The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Stories

by Michael Mantler

The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Stories cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 1976
  • Label: WATT
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 33:28
  • Community rating: 3.8/5 from 3 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Setting the surreal, macabre children's literature of Edward Gorey to music, this avant-prog curiosity features an eclectic cast of experimental luminaries, including Robert Wyatt and Terje Rypdal. The dark, anxious spoken-word delivery perfectly complements the angular, jazz-inflected rock arrangements. It stands as a unique, highly theatrical crossover between modern avant-garde composition and the Canterbury scene.

Genres

Descriptors: Avant Garde, uncommon-time-signatures, progressive

Tracklist

  1. The Sinking Spell (5:10)
  2. The Object-Lesson (5:00)
  3. The Insect God (4:58)
  4. The Doubtful Guest (4:47)
  5. The Remembered Visit (6:27)
  6. The Hapless Child (7:02)

Credits

  • Steve Swallow - bass guitar
  • Edward Gorey - cover, drawing [drawings], typography [uncredited], words by
  • Jack DeJohnette - drums, percussion
  • Terje Rypdal - guitar
  • Albert Caulder - narrator [additonal speaker]
  • Alfreda Benge - narrator [speaker]
  • Robert Wyatt - vocals

More from Michael Mantler: full discography