Illuminations
Studio album by
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Released1969 (1969)
Recorded1969
StudioElectronic Music Studios at State University of New York, Albany, New York
GenreFreak folk[1]
Length35:51
LabelVanguard
Producer
Buffy Sainte-Marie chronology
I'm Gonna Be a Country Girl Again
(1968) 		Illuminations
(1969) 		She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina
(1971)
Singles from Illuminations
  1. "Better to Find Out for Yourself"
    Released: 1969
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Pitchfork9.0/10[3]

Illuminations is the sixth album by American singer Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in 1969 on Vanguard Records.[4] From a foundation of vocals and acoustic guitar, Sainte-Marie and producer Maynard Solomon made pioneering use of the Buchla 100 synthesizer to create electronically treated vocals. It was also an early quadraphonic vocal album.[5] The album's only single was "Better to Find Out for Yourself".

British experimental music magazine The Wire listed Illuminations amongst its '100 Albums that Set the World on Fire While No-One was Listening'.[6] Pitchfork ranked it the 66th best album of the 1960s.[1]

Production

The album was among the first to make prominent use of the Buchla synthesizer, which was previously featured on Morton Subotnick's 1967 recording Silver Apples of the Moon. On Illuminations, the synthesizer was employed to create treated electronic sound, particularly of Sainte-Marie's voice. The opening track "God is Alive, Magic is Afoot" featured lyrics by Leonard Cohen. Peter Schickele provided arrangements to "Mary", "Adam" and "The Angel", whilst the four tracks "Suffer the Little Children", "With You, Honey", "Guess Who I Saw in Paris" and "He's a Keeper of the Fire" were Saint-Marie's first work not to be produced by Vanguard boss Maynard Solomon. Instead, they had a stripped-down rock sound and were produced by little known folk-jazz songwriter Mark Roth. Bob Bozina played guitar, John Craviotta drums and percussion, and Rick Oxendine played bass.

Reception

Illuminations has acquired a fan base quite distinct from that associated with any of Sainte-Marie's other albums. In addition to its being cited as a favourite album by a number of musicians (notably Steve Hackett),[7] a number of critics have seen its twisted, eerie soundscapes as laying the grounds for the evolution of gothic music as well as having an influence on New Weird America.[citation needed]

In 2000, just before Vanguard re-issued it on CD, Wire magazine listed Illuminations amongst its '100 Albums that Set the World on Fire While No-One was Listening'.[8]

Track listing

All songs composed by Buffy Sainte-Marie except where noted.

  1. "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" (text by Leonard Cohen from his novel Beautiful Losers / music by Buffy Sainte-Marie) – 4:51
  2. "Mary" – 1:30
  3. "Better to Find Out for Yourself" – 2:12
  4. "The Vampire" – 2:05
  5. "Adam" (Richie Havens) – 5:05
  6. "The Dream Tree" – 2:34
  7. "Suffer the Little Children" – 2:53
  8. "The Angel" (Ed Freeman) – 3:41
  9. "With You, Honey" – 1:48
  10. "Guess Who I Saw in Paris" – 2:25
  11. "He's a Keeper of the Fire" – 3:21
  12. "Poppies" – 3:26

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b Pelly, Jenn. "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Illuminations – Buffy Sainte-Marie – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  3. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (February 4, 2020). "Buffy Saint-Marie: Illuminations". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Leo, Geoff; Woloshyn, Roxanna; Guerriero, Linda (October 27, 2023). "Who is the real Buffy Sainte-Marie?". CBC News. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Frank, Alex (2022-11-15). "How Buffy Sainte-Marie innovated electronic music in the 1960s | American Masters | PBS". American Masters. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  6. ^ "RTX Archive: The Wire 175 [September 1998]". 13 June 2007. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  7. ^ "The Top 10 Albums Of Steve Hackett [November 2017]". rocknrolljournalist.com. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  8. ^ "RTX Archive: The Wire 175 [September 1998]". 13 June 2007. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
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