his contract and Ackles, hurt and frustrated, did not search for another record deal.[3]
Personal life
After leaving Columbia Records in 1973, Ackles concentrated on fulfilling his publishing contract with Warner Bros., writing songs to order for the company's artists. As had been the case in Ackles's early Elektra days, none of the songs were recorded by the artists to whom they were pitched. He worked on musical theater and screenplays from the home base he shared with his wife and son, a six-acre horse farm in Tujunga, near Los Angeles.[6] He sold some screenplays to television; one that was broadcast was Word of Honor (1981) starring Karl Malden and Ron Silver.
In 1981 his car was hit by a drunk driver. Ackles's left arm was nearly severed and his left thighbone "virtually pushed out through his back." He remembered his wife "standing outside the operating theater, shouting, 'Don't cut off his arm! He's a piano player!'" He spent six months in a wheelchair, eventually receiving a steel hip. Though by 1984 he was able to play piano for short periods, his arm's nerves never recovered, and he "may have been in considerable pain for the rest of his life."[3]
In the 1980s he returned to USC, first in administration, then teaching musical theater. At USC in 1997 he directed productions of Good News and The Threepenny Opera,[7] and in the 1990s completed Sister Aimee, a musical based on the life of Aimee Semple McPherson, which was performed in Los Angeles in 1995 and in Chicago in 2004. He and Rob Dickins of Warner Music UK discussed recording Sister Aimee.[2] He was the executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives (now the National Association of Fundraising Professionals) and was a part of the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles (now the Academy of New Musical Theatre).
Ackles died of lung cancer on March 2, 1999, at the age of 62.
Legacy
When Elvis Costello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, he cited Ackles in his speech as one of his major influences. In the November 2000 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Costello identified two of Ackles's albums among his "500 Greatest Albums Ever," describing Ackles as "perhaps the greatest unheralded songwriter of the late 60s."[13]
When Phil Collins was on the British BBC radio show Desert Island Discs, he selected Ackles's song "Down River" as one of his eight all-time favorite songs. He said of Ackles: "He taught me that writing songs didn’t have to be moon/spoon/June. That you could write intelligently about more serious subjects."[2]
Elton John and Elvis Costello — two of Ackles's most fervent admirers — chose "Down River" to perform as their first-ever duet together for the finale of the premiere episode of Costello's TV series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with....[14][15]
Interviewed in 1990 for the booklet accompanying his To Be Continued retrospective box-set, Elton John recalled his incredulity when he discovered that Ackles had been selected to be his co-headlining opening act for his American debut at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles in August 1970. "I could not believe that I was on the same stage with someone like David Ackles who opened for me at the Troubadour. David Ackles was one of my heroes."[16]
At the Troubadour John made a point of watching Ackles play every night.[3] He was "flabbergasted" to discover that Ackles was far better known in England than in the United States, or even L.A. He dedicated 1970's Tumbleweed Connection to Ackles with the line, "to David with love." Almost thirty years later, though Ackles had not recorded since 1973, John said, "He's one of the best America has to offer."[2]
Ackles's songs were occasionally covered. In 1968, Julie Driscoll & the Brian Auger Trinity had a minor UK hit with Ackles's song "Road to Cairo." This song was also covered by Howard Jones in 1990 on Elektra Records' compilation Rubáiyát. Martin Carthy covered one of his songs, "His Name is Andrew," on his 1971 album Landfall, and Spooky Tooth’s 1970 album The Last Puff included their version of “Down River.”
His first three albums were reissued in 1994 and again in 2000. The 1994 Elektra reissues generated modest sales and a number of praise-filled articles, which raised hopes that Ackles was on the verge of a new career as a rediscovered cult favorite. Not long before his death in 1999, there was a resurgence of interest in the UK.[3]
After his death, there were obituaries in several major British newspapers that eulogized Ackles's talent.
(again...thank you my UK friends for recognizing what was obvious to some-the genius of David Ackles.)_
ROAD TO CAIRO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnp9j6fc9eM
___________________________________________________________________
There Is A River - Remembering David Ackles
-Phnom Penh garage notes blog
Coming back from the States it's always a struggle to decide which LP's to throw into the luggage. At half a pound each the baggage allowance gets used up real fast. This trip I manged to bring another couple dozen, among them David Ackles' 1972 release "American Gothic", and I've had David Ackles on my mind a lot since.
David Ackles' work remains almost completely unknown. He put out three albums for Elektra, and a final one for Columbia before giving up the singer-songwriter business after his last effort "Five and Dime" failed to sell. He got some terrific reviews (Rolling Stone) -- and some terrible ones (Robert Christgau) -- at the time, and to some extent the positive reviews, including a famous one in the LA Free Press which called "American Gothic" the greatest album of all time -- made him an easy target for his critics. If you know Richard Hawley and Scott Walker you'll have some sense of David Ackles' Weillian style, and you may love it or hate it. I for one have always been moved by his songs and over the last thirty something years have found solace in his work often, turning to songs like "Love's Enough" as much as I've turned to Joni Mitchell's Blue when my mood gets melancholy.
Ackles had some famous fans, Elton John, Phil Collins and Elvis Costello the most well known, who argued the injustice of his lack of exposure and ultimately his back catalog was released on CD in 1994.
David died from lung cancer in 1999. In 2007 Elektra announced a 2-CD set of his Elektra recordings, including 10 bonus tracks, Bernie Taupin and Elvis Costello wrote the liner notes, copies were sent out for review, and then at the last minute Rhino pulled the release. And nothing has been heard of There Is A River since. You'll still find a link to this non-existent release on Amazon and elsewhere.
Elvis Costello closed the premier episode of his Spectacle program with Ackles' "Down River" in a duet with Elton John which I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do.
Elton & Elvis tribute to Ackles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNwr7QsCb5M
_________________________________________________________________
American Gothic
David Ackles
Elektra 75032
Released: July 1972
Chart Peak: #167
Weeks Charted: 10
David AcklesThe title refers of course to the famous Grant Wood painting; so does the cover art. It has been over two years since we've heard from David Ackles, but American Gothic is well worth the wait. The album bears repeated listening in order for its full impact to be felt. Ackles is an important artist whose work eludes categorization. It has almost no relation to rock & roll and a lot more to do with musical theater. American Gothic is an 11-piece song cycle organized around that "look for America" theme -- in this case, the rediscovery of self through contemplation of vanishing rural America. The musical materials of the album are brilliantly eclectic and ordered with such formal precision as to warrant concert hall production of the song cycle just as it is on record. Chief among the many influences on Ackles' music are Kurt Weill and Aaron Copeland, who for Ackles respectively represent brazen actuality and mythic search. As a singer Ackles stands midway between folk and musical comedy. Since his vocal equipment is modest and his singing style very straightforward he often employs a modified speech-song to dramatize his lyrics. To some it may sound corny, but for me it works since the impulse to melodrama is pretty much held in check.
The mood of American Gothic is melancholy but not bitter. The title cut, describing the hollow marriage of a farmer and his wife, concludes with a soliloquized commentary that redeems the song from lurking condescension. ("Ah, but are they happy? /You'd be surprised. /Between the bed and booze and shoes /They suffer least who suffer what they choose.") "American Gothic" is followed by "Love's Enough," a beautiful off-Broadway melody with fine simple lyrics. "The Ballad of Ship of State," a more complex song, successfully juggles several different styles, from Gilbert and Sullivan to sophisticated tonal dissonance. Its obvious central metaphor is handled wittily and with theatrical flair: "The captain is locked in his quarters /He is busy and can't be disturbed. /And as for the crew /I'd watch out were I you /For we can't keep their appetites curbed."
Since space prevents me from discussing every song, suffice it to say that each cut offers something different and interesting. Outstanding on the second side are the last two. "Blues for Billy Whitecloud," a song that stylistically is half-Gershwin, half-Weill, telling of an American Indian boy who after graduation from high school finds he can't get a job, and so eventually goes back to the school and blows it up -- "and when they found him he was dancing on his tom-tom." The most ambitious piece on American Gothic is "Montana Song," a moving ten-minute soliloquy that, though not as shrill, recalls the "Soliloquy" from Carousel. Orchestrated as a full-blown symphonic poem, its music is stylistically very close to Copeland's Appalachian Spring. The lyrics are a dramatic monologue framed by the thematic statement, "I went out to Montana with a bible on my arm/Looking for my fathers on a long abandoned farm/And I found what I came looking for." In between, Ackles describes this imaginary journey to the West, in the course of which he stops to study the gravestones of a pioneer family, comprehends their lives and the relation between generations, and experiences a profound spiritual reunion between past and present. The language, though occasionally a little sticky, is by and large appropriately eloquent.
American Gothic completely overshadows Ackles' first two albums, both of which contain many fine things. Bernie Taupin is producer. The arrangements, whose excellence cannot be overstated, are all by Ackles. American Gothic is an impressive and original record that deserves a wide audience.
- Stephen Holden, Rolling Stone, 9/14/72.
Bonus Reviews!
Neither folk nor rock, David Ackles' music is magic. A treasure chest of ideas and emotions, Gothic unites the feelings of American folk and Broadway show music in order to form a breathtaking mixture of mirth and melancholy. David writes about people. His songs range from simple piano pieces to fully orchestrated pop operettas. As everyday life has its many phases, so do Ackles' songs. Mixing tinges of jazz and stretches of brilliantly poignant narrative in with his people-music, Ackles has created a milestone in pop and a study in excellence.
- Ed Naha, Circus, 9-72.
"I won't get maudlin," Ackles promises midway into the second side, locking himself inside the barn as the dappled stallion gallops to join his brothers and sisters on the open range with his mane flying free in the breeze. C-
- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.
The years have only been kind to the album considered David Ackles's masterpiece when it was released. Ackles combined an early '70s singer-songwriter sensibility with a theater music background that placed him as much in the tradition of Brecht-Weill and Jacques Brel as Bob Dylan. Not only are his songs fully realized, dramatic statements, but Ackles proves himself a warm, accomplished singer. When this album got no higher than #167 on the charts, Ackles's fans were heartbroken. Decades later, American Gothic remains one of those great albums that never found its audience. It waits to be rediscovered. * * * *
- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.
Further reading on
Super Seventies RockSite!:
David Ackles Videos
David Ackles had been involved in show business since early childhood, when he starred in a number of B-movies. By the late 1960s, however, he was writing songs of stunning beauty and Elektra signed him, initially just as a songwriter. After proving his worth at the company, he was awarded a five-album contract.
His third offering, American Gothic, still remains a largely unrecognized work of genius, one of the most unfashionable and uncompromising American albums ever. Ackles paints a colorful and poetic portrait of America, a hauntingly dark piece of theater filtered through a composer's melodic sensibility. Crafted layer upon layer, it reveals itself more as a dramatic work than a conventional rock or pop release, drawing on modern American classical composers such as Charles Ives and Aaron Copland as well as gospel, rock, blues, and soul. Imagine an art-folk album that bridges Woody Guthrie's passionate storytelling and Kurt Weill's orchestrations.
The title track is a sad story depicting an everyday American drama. "Oh, California!" is a jazzy and bohemian vaudeville song that features Ackles' raucous vocals and might easily have served as an inspirational model for such artists as Tom Waits or even Frank Zappa. The album's distinctive sound owes much to Ackles' collaboration with producer Bernie Taupin, Elton John's long-term creative partner.
It did not even reach the U.S. Top 150 at the time of release. But this distinctive, uncategorizable album fully warrants seeking out.
- George Durbalau, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, 2005.
Listen to David Ackles every chance you get....
BE MY FRIEND
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD0LjDKeOA4
Where Love Is Gone...a fine song while reading
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoJE2B71EJU
David Thomas Ackles (February 27, 1937 – March 2, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter. He recorded four albums between 1968 and 1973.
Describing Ackles's style in 2003, critic Colin McElligatt wrote, "An unlikely clash of anachronistic show business and modern-day lyricism...deeply informs his recorded output. Alternately calling to mind Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin, Robbie Robertson, Tim Hardin, and Scott Walker, Ackles forged an utterly unique sound out of stray parts that comprise a whole that is as uncompromising as it is unrivaled."[1]
Although he never gained wide commercial success, he influenced other artists, especially British singer-songwriters such as Elvis Costello, Elton John and Phil Collins, all of whom are self-declared fans of Ackles. After Ackles's death Costello said, "It's a mystery to me why his wonderful songs are not better known."[2]
Early life
Ackles said of his birthplace, Rock Island, Illinois: "Not a bad place for an incipient songwriter to get a start." His mother came from a family of English music hall performers and his father was a musician.[3] His family moved to Southern California, and Los Angeles became his lifelong home.
For a few years Ackles was a child actor, appearing in six of the eight films in Columbia Pictures' Rusty children's film series made from 1945 to 1949. He played the character "Peanuts" in the second film in the series (1946's The Return Of Rusty, directed by William Castle) and the uncredited role of Roger "Tuck" Worden in the latter five.[4]
His song "Family Band," on the American Gothic album, "has often been mistaken for a parody, but the story of singing hymns in church on a Sunday evening, 'when my dad played bass, my mom played the drums, and I played piano, and Jesus sang the song,'" was autobiographical. "I come from a very strong, almost doctrinaire Christian background, having been raised — God help me — a Presbyterian." he said. "He was a deeply religious and spiritual man," his wife said of him, "a privately spiritual man who did in fact take part in a community of the church, had a daily ritual of prayer."[5] "[G]oing to church, thinking of things spiritually and having a close relationship with God was very important to him." She thought this may have added to his estrangement from the pop music business of the 1970s.[3]
As children he and his sister performed vaudeville-style duets; they later "mutated" into a folk duo. "We sang the most obscure folk songs we could find. The more obscure they were, the more people liked them." He had known from childhood that he wanted to write songs and produce music. ("But a recording artist? Not on your life!")[3]
He studied English literature at the University of Southern California, spending his junior year at the University of Edinburgh, where he studied "West Saxon, the origins of the English language."[2] He earned a masters degree in Film Studies at USC.[6][7] In 1997, when asked why he chose to major in English rather than music, he said, "I wanted to learn to do it all, which meant learning the construction of poetry, so I could write my own lyrics and play construction so that I could write the book to whatever musical I was creating. In the end, it in no way limited my horizons, being an English major. In fact it opened up the possibility to do so many things."[7] His wife said, "His ultimate goal when he was younger was to write, produce, direct, design the sets, do the music, and star in his work. And he could have done it. That's where his heart was."[3]
While working a string of rent-paying jobs after college — "private detective, security guard and circus roustabout" — he was simultaneously composing "musicals, ballet scores and choral pieces. These early experiences and enthusiasms were to leave a mark on his songwriting, and helped form a distinctively theatrical singing style."[3]
Starting music career
Ackles began his recording career as a staff songwriter for Jac Holzman at Elektra Records. None of the songs he wrote were right for any of Elektra's artists, and Holzman suggested that Ackles record his own work. His first album, the eponymous David Ackles (1968), did not achieve commercial success, even when reissued in 1971 as The Road to Cairo, but it was influential among singer-songwriters and featured future members of the group Rhinoceros. This and his follow-up 1969 release, Subway to the Country, contained songs that melded strong theatrical influences with piano-based rock. His songs reflected the views of their character-narrators, many of whom were societal outcasts. In this way he presaged many of the songs of Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle.
Subway to the Country was given a larger budget. At first he and Al Kooper tried recording the tracks in a "stripped-back country-rock style," then classically-trained composer Fred Myrow was brought in to arrange and conduct. Twenty-two musicians are credited on the album. Now that Ackles could employ strings, winds, brass and choruses, his elaborate musical style began to develop.
He toured with his songs when he had to, but in spite of his stage experience he was not a showman. His wife recalled that performing live "was very difficult for him....I just don't think he was comfortable being up there as David Ackles. If he was asked to go on and sing and play as Oscar Levant, it might have been easier for him. Any theater piece would have been fine. But to be out there just kind of exposing your soul, I think, was extremely difficult."[9]
American Gothic (1972)
American Gothic, released in 1972, was produced by Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin. Taupin and Ackles became acquainted when Ackles was selected to be the opening act for Elton John's 1970 American debut at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Taupin said of Ackles's style, "There was nothing quite like it. It's been said so many times, but his stuff was sort of [like] Brecht and Weill, and theatrical. It was very different than what the other singer-songwriters of the time were doing. There was also a darkness to it, which I really, really loved, because that was the kind of material that I was drawn to."[9]
Though the album was recorded and mixed in about two weeks, Ackles worked for two years on its conception and "immensely complex" orchestral arrangements.[3] Of Ackles's four albums, it was the only one recorded in England rather than in America. He used musicians from the London Symphony and a Salvation Army band chorus ("'The only trouble is, it's not the same as the American Salvation Army, so they were elongating all their a's, and he kept saying, "No no no, you've got to get rid of that accent"'").[5] Elektra gave Ackles his biggest budget to date to complete the project and advertised it pre-release as "The Album of the Year."[10] The album was highly acclaimed by music critics in the US and UK: Melody Maker called it a classic and the influential British music critic Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times UK version described it as "the Sgt. Pepper of folk." But sales were again disappointing; it reached only #167 on the US charts.[11]
Later career
After three albums for Elektra, Ackles left the label. He was signed to CBS/Columbia Records by legendary record executive Clive Davis, then president of the company and a long-time Ackles admirer. As he tried to create his first album for Columbia he felt the pressure of expectations engendered by American Gothic's glowing reviews. All too aware that his last album had been called "a milestone in pop and a study in excellence" and "a new direction in pop music" and himself "'an important artist whose work eludes categorisation,'" Ackles began to second-guess himself. "[E]very idea he came up with he discarded, thinking, 'This is not as good as American Gothic.'"[12] He withdrew from the recording studio and produced Five and Dime at home on a four-track recorder. Uncharacteristically he brought in "a modest and simple record" on time and under budget. But before Five and Dime was released, Clive Davis was abruptly dismissed by CBS over an expenses dispute. With the loss of the only executive who had championed it, the new Ackles album fared poorly. It was peremptorily released — the same month Davis was — only in the US, and Columbia would not finance a tour to promote it. Columbia did not renew his contract and Ackles, hurt and frustrated, did not search for another record deal.[3]
Personal life
After leaving Columbia Records in 1973, Ackles concentrated on fulfilling his publishing contract with Warner Bros., writing songs to order for the company's artists. As had been the case in Ackles's early Elektra days, none of the songs were recorded by the artists to whom they were pitched. He worked on musical theater and screenplays from the home base he shared with his wife and son, a six-acre horse farm in Tujunga, near Los Angeles.[6] He sold some screenplays to television; one that was broadcast was Word of Honor (1981) starring Karl Malden and Ron Silver.
In 1981 his car was hit by a drunk driver. Ackles's left arm was nearly severed and his left thighbone "virtually pushed out through his back." He remembered his wife "standing outside the operating theater, shouting, 'Don't cut off his arm! He's a piano player!'" He spent six months in a wheelchair, eventually receiving a steel hip. Though by 1984 he was able to play piano for short periods, his arm's nerves never recovered, and he "may have been in considerable pain for the rest of his life."[3]
In the 1980s he returned to USC, first in administration, then teaching musical theater. At USC in 1997 he directed productions of Good News and The Threepenny Opera,[7] and in the 1990s completed Sister Aimee, a musical based on the life of Aimee Semple McPherson, which was performed in Los Angeles in 1995 and in Chicago in 2004. He and Rob Dickins of Warner Music UK discussed recording Sister Aimee.[2] He was the executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Society of Fund-Raising Executives (now the National Association of Fundraising Professionals) and was a part of the Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles (now the Academy of New Musical Theatre).
Ackles died of lung cancer on March 2, 1999, at the age of 62.
Legacy
When Elvis Costello was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, he cited Ackles in his speech as one of his major influences. In the November 2000 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, Costello identified two of Ackles's albums among his "500 Greatest Albums Ever," describing Ackles as "perhaps the greatest unheralded songwriter of the late 60s."[13]
When Phil Collins was on the British BBC radio show Desert Island Discs, he selected Ackles's song "Down River" as one of his eight all-time favorite songs. He said of Ackles: "He taught me that writing songs didn’t have to be moon/spoon/June. That you could write intelligently about more serious subjects."[2]
Elton John and Elvis Costello — two of Ackles's most fervent admirers — chose "Down River" to perform as their first-ever duet together for the finale of the premiere episode of Costello's TV series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with....[14][15]
Interviewed in 1990 for the booklet accompanying his To Be Continued retrospective box-set, Elton John recalled his incredulity when he discovered that Ackles had been selected to be his co-headlining opening act for his American debut at the Troubadour club in Los Angeles in August 1970. "I could not believe that I was on the same stage with someone like David Ackles who opened for me at the Troubadour. David Ackles was one of my heroes."[16]
At the Troubadour John made a point of watching Ackles play every night.[3] He was "flabbergasted" to discover that Ackles was far better known in England than in the United States, or even L.A. He dedicated 1970's Tumbleweed Connection to Ackles with the line, "to David with love." Almost thirty years later, though Ackles had not recorded since 1973, John said, "He's one of the best America has to offer."[2]
Ackles's songs were occasionally covered. In 1968, Julie Driscoll & the Brian Auger Trinity had a minor UK hit with Ackles's song "Road to Cairo." This song was also covered by Howard Jones in 1990 on Elektra Records' compilation Rubáiyát. Martin Carthy covered one of his songs, "His Name is Andrew," on his 1971 album Landfall, and Spooky Tooth’s 1970 album The Last Puff included their version of “Down River.”
His first three albums were reissued in 1994 and again in 2000. The 1994 Elektra reissues generated modest sales and a number of praise-filled articles, which raised hopes that Ackles was on the verge of a new career as a rediscovered cult favorite. Not long before his death in 1999, there was a resurgence of interest in the UK.[3]
After his death, there were obituaries in several major British newspapers that eulogized Ackles's talent.
(again...thank you my UK friends for recognizing what was obvious to some-the genius of David Ackles.)_
ROAD TO CAIRO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnp9j6fc9eM
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There Is A River - Remembering David Ackles
-Phnom Penh garage notes blog
Coming back from the States it's always a struggle to decide which LP's to throw into the luggage. At half a pound each the baggage allowance gets used up real fast. This trip I manged to bring another couple dozen, among them David Ackles' 1972 release "American Gothic", and I've had David Ackles on my mind a lot since.
David Ackles' work remains almost completely unknown. He put out three albums for Elektra, and a final one for Columbia before giving up the singer-songwriter business after his last effort "Five and Dime" failed to sell. He got some terrific reviews (Rolling Stone) -- and some terrible ones (Robert Christgau) -- at the time, and to some extent the positive reviews, including a famous one in the LA Free Press which called "American Gothic" the greatest album of all time -- made him an easy target for his critics. If you know Richard Hawley and Scott Walker you'll have some sense of David Ackles' Weillian style, and you may love it or hate it. I for one have always been moved by his songs and over the last thirty something years have found solace in his work often, turning to songs like "Love's Enough" as much as I've turned to Joni Mitchell's Blue when my mood gets melancholy.
Ackles had some famous fans, Elton John, Phil Collins and Elvis Costello the most well known, who argued the injustice of his lack of exposure and ultimately his back catalog was released on CD in 1994.
David died from lung cancer in 1999. In 2007 Elektra announced a 2-CD set of his Elektra recordings, including 10 bonus tracks, Bernie Taupin and Elvis Costello wrote the liner notes, copies were sent out for review, and then at the last minute Rhino pulled the release. And nothing has been heard of There Is A River since. You'll still find a link to this non-existent release on Amazon and elsewhere.
Elvis Costello closed the premier episode of his Spectacle program with Ackles' "Down River" in a duet with Elton John which I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do.
Elton & Elvis tribute to Ackles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNwr7QsCb5M
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American Gothic
David Ackles
Elektra 75032
Released: July 1972
Chart Peak: #167
Weeks Charted: 10
David AcklesThe title refers of course to the famous Grant Wood painting; so does the cover art. It has been over two years since we've heard from David Ackles, but American Gothic is well worth the wait. The album bears repeated listening in order for its full impact to be felt. Ackles is an important artist whose work eludes categorization. It has almost no relation to rock & roll and a lot more to do with musical theater. American Gothic is an 11-piece song cycle organized around that "look for America" theme -- in this case, the rediscovery of self through contemplation of vanishing rural America. The musical materials of the album are brilliantly eclectic and ordered with such formal precision as to warrant concert hall production of the song cycle just as it is on record. Chief among the many influences on Ackles' music are Kurt Weill and Aaron Copeland, who for Ackles respectively represent brazen actuality and mythic search. As a singer Ackles stands midway between folk and musical comedy. Since his vocal equipment is modest and his singing style very straightforward he often employs a modified speech-song to dramatize his lyrics. To some it may sound corny, but for me it works since the impulse to melodrama is pretty much held in check.
The mood of American Gothic is melancholy but not bitter. The title cut, describing the hollow marriage of a farmer and his wife, concludes with a soliloquized commentary that redeems the song from lurking condescension. ("Ah, but are they happy? /You'd be surprised. /Between the bed and booze and shoes /They suffer least who suffer what they choose.") "American Gothic" is followed by "Love's Enough," a beautiful off-Broadway melody with fine simple lyrics. "The Ballad of Ship of State," a more complex song, successfully juggles several different styles, from Gilbert and Sullivan to sophisticated tonal dissonance. Its obvious central metaphor is handled wittily and with theatrical flair: "The captain is locked in his quarters /He is busy and can't be disturbed. /And as for the crew /I'd watch out were I you /For we can't keep their appetites curbed."
Since space prevents me from discussing every song, suffice it to say that each cut offers something different and interesting. Outstanding on the second side are the last two. "Blues for Billy Whitecloud," a song that stylistically is half-Gershwin, half-Weill, telling of an American Indian boy who after graduation from high school finds he can't get a job, and so eventually goes back to the school and blows it up -- "and when they found him he was dancing on his tom-tom." The most ambitious piece on American Gothic is "Montana Song," a moving ten-minute soliloquy that, though not as shrill, recalls the "Soliloquy" from Carousel. Orchestrated as a full-blown symphonic poem, its music is stylistically very close to Copeland's Appalachian Spring. The lyrics are a dramatic monologue framed by the thematic statement, "I went out to Montana with a bible on my arm/Looking for my fathers on a long abandoned farm/And I found what I came looking for." In between, Ackles describes this imaginary journey to the West, in the course of which he stops to study the gravestones of a pioneer family, comprehends their lives and the relation between generations, and experiences a profound spiritual reunion between past and present. The language, though occasionally a little sticky, is by and large appropriately eloquent.
American Gothic completely overshadows Ackles' first two albums, both of which contain many fine things. Bernie Taupin is producer. The arrangements, whose excellence cannot be overstated, are all by Ackles. American Gothic is an impressive and original record that deserves a wide audience.
- Stephen Holden, Rolling Stone, 9/14/72.
Bonus Reviews!
Neither folk nor rock, David Ackles' music is magic. A treasure chest of ideas and emotions, Gothic unites the feelings of American folk and Broadway show music in order to form a breathtaking mixture of mirth and melancholy. David writes about people. His songs range from simple piano pieces to fully orchestrated pop operettas. As everyday life has its many phases, so do Ackles' songs. Mixing tinges of jazz and stretches of brilliantly poignant narrative in with his people-music, Ackles has created a milestone in pop and a study in excellence.
- Ed Naha, Circus, 9-72.
"I won't get maudlin," Ackles promises midway into the second side, locking himself inside the barn as the dappled stallion gallops to join his brothers and sisters on the open range with his mane flying free in the breeze. C-
- Robert Christgau, Christgau's Record Guide, 1981.
The years have only been kind to the album considered David Ackles's masterpiece when it was released. Ackles combined an early '70s singer-songwriter sensibility with a theater music background that placed him as much in the tradition of Brecht-Weill and Jacques Brel as Bob Dylan. Not only are his songs fully realized, dramatic statements, but Ackles proves himself a warm, accomplished singer. When this album got no higher than #167 on the charts, Ackles's fans were heartbroken. Decades later, American Gothic remains one of those great albums that never found its audience. It waits to be rediscovered. * * * *
- William Ruhlmann, The All-Music Guide to Rock, 1995.
Further reading on
Super Seventies RockSite!:
David Ackles Videos
David Ackles had been involved in show business since early childhood, when he starred in a number of B-movies. By the late 1960s, however, he was writing songs of stunning beauty and Elektra signed him, initially just as a songwriter. After proving his worth at the company, he was awarded a five-album contract.
His third offering, American Gothic, still remains a largely unrecognized work of genius, one of the most unfashionable and uncompromising American albums ever. Ackles paints a colorful and poetic portrait of America, a hauntingly dark piece of theater filtered through a composer's melodic sensibility. Crafted layer upon layer, it reveals itself more as a dramatic work than a conventional rock or pop release, drawing on modern American classical composers such as Charles Ives and Aaron Copland as well as gospel, rock, blues, and soul. Imagine an art-folk album that bridges Woody Guthrie's passionate storytelling and Kurt Weill's orchestrations.
The title track is a sad story depicting an everyday American drama. "Oh, California!" is a jazzy and bohemian vaudeville song that features Ackles' raucous vocals and might easily have served as an inspirational model for such artists as Tom Waits or even Frank Zappa. The album's distinctive sound owes much to Ackles' collaboration with producer Bernie Taupin, Elton John's long-term creative partner.
It did not even reach the U.S. Top 150 at the time of release. But this distinctive, uncategorizable album fully warrants seeking out.
- George Durbalau, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, 2005.
Listen to David Ackles every chance you get....
BE MY FRIEND
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD0LjDKeOA4