| CD REVIEW Various Artists: Hark! Too – A Tribute To The Hark! Album By Wim T. Schippers |
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Band : (Various Artists) Wim T(heodoor) Schippers is a Dutch (born in Groningen, 1942) artist, comedian, voice actor, and producer, who started his career in and around the Fluxus movement. He gave his voice to Sesamstraat characters Ernie, Kermit The Frog, Guy Smiley, Cookie Monster, and Count Von Count since the beginning of the Dutch offspring of this series in 1976. Jim Henson was reportedly so impressed with Schippers’ and Bert character interpretor Paul Haenen’s vocal qualities, he gave the duo exclusive permission to write their own material for several Bert & Ernie albums. He also was, for many years, the presenter of the National Science Quiz on Dutch television, and the writer behind several tv programs, as well as a musician! Somewhere along the way he apparently issued the Hark! album, which is now being comemorated as a tribute to the artist. The idea apparently came from Rotterdam based venue Worm (also linked to a record store, several online community based websites, and a production team with a fiml lab, sound recording studio, and media lab), a venue which programs daring, obstinate, innovative music and film.11 contemporary artists were given a track each off the album as inspiration to work on, with the explicit condition that the original track would still somehow be recognizable. And really, although you get to hear 11 different approaches, the end result is overall quite in unison! Not something your average Metal, Hardcore, Punk, or Hard Rock fan would go out and buy, but those among us with an open-minded taste for music might just spend some nice hours listening to this album! Also, by the way, available in (limited edition of 500 copies) vinyl, for the super-freaks among us! I’ve tried (and it was in vain) to find a site where you might find audio material off this album to listen to, but maybe you can find something at the websites of the individual artists involved in this re-make of the Hark! album? (check sites of Dennis De Bel, Harry Merry, Raaskalbomfukkerz, Vince The Prince, Kodi, Zea, Coolhaven, Yoshimi, Bertini, Pornologic, and Hajo D.). 83/100 Tony. |