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LOST TREASURES – Judee Sill

Posted on 01 December 2014

LOST TREASURES

JUDEE SILL

“Judee Sill”

By Peter Marston

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I first became familiar with Judee Sill through the Turtles’ recording of her delicate ballad, “Lady-O,” which features Sills herself on acoustic guitar. While that’s a lovely composition, with baroque-pop flourishes and a soaring melody, when I finally came across a copy of her debut album—which features her version of the song—I was quite simply stunned by the level of musicality, the sheer beauty and the emotional honesty of the record, from beginning to end. Andy Partridge of XTC has called Sill the “female Brian Wilson” and I think the comparison is apt. Although I love pop music, I am well aware that there is more musical sophistication in the first movement of most symphonies than there is in the entire output of most pop bands—but like Brian Wilson, Judee Sill challenges that notion. The melodies, the chord changes (and inversions), the time and key changes are all wonderfully inventive and the lyrics beautifully hewn and rich with imagery and insight. Judee Sill is by all measures an exceptional album.

Sill’s personal story is quite sad: alcoholic parents, an abusive step-father, a brief foray into armed robbery and a resulting stint in a state reform school, a reckless and subsequently annulled marriage, a second failed marriage, heroin addiction, a short period supporting her habit working as a prostitute, and a series of drug and forgery arrests that eventually landed her in jail—all before she was 25. She had been interested in music for most of her life, starting to play the piano in her father’s bar at about three years of age, taking up the ukulele a few years later and even playing as the church organist during her time in reform school. While attending Valley Community College in Van Nuys, California, she won a songwriting contest and began playing local folk clubs and coffee houses. It wasn’t long before Jim Pons signed her as a songwriter for Blimp, the Turtles’ production company, and David Geffen signed her to his new Asylum label. Geffen introduced Sill to Graham Nash, who became a quick fan and produced Sill’s debut single, “Jesus Was a Cross Maker” (also covered by the Hollies). Sill’s ex-husband Bob Harris was then enlisted to produce and arrange the rest of the album, with assistance from Jim Pons. Judee Sill was released in October, 1971 and was the very first album to appear on the Asylum label.

The opening track, “Crayon Angels,” sets the tone for most of the album—delicate acoustic guitar parts are set against baroque chamber arrangements and Sill’s heartfelt and nearly down-home vocals (there is a definite twang there). The lyrics explore Christian themes, as do many of the songs on the album, but bear sufficient lysergic influence to be more cosmic than proselytizing. “The Phantom Cowboy” emphasizes the country influence, but features several surprising and lovely turns in the melody and arrangement. My personal favorite on the album is “The Lamb Ran Away with the Crown,” a dish-ran-away-with-the-spoon parable that perfectly integrates the simplicity of folk music with the musical invention of Bach and Wilson. It builds to a fade that is a musical round underpinned by some very cool bass harmonica. “Jesus Was a Cross Maker” is perhaps Sill’s most highly-regarded song and is extremely well-realized in Graham Nash’s production, this time built around Sill’s piano rather than guitar. It comes close to the “Laurel Canyon sound” of the time, but still bears Sill’s distinctive baroque touches.

Two singles were pulled from Judee Sill: “Jesus Was a Cross Maker” b/w “The Phantom Cowboy” and “The Lamb Ran Away With the Crown” b/w “Ridge Rider.” Neither single was a hit, but Sill forged on, releasing Heart Food in 1973, also on Asylum. Further recordings were completed, but remained unreleased until 2005’s Dreams Come True. Following a series of car accidents and unsuccessful back surgery, she became dependent on pain-killers and simply could not maintain a music career. She died of an overdose of codeine and cocaine on November 23, 1979.

Judee Sill was reissued on the Rhino Handmade imprint in 2003 and then again by Water in 2005. Both are now out-of print, but a collection of both her albums—titled Abracadabra—is currently available as a fairly affordable import. Do not miss this one!

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Pop Pioneer and “Lost Treasures” writer, Peter Marston is the leader of long-running power pop band, Shplang, whose most recent album, “My Big Three Wheeler” has been described as “the Beatles meet Zappa in pop-psych Sumo match.” Peter has a new project in 2015 under the name MARSTON. They will have a track on the upcoming “Power Pop Planet – Volume 5” compilation due in February, 2015.

You check it out at this link: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shplang

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