CHARLES JOSEPH SMITH - Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts - 2LP - Vinyl [APR 3]

2LP - The definitive collection of Dr. Charles Joseph Smith's original recordings in a deluxe double vinyl Collector's Edition set. First Pressing (ed. of 500). Two 150g Black Vinyl Discs in black polylined innersleeves. Single pocket jacket with extra wide spine. Includes a twelve page full colour Liner Notes Booklet insert (11 in. x 11 in.) containing 30 archival photographs, poetry, interviews, quotes, and 9000 words of liner notes about the life and work of Charles Joseph Smith.

Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts is the definitive recorded collection of living Chicago DIY legend, Dr. Charles Joseph Smith. Born on Chicago's southside in 1970, Smith is a lifelong resident of the Beverly neighbourhood who went on to earn 3 degrees in piano (Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate) and perform as a concert pianist in 5 countries (USA, Italy, Germany, France and Hungary). The album also marks the first archival release from Chicago’s Sooper Records.

All of the music here is being made widely available for the first time. This 90-minute collection is compiled from 30 years of Charles’ self-released original music spanning concert piano, electroacoustic experimentation, electronic beats, free improvisation, and two instrumental sketches of his evolving sci-fi opera, War of the Martian Ghosts (a 2023 electronic realisation, and a 2018 piano realisation). This double Vinyl / Triple CD Collector’s Edition comes with an extensive Insert Booklet containing 9000 words including poetry, interviews, quotes, 30 archival photographs, and extensive liner notes on the life and work of Charles Joseph Smith written by Sooper co-founder Glenn Curran (edited by Sadie Dupuis). This is a piece of Chicago music history.

Dr. Charles Joseph Smith’s remarkable story begins with a mute child’s gift for music, and the purposeful way he nurtured this talent to become both life practice and raison d'être. Charles recounts this artistic journey in his autobiography, The 88 Keys that Opened Doors, a self-published book that chronicles a life in which music was (and still is) the primary key to overcoming immense challenges posed by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

His career as a musician starts in the church, reaches into the international concert piano circuit, and eventually settles to bear strange fruit in Chicago’s experimental underground. Along the way, Charles Joseph Smith’s compositional voice absorbed and metabolised popular music spanning pop to jazz, the gospel of the church, the canon of the classical conservatory, modern dance scores, and the rule-shattering experimentalism of his city’s DIY subculture, where he has been a mainstay for over 30 years. Since the mid-1990s, Charles has been performing, dancing, and selling his self-published musical and written works in person, often at the local shows he frequents. He is known around Chicago as a living symbol of the power of music, and of the beloved spirit of community at the heart of DIY. This is the definitive collection of his original recordings—though it would be impossible to ever encompass the galaxies of music, poetry, and prose penned by the prolific Dr. Charles Joseph Smith.

Tracklist: 

DISC ONE - COLLECTED WORKS:

Side A
Sounds of the Beach – Two Voices (2002)
Le Leader Negatif (2008)
Beats for Katie S. Rap Song (Revised with no Ondes Martenot) (2012)
Selection from first 16-Minute Original Techno Mix w/ Crossfades (2012)
Love Theme (1996)
Rubber Band Improvisation (1994)
My Days Are Not Over For Me (1993)

Side B
Experimental Jazz Piano B – Latin (improvisation) (2013)
A Mixture of Musical Styles (1994)
“The Five Louises” – An Experimental Opera (2008)

Side C - WAR OF THE MARTIAN GHOSTS (MIDI REALIZATION, 2023):
Dreams of Being Viola
Acid Rain
Distribution
Instrumental Extension of Marching to War (Act 1)
War of the Martian Ghosts
Dance in Homage to the Stars Shining at Night
Foggy, Cloudy and a Little Windy
Second Movement of “Jazz Sonata”
Underscore Music Before Dissolution of Being (Act 2) – Instrumental
Dissolution of Being - Orchestral Version
Recapitulation - The Rap Scene from Act 2
Butterfly Study in F# Minor

Side D - WAR OF THE MARTIAN GHOSTS (PIANO REALIZATION, 2018):
Final Descent
An Unusual Welcome Parade
Council of Elders
March to War
War of the Martian Ghosts
The Aftermath
Restoration
Flourishing Cities of Undead
31. Recapitulation
32. Dissonance of Being