Orson Wells- The Begatting Of A President

dscn5530Well, after a year and a half of incessant campaigning (actually more than that if you consider the non-stop campaign cycle of today), Election Day is upon us.  I bought this record for use for today, although quite frankly, I have been staring at it at the Half Price Books in Montrose for over a year,  After I keep seeing a record, eventually, I break and buy it.  Getting marked down to a dollar helped. Also, I am a big Orson Wells fan although I am unsure what this record brings to the table.

Say what you want about Donald Trump, but at least he provides a sort of truth in advertising: he has an obnoxious style that reflects his obnoxious policies. What makes someone like Hillary Clinton (or Barack Obama) particularly insidious is that they come packaged in a respectable format, yet espouse despicable policies.

For the most part, I do my best to keep this blog apolitical and in light of what has been one of the nastiest, most polarizing, and at the same time, vastly  meaningless campaigns of my life time, I would still much like to keep it so.  So I will make my comment brief and to the point as possible. We are thrusting headfirst into the 21st century on the backs of 19th century institutions, namely the two party system.  Instead of voting for the better of two evils, why not form new parties with possibly less or perhaps no evil?  I am ending this here. Please note that this paragraph was originally three times as long.orson-welles

Back to records, as stated above, I am a huge Orson Wells fan.  His movies are classics.  From Citizen Kane, to The Lady From Shanghi, to his Shakespearean works including Chimes at Midnight, to Touch of Evil, Wells had a sense and style all his own.  There is an inherent violence in his movies.  It comes from the use of quick, jagged edits, tilted camera angles, and use of shadows in the black and white. To a lesser extent, the use and development of compelling characters, even if the role is small or one dimensional, also stands out in my mind.

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Wells webpage

Wells made this record for Mediarts in 1969.  Written by Myron Roberts, Lincoln Haynes, and Sasha Gilien, the album tells the story of the 1968 election thru a biblical overtone.  It shows the fall of LBJ and the Democrats, the rise of Richard Nixon and the Republicans, and the murders of both Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. It was originally produced as a comedy album but the joke is less funny now. It was also at the time supposed to a satire on Richard Nixon but again, overtime, it seems to become more non-partisan.  President Lyndon Johnson.

On that point, again venturing back into the political area I swore to avoid, this is another reflection of where we are as a nation.  When people ask me who won the debates, I usually respond, if you like Clinton, than she was the clear winner and if you prefer Trump, the debates were his.  It is all really predetermined in ones mind and the results are arbitrary.  I see this on this album. If you are a Republican, you will find the material on democrats to be funny and vice versa and I do not feel that that was the original intent.  Also, on a separate note, political discourse between the time this was made and the present has rapidly disintegrated so the subtly of the jokes on this album is mostly lost today.nixon-1968-republican-convention-1200

Anyway, this was the best selling record of Mediarts catalog.  It has also been featured on various record blogs with mixed reviews.  Again, some it just seems corny today.  Other parts, particularity the subtle moments just seem outdated.  As for Wells, this record may or may not have led to troubles with the IRS during Nixon’s reign.

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Link to another blog with complete record

For a sample, I wanted to make sure I was bi-partisan, presenting a piece for both parties.  Therefore, here is “The Pacification of Goliath” whereas LBJ loses the support of his party and decides not to seek re-election as well as “The Raising of Richard” where the Republican Party is looking to capitalize on the Democrats’ situation.

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As far as the record goes, meh.  I do not find it that funny.  In contrast, the joke does get old after awhile.  Too many bad puns and corny biblical allusions. It is, however, an interesting snap shot of the times.