Mr. Van Dyke Park's did two wonderful string arrangements on TWIST. Sort of the 'bookends' to the girl theme, the young girl..."the Beautiful Child" and the older woman..."Bridie's Eyes". His early involvement on the record definitely helped to shape it's aural direction. I was asked by the San Diego News Network to write a few words about my impressions of Van Dyke and what it was like to work with him. It was a pleasure to do and I'm pleased to say they pretty much took me word for word. Here's the article about my friend Van Dyke Parks that came out Feb. 11th:
...Van Dyke Parks’ remarkable résumé includes producing the first albums by Randy Newman and Ry Cooder, writing with the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson (most famously for the long-unreleased album “Smile”) and arranging for a dizzying array of performers ranging from Cher to U2. On his own, he created the massively ambitious ”Song Cycle,” an artistic triumph of true Americana whose economical title was not matched by the recording budget ($48,032 in 1968 dollars, reportedly making it the most expensive album to date).
“Whenever I hear Van Dyke’s music, even a snippet, I am immediately transported into his seriously beautiful cartoon-world of aural emotion,” said Kelley Ryan, the astroPuppees singer-songwriter whose bubbly new solo album, “Twist” (out Tuesday), features Parks arrangements on two songs. “Both his melodies and his lyrics take you to a place that only Van Dyke knows. Only he has the map. It’s like a secret musical treasure diagram and “X” marks the spot. The best musicians I know have worked with him, from Carly Simon to Brian Wilson to Rufus Wainwright, to name a few. And if they were ever asked, “What music would you take to a deserted island?”, I bet they would answer “anything of Van Dyke Parks has to be in the stack.” “In my case,” Ryan added, ”it would be “Tokyo Rose.” Or would it be the soundtrack to “Popeye”? Van Dyke has one of the most unique and supportive musical imprints of anyone I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He at once augments and lifts the music to a different level. For me, it was a level I didn’t even know existed in nature, let alone musical expression. He is magic.”
Mikel Toombs is an SDNN Music contributor.
If you want to read more and see a cool youtube video of Mr. Parks in action...click this:
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-02-11/concerts-music-clubs/soul-legend-percy-sledge-highlights-valentines-day-weekend-shows
