Allen Ginsberg – First Blues

2x Vinyl 12"

"Rags, Ballads & Harmonium Songs. Chanteys, Come-All-Ye's, Aboriginal Song Sticks. Gospel, Improvisations, Renaissance Lyrics, Blake Hymns, Bluegrass, Hillbilly Riffs, Country & Western, '50s R&B, Dirty Dozens & New Wave."

Allen Ginsberg's recorded opus receives its first-ever full vinyl reissue as a deluxe gatefold double LP, complete with photography by Robert Frank. The collection features studio recordings written, performed and recorded by Ginsberg during sessions between 1971 and 1981, with contributions from an extraordinary cast of collaborators, including Bob Dylan, Arthur Russell, Anne Waldman, David Mansfield, Perry Robinson and David Amram, among many other friends and contemporaries.

A selection of what were effectively demo recordings for the album was originally captured by the legendary Harry Smith at his apartment in New York's Chelsea Hotel in the early 1970s. These recordings were later released by Folkways as First Blues: Rags, Ballads & Harmonium Songs.

Blending poetry, folk, blues, gospel, bluegrass and spoken word, this remarkable collection offers a unique insight into Ginsberg's musical vision and creative spirit. Both an important historical document and a compelling listening experience, it showcases one of the Beat Generation's most influential voices in an entirely different artistic light.