We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Burn Before Listening - The Rejected Recordings of Benny Court & Benny Taylor (Squib Box)

by Benny Court & Benny Taylor

supported by
James A.
James A. thumbnail
James A. This is the best thing I've ever heard.
alphaville777
alphaville777 thumbnail
jmbrennan70
jmbrennan70 thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £7 GBP  or more

     

1.
(Take 1) Ritzy Rat and Tommy 'the Throat' in "Tickle Session Confession!" 01:50
2.
(Take 4) Ritzy Rat and King Bubba Toomba in "Tribal Trouble In The Land Of Make Believe!" 02:39
3.
(Take 42) Ritzy Rat and Willy Weevil in "Appointment At Tooth-Hurty!" 03:56
4.
(Take 28) Ritzy Rat in "Lonesome Tunesome Twosome" 01:18
5.
(Take 56) Ritzy Rat and Sawmill Slim in "Rat-Trap Lumberjack!" 01:40
6.
The Nation's Favorite Clowns! 18:56
7.
The Ol' Tramp Routine 00:38
8.
Captain Stogie 01:19
9.
The Ol' Jolson Routine 03:20

about

Re-mastered by Alan Witts, Benedict Taylor and Adam de la Cour.

Special thanks to Stan Kyle who's exhaustive musical archive made this project possible.

Photograph: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
Public Domain Photographs
1882-1962
license
Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

Label: Squib Box 2013
www.squib-box.com

credits

released January 5, 2015

The Two Bennys were perhaps one of 1940s America’s most unsurprisingly unsuccessful light entertainment acts. Technically inept and often deeply offensive, their repeatedly failed attempts at both live and recorded performance are now viewed by most as a fair indication of their low credibility and historical worth.

Viewed through the lens of current experimental music and free improvisation practices, however, many fascinating musical qualities present themselves – one man’s meat is another man’s poison. Indeed, perhaps the wild and uncuffed nature of Court and Taylor’s psychotic dialogues could be seen as a precursor to the later explosions in NYC of free jazz and hardcore punk.

Available for the first time, these remastered recordings, dating from the 30s and 50s, offer a unique insight into the ultimately failed careers of two of Britain's most unique and undiscovered musical outsiders, Benny Court and Benny Taylor, who became mainstays of New York's sidewalks and soup kitchens during The Great Depression.

The album includes excerpts of their 1937 'Schlinger Studios' session, for which they were hired to provide improvised soundtracks for a series of cartoons featuring Mac Schlinger's streetwise rodent (and blatant Mickey Mouse rival) Ritzy Rat.

The full A-side of 'The Nation's Favorite Clowns!' LP (1956) is also included, on which our duo provide a series of short musical portraits of famous clowns; a failed marketing bid to reignite the popularity of America's flailing circus industry.

And finally the last known recording of the pair, performing live at the Soup Kitchen in New York's East Village in 1957.
credits

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Benedict Taylor image

Benedict Taylor London, UK

Composition & improvisation. Solo, ensemble, soundtrack, concept album. Viola, violin, voice, other things. BBC Late Junction, BBC Hear & Now, Jazz en Nord, London Contemporary Music Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Cafe Oto, Vortex, Southbank Centre, Barbican, ICA, BBC Radio 3, Royal Court Theatre, Berlinale, Venice Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Film London ... more

contact / help

Contact Benedict Taylor

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Burn Before Listening - The Rejected Recordings of Benny Court & Benny Taylor (Squib Box), you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now