Moondog In Europe

• Moondog – Chaconne In G

• 1. Viking 1
• 2. Chaconne In G
• 3. Heimdall Fanfare
• 4. Romance In G
• 5. In Vienna
• 6. Chaconne In C
• 7. Logrundr III
• 8. Logrundr XII
• 9. Logrundr XIII
• 10. Logrundr IV
• 11. Logrundr VII
• 12. Logrundr XIX

Originally released by Kopf in 1977, and reissued in 1999, Moondog In Europe was visionary composer Louis Thomas Hardin's aka Moondog first release after moving to Germany. Perhaps reflecting the historicity of his new environment, this album is more structured and formal than most of his previous releases; however, his layered song-cycles are just as circular and experimental, and still backed by a fair amount of tribal percussion. There are moments of whimsy, as on "In Vienna," with its bouncing, music-box like celesta, or on "Viking I," also reflected with a snappy celesta melody, but there are also moments of parlor-room somberness, as on the string arrangements for "Romance In G" or the last 20+ minutes of the album, which is comprised exclusively of extremely heavy pipe-organ suites. Moondog In Europe, though less playful than other of his albums, displays Moondog's virtuosity as a classical composer, with elegantly stylized pieces that see Moondog embracing a grandiosity he hadn't approached previously.

Highly Recommended!