Allen Ginsberg's The Fall Of America

Various artists come together to musically interpret poems from "The Fall of America: Poems of these States 1965-1971" in this 50th Anniversary Tribute to Allen Ginsberg's iconic work. The lineup includes renowned musicians such as Yo La Tengo, Shintaro Sakamoto, Angelique Kidjo, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Devendra Banhart, Bill Frisell, Andrew Bird, and more. "In 1965, Bob Dylan presented Allen Ginsberg with a Uher reel-to-reel tape recorder, sparking Ginsberg's journey to document his thoughts and observations as he traversed the United States. Influenced by Jack Kerouac's spontaneous composition methods, Ginsberg saw the taping as a perfect medium for his own spontaneous creations. The result was a volume of poems that served as a literary documentary exploring contemporary America, with a focus on the escalating war in Vietnam juxtaposed against the country's natural beauty." "The Fall of America project had to be completed before the war's end, capturing the tumultuous period of protests and civil unrest. When Allen Ginsberg was awarded the 1974 National Book Award for The Fall of America, it marked a significant moment of recognition for his monumental body of work. This vinyl album, accompanied by a DL card featuring 7 CD tracks and a vinyl-exclusive bonus track by Youth, pays homage to Ginsberg's enduring legacy." - Excerpts adapted from Michael Schumacher's introduction to The Fall