| Song Cycle | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 1967 | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:39 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Lenny Waronker | |||
| Van Dyke Parks chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Song Cycle | ||||
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Song Cycle is the debut album by American recording artist Van Dyke Parks, released in November 1967 by Warner Bros. Records. With the exception of three cover songs, Song Cycle was written and composed by Parks, while its production was credited to Warner Bros. staff producer Lenny Waronker.
The album draws on a number of forms of American popular music, including bluegrass, ragtime, and show tunes, and frames classical styles in the context of 1960s pop music.[5] The material utilizes unconventional song structures, and lyrically explores American history and culture, reflecting Parks' history working in both the film and music industries of Southern California.
Upon its release, Song Cycle was largely acclaimed by critics despite lukewarm sales, and later became a cult classic. In 2017, Song Cycle was ranked the 93rd greatest album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.[6]
- ^ Boyd, Brian (March 26, 1999). "Strange Vibrations". Irish Times.
- ^ Grimstad, Paul (2007-09-04). "What is Avant-Pop?". Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ Morris, Chris (July 19, 2003). "Billboard". Billboard. 115 (29): 36. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ Hogwood, Ben (5 July 2012). "Spotlight: Van Dyke Parks reissues – Song Cycle, Discover America and The Clang Of The Yankee Reaper". MusicOMH. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
allmusicwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. August 22, 2017.