[Music] JOHN 3:16 – Sinner’s Prayer

Wave after wave of beautifully crunchy, hypnotic drone is what makes JOHN 3:16’s new release (a reissue from 2011, apparently), a 30-minute affair, so appealing. The guitar playing is so heavily textured that you feel like a sonic blanket has wrapped you up, making you forget, albeit temporarily, the vagaries of the world.  Drone music tends to be hazy, but this release would have been a stunner during the psychedelic 1970s as much as it is today.

This is a stunning mini-album. Many compliments to Philippe Gerber, JOHN 3:16’s leader and guitarist, for pointing me to this reissue.

[Music] Spooky Tooth & Pierre Henry – Offering

I am well aware that some of my friends and colleagues hate this song, considering it near the bottom of Pierre Henry’s musical canon. So be it.

The reason I’m featuring this tune, however, is for two reasons. First, it was my introduction to Henry’s work. I wasn’t much of a hard-rock guy, and Spooky Tooth didn’t hold a lot of interest for me, but seeing the record cover had me wondering what sort of racket these guys were making. Second, the concept of a rock/experimental mass, based on the Apostolic Christian model, left me intrigued.

I know that Henry’s fellow composer, Pierre Schaeffer, was a devout Roman Catholic, but I read nothing of Henry’s beliefs over the years. Still, it was a nice gesture, an interesting project, and a doorway to Pierre’s far more adventurous works.