Paul McMahon CD (1986)

Paul McMahon CD (1986)

$10.00

Sold Out

Description

Eclectic pop album on art and noise label that launched Sonic Youth, Swans. Won PRINT Annual Regional Design Award for my cover design.

An eclectic first album, which has a lot of humor in it and some tender feelings, PAUL McMAHON has a few gems as well.

Favorites include TOP HAT AND YELLOW BALLOONS, about a faded love whose 'yellow balloons are smaller now' twenty years after she left him to go off and join the Salvation Army, where she is now, "…playing slide trombone in a Middle Eastern demilitarized zone." I can't help being prophetic. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.

TURTLES is 45 seconds and funny. Weimaraner artist William Wegman (wegmanworld.com) made a video for it with Chris Schiavo and featuring the Mets' 1986 victory parade and a box turtle named Darryl.

Cindy Sherman and Michelle Auder made a video for STRANGE INTERLUDE, an amorphous sound piece involving only percussion and sound effects. Jim Price played it often on his show BIRDSEED on WFMU-FM.

Bill Berger, host of the HIPBONE was the first to play the LP on that station. Later he had me on as a monthly guest in 1986-7 doing the Rock and Roll Therapist (at the time called Psychiatrist), making up songs to listeners calling in their problems.
This was produced by Mark Valenza, who makes unique facial expressions except I saw Daniel Lanois make some of them at the Grammies. An original thinker, he included sounds and textures I never would have and they are very cool, and he played all of the percussion. I sang and played all the guitars. Dave Hofstra (Contortions, Microscopic Quintet) made the low notes on bass and tuba. Guest artist Philip Johnston (Micro's) played all the saxophones. There is an opera singer, a cello player, heavy chains, poetry and a lot of glockenspiel.

Painter Eric Fischl paid for the production of this album (7). MY WISH is the song that wished the album into existence and by extension, the rest of them and alla this, yo.

My pick for the most likely to still become an actual country hit is DIAMONDS. Many of these songs were co-written with Nancy Chunn, who co-wrote many of the songs written before this time.

AVAILABLE as 12"LP or CD (pictured)
All songs copyright Paul McMahon 1979-86


SHARE THIS