Ars Nova＜Colored Vinyl＞

1967年にニューヨークの名門マネス音楽大学の学生らが結成したバンド、アルス・ノヴァ。バンドはオーディションを経てエレクトラとの契約を獲得。1968年にリリースされた『ARS NOVA』はLAで録音され、同レーベルでドアーズやラヴといったサイケデリック・アクトを手掛けていたポール・ロスチャイルドがプロデュースを担当。エスニックやクラシック音楽からの影響を取り込んだそのサウンドは非常に画期的で、当時ロイ・ウッドがいたく気に入り、ムーヴのアルバムで「Fields of People」をカヴァーしています。多くの批評家から称賛されたものの、再現が難しいそのサウンドはライヴでの評価に繋がらなったとのこと。中世の雰囲気にフック満載のメロディ、独創的なトロンボーンなどクラシックとロックのレンズの中にサイケデリアを表現した彼らのサウンドを今こそ堪能しましょう。

Ars Nova's first release was intermittently intriguing eclectic psychedelic rock with a slight classical influence, as well as some unusual instrumentation in the bass trombone of lead singer Jon Pierson and the trumpet and string bass of Bill Folwell. The songs -- often linked by brief interludes -- are a mixed bag, though, that seem to indicate a confusion over direction, or a bit of a psychedelic throw-in-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach. There are haunting tunes with a folk-rock base and a faint Renaissance ballad melodic influence, jaunty narratives with a vaudevillian air that bear the mark of then-recent albums such as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and harder-rocking period psychedelic tracks with a bent for unpredictable bittersweet progressions and vocal harmonies. It's unusual, and in some senses attractive. But to be less charitable, there's a sense of listening to a generic psychedelic band that sounds better than many such acts mostly by virtue of benefiting from Elektra's high-class production, here handled by Paul Rothchild of Doors fame. Put another way, the songs themselves aren't as good as their arrangements. "Fields of People," about the best of those songs, might be the most famous one here due to getting covered in an elongated treatment by the Move, who did a better job with it than Ars Nova. [The 2004 CD reissue on Sundazed adds historical liner notes by Jon Pierson.] ~ Richie Unterberger