Komar & Melamid / David Soldier
The People's Choice Music: The Most Wanted Song, The Most Unwanted Song
1997
The supposed result of a survey regarding the American population's musical likes and dislikes, The People's Choice Music is one of the avant-garde world's greatest pranks, particularly for the 22-minute post-modern opus "The Most Unwanted Song." An operatic cowgirl rapping about Wittgenstein! Kids screaming about where to do your holiday shopping over a drum machine-driven polka beat! Lots of bagpipes, tubas, accordions, and sporadic noise bursts! Adding to the absurdity, someone reissued this masterpiece on 8-track tape this year.
January, 1973
Cut for the Shelter label in 1973, before Rogers gained some exposure on RCA and Columbia, the eponymous album features plenty of the gospel-inflected soul the singer/producer/arranger would become known for. In fact, the bulk here is squarely bent on the kind of community-driven positivism found in the black church. And the music certainly reflects the lofty sentiments, as strings, choral singing, and urbane soul grooves ensure a truly inspired mix.
