Track Listing

1. Olive
2. Lavender
3. Burgundy
4. Yellow
5. Green
6. Beige
7. Maroon
8. Ecru
9. Chartreuse
10. Turquoise
11. White
12. Flesh
13. Azure
14. Puce
15. Magenta
16. Orange
17. Purple
18. Muddy
19. Russet
20. Amber
21. Blue
22. Black
23. Gold
24. Crimson
25. Brown [*]
26. Rosey [*]
27. Hazel [*]
28. Mauve [*]
29. Fuschia [*]
30. Sepia [*]
31. Nutria [*]
32. Cerise [*]
33. Grey [*]
34. Coral [*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #86603 in Music
• Released on: 2000-05-09
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
The voice-over man from a thousand commercials, Ken Nordine registers in your subconscious instantly: Wait, I know that guy! Smooth as an ice sculpture and ringing with "the voice of our sponsor," Nordine has personified authority since the 1960s. It's disorienting at first to hear the way Nordine lets go on this record with a Beat-inspired, mellifluous-sounding, Dr. Seuss-like exploration of the meanings of different colors. Many of the pieces are parables on racism and human behavior, but they're also totally silly, and meant to be. Recorded in the late 1960s, the 34 tracks manage to be sort of psychedelically goofy but charming at the same time. "Absolute gray is the grayest gray / That's the same distance from absolute white as it is from absolute black," Nordine almost-sings to a delightful, freeform studio backing of hip jazz. All your mix tapes will be very happy that you've bought this strange record to flavor them with. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews

An unparalelled, seminal work of spoken word poetry.
Ken Nordine's free-form associations on the topic of colors is delivered in a soothing, smoky 50's jazz-lounge voice and set to a busy jazz accompanyment. This is a real treasure for anyone who is interested in spoken word, psychadelia, beat poetry, advertising copywriting, radio advertising, and even graphic design. This guy is the mad master of visual metaphor. Buy it !!

In the beginning, or long before that.
Ken Nordine was commisioned by a paint company to write several commercials about colors. He recorded the spoken word ads backed by free form jazz. The commercials got so much acclaim, that he decided to record an album where he redid the spots (without mentioning the name of the paint company this time), adding many more colors. All the pieces are around a minute and a half long. Some of the tracks can be taken as social commentary, but most of them are just Nordine having fun saying whatever a particular color makes him think of. The CD adds ten bonus tracks to the original album, for a total of 34 (Nordine says he recorded 44 in all). This is a fun album, if you like music that is a little "out there".

how can i possibly sum up this man's uniqueness in 1 line...
Ken is a true original, blending the lost arts of true storytelling with wit, pathos and sheer idiotic charm. He is above all others, a master wordsmith and poet.

I saw this artist perform live in London at Laurie Anderson's 'Meltdown festival 1997'. If you EVER get the chance to see some of this work performed live, with Ken backed by his orchestra or Jazz artists, then do so, It will be like nothing you expect. OK - i'll try... Imagine William S Boroughs crossed with Ivor Cutler by way of.... er..... Hong Kong Phooey? ... and you 're still nowhere near it....

The Colurs album should be sampled randomly and in bite sized amounts.... be patient and the silliness will slowly infect your soul... When you are ready, check out Word Jazz Vol 1 for a taste of the bigger Nordeine picture..

Finally, if Volume two ever surfaces, can someone send me a copy?

Pick a colour, any colour and smile..

My personal choices are , Beige, Puce, Russet, maroon and Orange....