Flapjacks from The Sky by Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus of Dreams

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Folk Pop | Americana

21 tracks | 99 minutes

Released Dec 2003
on Slambovian Records

Click for a 30-second preview. All tracks are 192kbps high fidelity sound quality. Protected WMA $0.77 or unprotected MP3 $0.88.

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sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:26 Rocket lyrics BUY MP3 03:26 Rocket lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:26 Rocket

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:41 Sunday in the Rain lyrics BUY MP3 04:41 Sunday in the Rain lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:41 Sunday in the Rain

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:24 Kiss from Eve lyrics BUY MP3 03:24 Kiss from Eve lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:24 Kiss from Eve

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:42 Moondog House lyrics BUY MP3 03:42 Moondog House lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:42 Moondog House

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:26 Baby Jane lyrics BUY MP3 05:26 Baby Jane lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:26 Baby Jane

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 02:45 I Wish lyrics BUY MP3 02:45 I Wish lyrics "GIFT MP3" 02:45 I Wish

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:30 Better Life lyrics BUY MP3 03:30 Better Life lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:30 Better Life

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:46 Living with God lyrics BUY MP3 03:46 Living with God lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:46 Living with God

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 09:43 Talkin' to the Buddha lyrics BUY MP3 09:43 Talkin' to the Buddha lyrics "GIFT MP3" 09:43 Talkin' to the Buddha

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:54 Big 8 Wheeler lyrics BUY MP3 05:54 Big 8 Wheeler lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:54 Big 8 Wheeler

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:42 Jump Rope lyrics BUY MP3 03:42 Jump Rope lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:42 Jump Rope

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:20 Bike lyrics BUY MP3 05:20 Bike lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:20 Bike

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:06 Glide lyrics BUY MP3 04:06 Glide lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:06 Glide

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 01:53 Gonna Get Up lyrics BUY MP3 01:53 Gonna Get Up lyrics "GIFT MP3" 01:53 Gonna Get Up

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:16 In Her Own World lyrics BUY MP3 04:16 In Her Own World lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:16 In Her Own World

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:29 Sullivan Lane lyrics BUY MP3 04:29 Sullivan Lane lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:29 Sullivan Lane

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:15 Look Ma, No Hands lyrics BUY MP3 04:15 Look Ma, No Hands lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:15 Look Ma, No Hands

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:56 Fumes lyrics BUY MP3 04:56 Fumes lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:56 Fumes

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:00 Call to the Mystic lyrics BUY MP3 06:00 Call to the Mystic lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:00 Call to the Mystic

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 07:11 Flapjacks from the Sky lyrics BUY MP3 07:11 Flapjacks from the Sky lyrics "GIFT MP3" 07:11 Flapjacks from the Sky

sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 07:11 Nightime lyrics BUY MP3 07:11 Nightime lyrics "GIFT MP3" 07:11 Nightime

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Surreal Americana. Punk Classical Hillbilly Floyd.

Editorial review

When New York State's Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams issued its self-titled debut album in 1998, the outr? rocking folk ensemble (or is it the other way around?) merely hinted at what they would get up to as they continued to play out in small clubs, tour coffeehouses around the East Coast near and far from their Hudson River Valley home. They grew not only in their ability to command the craft of songwriting, they learned to be entertainers, a show band that could deliver musically, stretching itself to the limit and branching out musically and lyrically. As evidenced by their sophomore offering, Flapjacks From The Sky, Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams is simply one of the finest American bands out there on the road. The reason many haven't heard of this rootsy, warm, adventurously playful psychedelic group is because they've been doing the entire thing their own way. Sure, the name may sound gimmicky, but the music is anything but. Inside that smile are teeth. Songwriter Joziah Longo has spent a lot of time listening to everything from the Band and Bob Dylan to Tom Petty to Tony Joe White, to Iggy Pop, to Pink Floyd. There are electric, folk and swamp blues here, acid-drenched roots and garage band rock, country-drenched pop, and that's just the beginning. 20 songs-21 actually, there's a hidden bonus track-- spread out over two discs may be more than some listeners are willing to bite off for an initial listen, but it'd be a mistake to let this one slide by. Time flies by in a series of allegories, and fables, morality tales and those that engage a particular, wry brand of longing, laughter, and loss that have their origins in big cities and villages, in your cousin's anti-depressant scrambled brain, or in your own, they contain the secret codes and symbols of the American highway while residing next door and setting out on the porch in the evening. Longo's deep, dry voice resembles Petty's but his songs are far better. One listen to the slowly unfolding "Sunday In The Rain," with multi-instrumentalist Tink Lloyd's accordion, Sharkey McEwen's electric slide painting the backdrop as Tony Zuzulo's kit work brings it all to Longo's voice and he goes deep, bringing out a freshly painted portrait from the wrong side of the screen door. Another standout on disc one (though there isn't a weak cut in the whole mess), "A Kiss From Eve," is a ringing rootsy pop song where accordion, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars join in a mid tempo rock and roll ballad that celebrates everything possible in moments of doubt. The popping snares and cymbals accent every line. ""Baby Jane," is a spooky ditty where acoustic guitars and a single, sparse, electric line introduce a first-person narrative about watchfulness in the moments of life's passage, Tink's cello lines add a gorgeous bottom into Longo's lyric that is as much a platitude about not getting stuck to anything that's not worth one's time. Life can knock the wind out of you, but there's no reason not to suck in a fresh breath. The texture of entwining guitars, cello lines and a brushed snare bring an airy flow to the lyric, not allowing it to become glued to its seriousness for very long. "I Wish," is a country rocker with a breezy, shuffling beat, and jangling guitars that walks on the outside of its poetic lyric. One of the album's true highpoints is "Talking With the Buddha," a sprawling psychedelic folk-rock jam that sticks it in the eye of the freak folk and neo-psych crews without even trying. The slow tempo and straightforward narrative about personal responsibility is only the beginning of a true album rock nugget. McEwen's guitar break takes nothing for granted and he lets his lead lines out of the cage and lets space, taste and a guitar hero's chops push it to the margin and break it into the outer atmosphere. Disc two begins where the first one left off. "Jump Rope," a two stepper weaves that accordion, acoustic guitars and drum kit with gorgeous harmony vocals. It's a love song from the side of the river, outside the hustle and craziness that is the workaday world. The band rocks it up a bit on "Bike," where Horselips, Jethro Tull and prog rock meet early Pink Floyd. The riff is more than memorable and the well placed, understated flute by Tink sets the whole thing off center and winding around itself. When Longo wryly sings: "He spoke at God/and he heard God answer/ 'Holy Mackerel . . ." we hear the place of irony as allegory and allegory as an inside joke exposed to the open air. The sheer texture in the psych-weirdness of "Gonna Get Up," melds the Delta blues to dreamy ELO cum Flaming Lips-style pop. With all this artiness it's amazing that straight ahead rock tunes like "Glide," and In Her Own World," could be played on virtually any radio station form Triple A to modern rock, and the reason is simple: hooks, production and the immediacy with which Longo's voice engages the listener. "Call To The Mystic," with it's Celtic intro is the single that Adam Duritz and Counting Crows would kill to have cut, but it feels like even the Band missed it. It seems that Longo listens carefully to the hum in the power lines as they whisper to him that the songs are ready to fall out of the sky; he snatches them, before refashioning them in Gandalf Murphy's image. How else do you get a balls out rocker riff like the one that introduces "Look Ma No Hands," to line up next to the fear drenched ballad that makes up its verse? The sheer musicality of Gandalf Murphy is exactly what's missing from American rock at the moment. It's a shock to think that this group, besides playing the festival circuit is making its living in acoustic music venues when it can burn up a stage and exchange chops with anybody out there. McEwen is a bloody natural lead guitarist who never overplays, he loves the warm high tones that David Gilmour patented, but he's just as deeply rooted in the blues as they reach from the earth to the stratosphere inhabited by Jimi Hendrix. (Check his fills and solo in the aforementioned track for proof.) And then of course there's Tink Lloyd, whose multi-instrumentalist duties are the heart of Gandalf Murphy's sound. She's a musician's musician whether she's playing cello, piccolo, flute or her treasured accordion. And while it's true that Longo seems to gather the songs from the wind, the music is firmly rooted in the earth, making a case for Robbie Robertson's claim that the music comes out of the soil. The dirt in the ground of upstate New York is rich with influences from many cultures, and she seems to understand all. Zuzulo's kit work is in the pocket. He's interested not so much in keeping time but stretching it, decorating with a commoner's crown and making it less intimidating. This is no mean feat and he makes something very difficult seem like child's play. The closing cut on the official album is the title track, a skeletal little figure that evolves into a full blown folk song that in turn becomes a spacious rocker that eventually blows up into a full orchestral romp, ominous, strange, and becomes a majestic romp through a the sonic funhouse. It almost seems a shame that Gandalf Murphy included "Nighttime," a very early tune that has a space at the end of it for two full minutes before it careens into the sort of zaniness that can be captured during their live show. The amazing thing is that this is a second album. It's sophisticated, mature, poetic, and yes, funny in a tasteful, non zany-or obvious-way. If ever there were a band that transcended the limits of their very long (and wacky) name, this is it. Flapjacks in the Sky is not only a grand surprise as an ambitious-and realized-album, it's a record that opens up American folk, pop, and rock languages, creating and inner dialogue but is not only translatable and accessible to anyone, but is also delightful and free of cluttered ambitions. Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams have the requisite skill and taste to inspire actual awe in even the most jaded of listeners. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Bio / Background

Two full studio albums. (3 years in the making!) 21 tasty tunes on 2 buttery discs. Here it is! The much anticipated follow-up to "A Good Thief Tips His Hat." Guaranteed to heal what ails ya'. Order up a short stack now.

(GO TO SLAMBOVIA.COM FOR SONG SAMPLES...)

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

"I've jammed the repeat button on my mental stereo. Flapjacks Forever."

"The vibrations from the landing of this album are unprecedented in their reach and scope. Through some very sane and divine miracle, it's presence and impact transcend space and time, traveling back to the sound of the first drum, the first chord, the first voice..."

"An amazing collection of great songs, sounds and words. A Classic!"

"Gandalf Murphy and their, "Flapjacks" cd is the best I have heard in many, many years. The sound is original, yet reminds us of some of the greatest songs and artists of the 60's, 70's and 80's...."

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