Volunteered Slavery

Volunteered Slavery

ASIN: B00006IT4N

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
African chanted poetry, jazz and post-bop blues are all heard on this diverse album which features 'Search For The Reason Why', Stevie Wonder's 'My Cherie Amour' and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 'I Say A Little Prayer'. 2002 reissue originally released in 1969.

Volunteered Slavery,Rahsaan Roland Kirk,Collectables,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop

Average customer rating:

The re-inventor of jazz

Don't Buy Collectables Version

acted too quickly

Music That Makes Us Cry, Love That Money Can't Buy

My Favourite Jazz Record

Volunteered Slavery
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Manufacturer: Collectables
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00006IT4N
Release Date: 2002-09-10

Tracks:

Volunteered Slavery
Spirits Up Above
My Cherie Amour
Search For The Reason Why
I Say A Little Prayer
Roland's Opening Remarks
One Ton
Ovation & Roland's Remarks
A Tribute To John Coltrane: Lush Life/Afro-Blue/Bessie's Blues
Three For The Festival

Album Description

African chanted poetry, jazz and post-bop blues are all heard on this diverse album which features 'Search For The Reason Why', Stevie Wonder's 'My Cherie Amour' and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 'I Say A Little Prayer'. 2002 reissue originally released in 1969.

Customer Reviews:

The re-inventor of jazz.......2007-07-10

My room is so hot! Well, it is 88 degrees (31c) in here and I am a bit ill but the main reason is the incredible insane man that invaded my room with all his reeds and flutes - including the famous stritch and some nose flute, what ever that device may be. This multi-reed storm simply jumps out of my old worn out '69 record. Rahsaan's music is exhilarating. I wish he was still alive and well for us to witness one of his live performances. Some one once told me it was a privilege to watch and hear him in one of his tours. His sound is the eighth wonder.
What a presence. The king of modern jazz. Even the dead will rise up and dance to the crying sounds of this music dreamer.
Kirk can handle the roots of jazz and its higher, most elusive branches. He really knows what he's doing - because he has the sense of humor so essential (e.g. "One Ton") and row power - two important attributes in jazz or any other kind of true music. He screams, he laughs, he sings, he plays. Yes, above all, he plays...literally plays with his music.
Just for the first 5 pieces, this album is worth every cent and deserves the little time we usually have for that matter.
He experimented with music like a real musical scientist. In his records you can hear everything. You will find him playing Swan Lake next to Coltrane, Sidney Bechet and Stevie Wonder.
You should keep your mind open if this is your first encounter with his special music. And, yes, this music truly makes me cry - I don't know why and that is really beautiful - that is what love is all about.
To sum it all up I will confidently say you should hear this record and then taste some more. Rahsaan Kirk sound is changing from album to album and from track to track.
Kirk re-invented jazz in his own unique image and he deserves and demand more and more re-issues.

Don't Buy Collectables Version.......2007-06-08

Once again Collectables have messed up another re-issue. The second side of Roland Kirk's Volunteered Slavery (tracks 6-10) is recorded live without pauses. On the Collectables version there are annoying 1-2 second gaps between each track. This makes the disk very hard to listen to.

Buy the original Rhino/Atlantic re-issue. There are no gaps between tracks.

[DW]

acted too quickly.......2007-03-10

Thought this as a DVD, but it is a CD which is rather in the vein of strange jazz, acid type jazz. You will have to like his style, nothing smooth here, rather spacelike, strange percussion, broken melodies.

Music That Makes Us Cry, Love That Money Can't Buy.......2006-05-24

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was not born blind; his blindness was caused by the ineptitude of a nurse who, either high or simply careless, overdosed him with too many eye drops. He said once that his entire life was an inflated tear. Kirk combined rage with sensitivity, curiosity with an almost maniacal need to push life to its breaking point.

The entire range of Rahsaan's emotional architecture can be heard and felt in this absolutely extraordinary CD; were you to own only one Kirk CD, this should probably be it. The original LP was split, side one offered five studio tracks, including two covers of schmaltzy top 40 fare, a favorite Kirk habit. Side two featured a live performance at the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival - as blistering a piece of live jazz as has ever been recorded by anyone.

The CD begins with Volunteered Slavery, an infectious tidbit with some very interesting lyrics. Kirk was a relentless iconoclast, and the concept of volunteered slavery is a provocative one - for black and white alike. Spirits Up Above, with choir, is an invocation, an anthem. Kirk breaks out the flute for My Cherie Amour, as is always the case when he covers a standard, he retains the original beauty while adding on layers of irony, edge, and originality. Search For The Reason Why, also with choir, is Kirk at his catchiest and most sincere - this is music you might sing in the shower. The cover of I Say A Little Prayer would probably give Burt Bacharach a heart attack. Long time Kirk collaborator Ron Burton deserves special credit here, his piano playing is particularly strong. Kirk slips into one-man orchestra mode, playing multiple horns simultaneously. This track builds steadily from one plateau to the next until it achieves a state of euphoria, something resembling religious ecstasy.

At this point you switch over to the Newport concert and - school is out, way out. Kirk is in total control, he owns the crowd. From his outrageous comments, to his mind-boggling multi-instrumentalism, to the almost hysterical energy level, he simply overpowers and awes the audience. Every second counts, but the standout here is his eight minute tribute to John Coltrane. In eight minutes Kirk shows that he understands Coltrane as well as anyone ever has, deeply honors and respects him, and is brilliant enough to actually interpret him without losing what made Coltrane unique.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk is impossible to categorize, which is one of the reasons he does not get the credit he so richly deserves. His exuberance and joy is not tidy, in Roland Kirk you have the splendid messiness of real life.

My Favourite Jazz Record .......2005-12-08

Unbelievable! This cd mixes so many genres and moods, but the most important word here is energy. It's crazy and just pounds on your brain, but in a positvie way. You know from the very start that this is going to be great, when Roland shouts "If you wanna know how it is to be free, if you wanna know how it is to be free, you gotta spend all night in bed with me, oh yeah"... No return from there. This is one of the very very few records that makes me really happy, and still rates among the very best albums ever, all genres included. Put on the record, turn up the volume, jump up and down, and let your brain get blown out by a record that celebrates not just music, but life.

Average customer rating:

Rahsaan's Rippin' Rock , Gospel & Jazz Revue
4 1/2* Great Intro to Kirk!
Positive vibrations in jazz

Volunteered Slavery
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music

Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00000332G
Release Date: 1993-09-28

Tracks:

Volunteered Slavery
Spirits up Above
My Cherie Amour
Search for the Reason Why
I Say a Little Prayer
Roland's Opening Remarks [Live]
One Ton [Live]
Ovation and Roland's Remarks [Live]
Tribute to John Coltrane: Lush Life/Afro-Blue/Bessie's Blues [Live]
Three for the Festival [Live]

Customer Reviews:

Rahsaan's Rippin' Rock , Gospel & Jazz Revue.......2002-03-06

Live stuff on side two is ripping uptempo post-bop in the patented Rahsaan style. Side one is the mind-blow. Three original songs in gospel style, with gospel choir, all of them terrific & energetic & uplifting. What a great songwriter! "My Cherie Amour" confirms Rahsaan's status as an honorary rock-and-roller -- his vocal is NOISY & outrageous -- and I love it. He doesn't sing Stevie's words, just the "la la la" opening riff, noisily, before going into a charming and soulful lounge-bossa-nova flute arrangement of the tune. The juxtaposition of the raspy, "ugly" vocal & the almost-smooth-jazz flute is fearless & free. The album's ultimate kicker is Rahsaan's rip-rocking cover of "I Say a Little Prayer." Beginning with an out-of-tempo modal-noise section, and Kirk shouting, "they shot him down!! They shot him down to the ground!! But we're gonna say a little prayer!!" And he counts the tempo off & the band starts wailing on an original soul-rock riff arrangement of the tune featuring Rahsaan's awesome tenor. My guess is it's Rahsaan's tribute to Martin Luther King after the assassination, and the passion & intensity & beauty of it make me cry.

Music-historical footnote: Rahsaan on side one of this album & on a couple other records attempted an acoustic jazz-rock fusion that had nothing to do with Miles's later electric jazz or Ornette's harmolodic funk (both of which I love). Duke Ellington attempted a fusion similar to Rahsaan's a few times in the mid-late-'60s and '70s. The style never caught on, but it really works when Rahsaan & Duke do it. The great rocking beats with the brilliant individualism of great jazz soloists.

4 1/2* Great Intro to Kirk!.......2001-09-07

This is an excellent, albeit slightly uneven CD, by the great multi-instrumentalist, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The first 5 tracks are studio session recorded in July 1969; the following five are live numbers form the 1968 Newport Jazz Festival. The CD has great sound, a beautiful choir on the first five tracks, and some interesting surprises. More on those later.

The title track has a nice goopy Mingus-style groove with the choir voices echoing the sax at the end. (Kirk played with Mingus, by the way). One surprise here is the surprising, somewhat inexplicable, interpolation of "Hey Jude" towards the end. Next up is the beautiful "Spirits Up Above": This spiritual begins with the chorus upfront, then switches abruptly to a Spanish-tinged horn solo with chorus in background. This one cooks! Track 4 is similar in feeling, with a great driving bass by Vernon Martin.

"My Cherie Amour" is...that "My Cherie Amour! (Stevie Wonder)." What is this strange thing? A pleasant enough excursion, but suspiciously commercial! (Surprise your friends...play this song first, then program your CD player to the very different track 1. Soulful flute solo, but on the whole, much too lightweight and a strange, unpretty vocal by Kirk. Unlike this song, the Bacharach pop/soul tune "I Say A Little Prayer" has a more interesting treatment, with a Latin beat and more texture. Kirk cuts loose on this, quoting "A Love Supreme" and then blowing some effective avante-garde over brooding bass (again, excellent work by V. Martin) and drums.

Garage Jazz: Tracks 5-7 are Kirk's "One Ton" sandwiched between an introduction and some closing remarks to the crowd at Newport. This is a very post-bop blues, with a little 50's rock thrown in along with Batman theme riffs. This is garage jazz...simple loud bass...then a rapid going everywhere performance by Kirk. Yes, it's a little showy, and he vocalizes with the flute more noticeably than Ian Anderson does, but it winds up being a beautiful noise, and far better than Tull. Nice explosions of sound and a wonderfully simple/sloppy "garage band" rhythm section. This is music for the people.

Kirk's three-part "Tribute to Coltrane" (another great with whom Kirk played) includes "Lush Life," "Afro-Blue," and "Bessie's Blues." "Lush Life" is taken at a slow pace and is indeed evocative of Trane. There are soaring notes and colors, and a tremendous range of notes. Kirk again finds a searching, spiritual form through the music, before settling into the main melody; the bass matched perfectly to Kirk's tones and mood. The other two sections are intense and swinging--excellent material. Kirk emulates the cascading sheets of sound and is superb. Long but interesting and well-played bass solo!

"Three for the Festival" opens with great drumming by Jimmy Hopps. Kirk intensely vocalizes over his flute, which may not be to everyone's liking, but I think it's creative and fits the overall sound very well. `Three' ends with an overly long, flashy drum solo, but it must have pleased the audience with Kirk repeatedly yelling out the drummer's name, a la James Brown.

A great introduction to Kirk newcomers, and an opportunity to hear Kirk both live and in the studio. Despite a hint of commercialism, this is well worth getting. Liner notes by Ed Williams, and personnel listed for each track. Recommended!

Positive vibrations in jazz.......2001-08-07

This is my favourite Kirk's record. And I prefer it to other jazz things in my collection - because of the spirit, energy and vibration. Kirk's energy is unmatched, and SLAVERY along with BLACKNUSS are the best points to feel it. If one should search for something new and fresh - ie what we are always looking for - suppose, it is still this old Kirk that will show you the way...

Average customer rating:

Volunteered Slavery
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Manufacturer: Wea Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000IJ7IZ8
Release Date: 2006-12-04

Tracks:

Volunteered Slavery
Spirits up Above
My Cherie Amour
Search for the Reason Why
I Say a Little Prayer
Roland's Opening Remarks [Live]
One Ton [Live]
Ovation and Roland's Remarks [Live]
Tribute to John Coltrane: Lush Life/Afro-Blue/Bessie's Blues [Live]
Three for the Festival [Live]

Album Description

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes house in a miniature LP sleeve. 2006.

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.

Average customer rating:

Volunteered Slavery
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Manufacturer: Rhino
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0009VJWT0
Release Date: 2005-09-12

Tracks:

Volunteered Slavery
Spirits up Above
My Cherie Amour
Search for the Reason Why
I Say a Little Prayer
Roland's Opening Remarks [Live]
One Ton [Live]
Ovation and Roland's Remarks [Live]
Tribute to John Coltrane: Lush Life/Afro-Blue/Bessie's Blues [Live]
Three for the Festival [Live]

Album Details

Before "Blacknuss", Rahsaan Roland Kirk was Already Exploring Ways to Fuse Soul and R&B with Jazz. "Volunteered Slavery", with Its Beat/African Chanted Poetry and Post-bop Blues Ethos was Certainly a Strike in the Right Direction. With a Band that Included Charles Mcghee on Trumpet, Dick Griffin on Trombone, Organist Mickey Tucker, Bassist Vernon Martin, Drummers Jimmy Hopps and Charles Grady, as Well as Sony Brown, Kirk Made it Work.

Average customer rating:

Volunteered Slavery

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000BDJ20K
Release Date: 2005-12-13

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Jazz Music

Jazz Music