"Complete Recorded Works, vol. 1" by Ida Cox (1923)

Although Empress Bessie Smith might be literary the only one still remembered from all her 1920s contemporaries, the field of classic Blues - that curious moment in popular music history when vaudeville artists collaborations with Jazz artists were recorded for the first time and simultaneously launched not just a new music trend that was nicknamed "Blues"  but also careers of first black music superstars - was filled with great talents and if you scratch the surface, the genre can be wondrous treasure of interesting music that, preserved on records, shows how much we were subsequently influenced with it and how, even with a century between us, spiritually we are very much connected with these great trailblazers.

This generous and lovingly assembled compilation of her complete 1923. recordings presents great Ida Cox in a full glory of her power. Although coming from basically very much the same background as both Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith (they all escaped crushing poverty and racism of deep South, performed in travelling minstrel shows and went trough apprenticeship in famous tent show Rabbit Foot Minstrels) Cox was not influenced by them, in fact her music persona was so strongly defined that there is nobody around like her - if Rainey was a good-hearted mother of Blues and Smith had that spectacularly powerful voice, Cox was the genres first true vamp who boasted about her sexual appetites and independence. Sure, all three were by sheer force of necessity self-made businesswomen and shared similar fierce spirit but once you hear Cox, its clear how much everybody else followed in her footsteps. Because at the time when she recorded these, her first recordings in 1923 Cox was already a seasoned performer (she run away with travelling show at fourteen) what we hear here is grown woman with completely polished and carefully created image of big, bad sexy mama who not only faces her lover but demands her satisfaction. "Love me daddy, love me all the time, love me till I pass away"  she sings in famous "Lovin' Is The Thing I'm Wild About"  and little later claims "I Love My Man Better Than I Love Myself".  With her instantly recognizable, strong nasal voice and Lovie Austin playing piano behind her, Cox is truly in her element - most of these recordings are piano-and-voice only but towards the end of 1923 "Paramount records" gave her support of solid Jazz band, however singer is constantly in the spotlight as true "Uncrowned Queen of Blues" which was not just promotional gimmick but surprisingly honest description of her talent - she was giant in her field and deserves to be remembered.

Perhaps inadvertently, Cox inspired later movie star Mae West who basically created her man-eating, sex symbol image by soaking in Ida Cox music and  later in 1939 you can find opening line of Cox's "Ida Cox's Lawdy, Lawdy Blues"  deferentially quoted by Billie Holiday on her own recording titled "Long Gone Blues" ("Tell me pretty daddy, what's the matter now, are you trying to quit me and you don't know how"). As Holiday is now acknowledged Jazz icon with countless followers and imitators, its fascinating to note that even she tipped her hat to this wonderful lady from Georgia who was her brave predecessor.

"Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift

O.K. back to classics.

With everything else that I read - and my interests are obviously unrepentantly omnivorous - some time ago I have decided that every month there should be a place for a time honoured classic, just so that I don't get completely buried alive in celebrity biographies or some frothy, lightweight guilty pleasure. The idea is very recommendable indeed, unfortunately yours truly had not really persevered with it, since:

a) I actually love the excitement of random choices, suggestions and spur-of-the-moment inspirations

b) Having a list of must-do usually provokes a resistance to it so it feels like an obligation

c) Because they were written centuries ago, classics demand far more concentration and effort than something written currently

Having this blog as reminder and looking back at the previous year, my reading list clearly shows only three classics read during twelve months, which is far from what I had in mind. The reasons are mentioned above but I also have to add that in all honesty, these old novels genuinely feel more like a task than like exciting experience - once I'm finished with them, I feel proud of myself for actually being disciplined enough to plow trough something so flowery and slow-moving like almost 300 years old novel but for all their highly esteemed and deserved historical status, they feel like a work contrary to my previous choice of "Shōgun" which kept me awake until early hours with the greatest pleasure and which left my head buzzing. Since classic-a-month comes off as a challenge, I wonder is it also because I need to read them with some continuity before it becomes a habitual joy instead of being - as it is presently - occasional chore that takes forever to finish, while modern popular novels just whizz by themselves so thrillingly? The amassed list of classics-to-read is already intimidating enough and perhaps too ambitious but before I completely give up on this idea (which I consider from time to time) and just accept that whatever I was forced to read in the school was enough, I will try to give it another go and hopefully by the force of habit - if I give it proper chance - my classic-of-the-month might get a foothold.

Yay, I have just finished it today. 

Some four decades ago I have read obviously only shortened version that usually gets served as children's literature, therefore I was familiar with only first and the most popular chapter (A Voyage to Lilliput) but actually there is so much more to "Gulliver's Travels" than diminutive Lilliputians. Much has been made about Jonathan Swift's literary attack on various forms of than-current authorities and what it all means, was he poking fun at the church or government, crown or parliament but in all honesty it don't really matter 300 years later - what we can clearly see is that he is turning reality completely topsy turvy and gleefully chuckling to himself created fantastic world where horses talk, ministers deserve their positions by dancing on the rope, petitioners are commanded to crawl on their bellies and lick the floor in front of the throne and such. 

The obvious explanation of Gulliver's timeless appeal is that the novel can be read, explained, poked, probed and analysed from many different perspectives. It can be enjoyed as a children's story - specially the first chapter with Gulliver saving the royal castle by pissing on it - or you can see it as a sharp satire and criticism of society that he lived in. You can see it also as a either clever variation on both Marco Polo and Robinson Crusoe or as a forerunner or later widely popular novels by Jules Verne. Myself, I am tempted to see it as Swift's own version of ancient tale of Sinbad the Sailor (Odysseus?) that only on a surface describes main hero's amazing adventures but actually talks about human character and ridiculousness of our principles. 

After Lilliput, Gulliver is shipwrecked time and time again (mirroring Robinson Crusoe which surely influenced him) first to the land of giants (Brobdingnag) where he becomes treasured entertainment for royal ladies ("The handsomest among these maids of honour, a pleasant frolicsome girl of sixteen, would sometimes set me astride upon one of her nipples, with many other tricks, wherein the reader will excuse me for not being over particular"), than to the flying island Laputa where scientists spend their lifetimes studying the most ridiculous and pointless experiments and after many sideways & byways, he ends in the country of Houyhnhnms where horses are wise and humanoids (named Yahoos) are dangerous and ignorant. It is novel of almost ridiculously fantastic imagination, literary equivalent of paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and deservedly considered a classic, however from time to time it shows his age much more than Robinson Crusoe because Swift too often feels compelled to moralise and compare various fantastic kingdoms to what he have left at home in England - but the heart of the novel is sharp, witty and so uniquely eccentric that it is no wonder that it survived for 300 years. 

"Then they measured my right thumb, and desired no more; for by a mathematical computation, that twice round the thumb is once round the wrist."

Real life Samurai

                       Samurai of the Satsuma clan, during the Boshin War period, circa 1867

"Shōgun" by James Clavell

During a casual conversation somebody recently have mentioned "Shōgun" and instantly I remember how much I always admired this novel and was planning to re-visit it again but always got distracted with something else. Once, long time ago, I clearly remember thinking about it and the very same day I found second hand copy on Amsterdam's famous flea market but for some reason never truly finished it, probably because it is a massive, more than a thousand pages long saga and at that time I was  too impatient for such effort. Now the right time came. And even the meeting with a person who mentioned it might not have been an accident because I truly believe things happen when they are supposed to happen, obviously I just needed a right moment for the idea to form in my thoughts - "yes, I should read that novel again, this time properly."

""In 1600, an Englishman went to Japan and became a samurai". 

This was a sentence from Clavell's daughter schoolbook that inspired this novel. Clavell himself encountered Japanese and their life habits during WW2 when he barely survived as a prisoner of war in some of the most notoriously brutal Japanese concentration camps, the experience inadvertently serving as inspiration for several of massively successful historical novels of which "Shōgun" is by far the most beloved, in fact Clavell himself admits that it was the book made his name and he will forever be associated with. It is hands down, without a doubt the best historical fiction novel I have ever read and although it goes on for more than a thousand pages, I could gladly read another thousand, because it was so gripping, evocative and even informative about 17th century Japan. The only thing I remembered from reading it the first time around was the staggering shock that happened during first encounter of Japanese locals and European sailors, each side perceiving another as barbarians because their lifestyles, civilisations and the whole perspective of lives were so vastly different. Reading it now for the second time - as it usually happens, with completely different frame of mind - I become so engrossed in the story that for two weeks it became literary impossible to do anything else but to completely surrender to this dream inside of a dream (phrase from the novel) and even with supporting cast of hundreds, the novel was just perfection and masterpiece from the first to the last page. In fact, honestly I wouldn't mind if it had a few chapters more.

What makes "Shōgun" so special? First, its a escapism of the highest order. When the novel completely takes over and brings the reader safely out of ordinary life into another realm where typhoon whip the ships, where cruel Japanese lord orders European prisoner to be boiled alive simply for his amusement and where culture demands proper respectful bows or lack of it might be perceived as insult (and therefore resulting with a instant murder) and when you can't wait to go back to your reading chair and dive again into this fantastic world, than you know you have been enchanted. Nothing can be further from our lives and customs - it might as well be another planet - yet nothing could make you part with this book once you started. I got so engrossed in it that if anyone wanted to steal it from me, I would probably pull a sword and say "so sorry but you will die now". Second, its not "only" a fiction as most of us will found out that Clavell got his inspiration from real, historical people who actually lived, loved and died in that time - John Blackthorne existed and there is a statue of him in Nagisacho, Japan but the real name was William Adams. Wonderful, unforgettable Mariko Toda was a real-life Japanese samurai woman remembered as Hosokawa Gracia. Lord Toranaga and everything about him is true - even to the fact that he was famously enthusiastic about falconry and some of his real-life quotes are in the novel - except that his name was Tokugawa Ieyasu. Than there are literary hundreds of supporting characters who are all unique and important as chess figures in this huge war saga, even down to some samurai guard who happened to witness the treachery and several chapters later springs out of nowhere just to point at the traitor. As much as warriors themselves are brutal and dangerous, women are equally - or even more - lethal because they are fearless, cunning and shrewd. Take for example great royal widow Lady Ochiba or seemingly amusing Gyoko, the Mama-san who initiates the tradition of geisha girls but at the end of the novel we find out she might be one of the most dangerous characters. Third, the plot - oh what a plot - magnify Byzantine intrigues times ten and you get the world where basically guileless Blackthorne found himself as just another weapon in lord Toranaga's war - occasionally Blackthorne disappears in the background when Clavell excitedly spreads the whole banner over this multi-layered historical saga and suddenly we see much larger picture that looms over cities, mountains and the whole empire. The novel actually made me daydreaming about being Japanese and watching rocks grow. 

"Home" by Delaney & Bonnie (1969)

Fire and brimstone Southern couple completely soaked in gritty Rhythm & Blues but they also added their own Rock sensibility to mix, creating in process the particular, very appealing combination of two genres that will soon influence no less than Eric Clapton who will be so swept away with excitement that he will literary run away with the circus. Because its recorded in legendary Stax Studios right in the middle of Memphis, Tennessee, the album drips with sweat, rhythms and horns, while impeccable backing band (Booker T. Jones, Isaac Hayes, Leon Russell and William Bell amongst others) burns away behind husband & wife who seems completely possessed with music. If Delaney Bramlett comes off as natural, charismatic leader, his wife Bonnie holds her own with powerful, tough vocals and her fierce approach (heavily influenced by her black idols) is best presented on "Piece Of My Heart" - its closing track but also quintessential heart of the album, because it explains what Delaney & Bonnie are: white, Southern rockers who grew up with R&B and now they are giving it their own twist.

Its actually very easy to imagine any of the usual Stax black stars here instead of Delaney & Bonnie, because the music is absolutely irresistible, typical of famous Memphis Soul - even on something as infectious as "My Baby Specializes" one can close eyes and place Otis Redding or Carla Thomas instead, but where the original Judy Clay duet with William Bell was classic in its own field, these kids give it their own stamp and infuse it with languid sensuality - when that soul clappin' moment comes on and Delaney encourages the chorus to join in, its bootie shakin' moment of the highest order. That album didn't reap any chart smashing singles doesn't diminish its power or its beauty - it completely caught the late 1960s zeitgeist with its tribal energy and no matter are you fan of old school Soul or classic Rock or simply curious how they might sound if merged together, this is the place to start checking out this fantastic musicians who would, of course, from here just go to bigger things. 

"Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel

Delicious and quirky little novel that lovingly (and knowingly) continues the South American literary tradition of Magical realism while giving it a particular, feminine twist and perspective. Sure, it does remind a little bit of a work by Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa but only because they are Esquivel's spiritual predecessors and she definitely has her own independent voice - if anything, Esquivel affectionately weaves her own tale writing from her own point so if it all feels somehow familiar, its because we know the other two celebrated authors already. Deceptively simple - almost like some ancient folk tale - "Like Water for Chocolate" (expression used to describe a boiling point) the plot focuses on Cinderella-like family melodrama (pretty cook Tita is in love with Pedro but can't get married because its the family tradition that youngest daughter stays single and takes care of the mother) but more than the plot itself, the heart of the novel is in the bizarrely peculiar characters, their wonderfully eccentric lives and unpredictable twists and turns of Esquivel's imagination that has them all over the map. 

To be perfectly honest, because I approached it without any previous knowledge of what am I getting myself into, initially I found it all a little bit too insubstantial and as fluffy as some cake decorations from recipes that frame each chapter. My first impression was actually negative because I had to turn my head around and see it again from a different place to start appreciating what Esquivel is trying to do - although the story is set in specific time, Esquivel intentionally wrote it almost as a fairy tale, using simple but picturesque style and some pictures are truly unforgettable. Because the lives of these women were confined to indoors and mostly kitchen, this is the whole universe of pretty Tita who pours her joys, sorrows, tears and passions into her cooking and accidentally effects everybody who dinners at family table. I thought "what a silly book" when I read it but giggled for days afterwards.

"Boris Novković The Platinum Collection"

One of the ways Croatia records mines the wealth of their archives are these Platinum Collections where most prominent music artists get their retrospective compilations. The music business changed beyond recognition so it appears as all there is are compilations and hardly any new release but hopefully this is just a passing trend. After all, there is annual Porin music award where industry recognises best artists of the year and their work, but this avalanche of compilation makes one wonder.

Young Boris Novković managed quite impressive feat to completely escape the shadow of very successful father (pop composer, ubiquitous Đorđe Novković basically changed the local music landscape with his brand of mega-hits specifically tailored for various artists) and created completely independent music persona that has nothing to do with him. One thing both father and the son had in common is ear for simple, memorable melody and - as this Platinum Collection affirms - ability to weather the decades in business with skill and grace. Another thing that connects them is that they both created impressive list of hits without really carving specific recognisable style - older Novković was music maverick who could (and did) turn just anybody into a star, music genre or background notwithstanding, while his son endured highly successful three decades in music with no specific distinguishing feature - as composer he is fairly derivative and his singing voice is best described as earnest, but far from truly remarkable instrument of for example Tony Cetinski (another son who overshadowed famous father). This is not to criticise Boris Novković, just to point that he managed enviable longevity in fickle business by being ordinary guy-next-door with a good ear. 

This double CD compilation serves as surprisingly strong retrospective of his work from the earliest 1986 album "Kuda idu izgubljene djevojke"  up to 2008 at which point Novković already had thirteen studio releases and countless hits behind him. Almost 90% of material is written by singer and although its been played and overplayed to death on every single radio station under the sun it actually still sounds good - if you don't at least tap your foot to it, you should see a doctor. Judging by chronology, where at the start his repertoire was divided between tortured, lovelorn ballads or swaggering, upbeat hits, he actually became more interesting with time and later even incorporated some unexpected elements and twists to his music. Its all very safe but infectious pop and even though I came to this compilation with reserve, at the end I can't help but to think he is nice guy after all. Novković might have started as just another 1980s poster boy for teenage schoolgirls but he has outlived just anybody else around from that time and his heart is in the right place. 

"Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth" by Bart D. Ehrman

This is something right up my alley, as I always had strong interest in possible historical roots (or backgrounds) of religion and you can bet that from time to time I will poke my nose in literature such as this. For the start, let me state here that although I am agnostic, I have no problem with accepting that there was a real living and breathing person who lived two thousands years ago in Middle East, who probably was the follower of his predecessor John the Baptist and who was executed by occupying Roman authorities. This all sounds very probable and even fits with historical informations we have about that period. However, I do have big problem with the rest of the intolerant religious dogma that afterwards grew out if it, demanding that its followers must literary take beliefs in this man's supernatural powers, walks on water, magician's tricks and the rest of shebang. I also have no doubt that much later, when Christianity spread across the Roman Empire, authors of gospels decided that it would be better idea to make Jews and not Romans, guilty of his death so they turned it all upside down and conveniently completely changed the focus of blame for his execution. 

Every time I read books with theories about possible historical background of this first century Jewish preacher (let's call him Yeshua from Nazareth) the little red alarm lights suddenly lightens when some casual sentence catches my attention. Another prophet, John the Baptist (whose real name at the time might have been Yohannan) and who might have been far more important than later church authorities wanted us to believe, belonged to the sect Nazirite (!) that often fasted, lived celibate and ascetically, disciplining flesh trough abstinence and strict self denial. Sounds familiar? Who is to say that perhaps our Yeshua as his follower was not also Nazarite (hence, he never married) and trough the times it all got confused with small village Nazareth -  based on archaeological evidence, Nazareth did exist in more ancient times and through the Bronze Age but then there was a hiatus. It ceased to exist and did not exist in Jesus’s day. Than there is a reference to Yeshua in Jewish Talmud as widow's son or someone called Ben (son of) Panthera but we are simply too far removed from the first century AD to understand was it a sarcastic jab pointing at real-life Roman soldier Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera or something to do with a Greek word for virgin - parthenos, close in spelling to Panthera (in any case, Talmud had completely different version of him and accused him to have been sorcerer Yeshu ben Pandera who learned magic in Egypt). On the other hand, tradition of  Islam remembers very same Yeshua as completely mortal human, born to virgin Maryam but to them he was one of prophets and therefore a Muslim! It is truly a fascinating subject, although the real historical person has been completely obscured by layers of various interpretations trough centuries, where everybody used him for their own agenda and explained him from their own perspective, which is completely wrong as we talk about wandering Jewish preacher from Middle East who has to be interpreted trough historical context. 

Bart D. Ehrman has lifetime of experience in his field, you can tell he knows Gospels inside out, upside down, from left to right, sideways and than some. He is the kind of guy who can probably quote Matthew in his sleep and who does crosswords in Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic for fun. He also has a very open, honest face with the eyes of the old soul so I can't possibly make myself criticising him but must admit it has been a long time since I read something as challenging - not because of the subject, since I basically agree with him but (paradoxically) because he is the type of that old fussy university professor who has so much knowledge in his little finger that he can't be bothered with niceties: he mercilessly dismisses generations of mythicists (theoreticians who proposed that Jesus was amalgam of previously known religions) with the tone that simply assume he is right and everybody else is wrong. First, all these people have no academic background so what do they know. Second, chapter after chapter he waves all the arguments, ideas and possibilities as "not relevant"  to such degree that reader can't help but wonder what is the difference between mythicists who misread or misinterpreted something and Ehrman who decides what is relevant and what is not. Example: "The fact that these lines were not really written by Peter are immaterial for my purposes here."  Oh well. 

The fact that we have no tangible archaeological evidence about existence of Jesus is not surprising - Ehrman points that its not unusual for anybody who lived two thousands years ago, in fact until 1961 (when the stone with his name was unearthed in Israel) we were not so sure even about Pontius Pilate himself - and he was official Roman governor. What we do have are Gospels and Ehrman examines them with detached historical curiosity, quickly dispensing with supernatural stories and focusing on explanations how the story evolved and metamorphosed with time. What Jesus certainly was, author points, he was apocalyptic preacher - one of the many around at the time - who taught the end of the world is near and God's punishment/mercy awaits everybody. The books end with surprisingly clear eyed look at both mythicists and believers, where Ehrman shows that he actually understands both sides, their reasonings and perspectives.

"Jesus would not recognise himself in the preaching of most of his followers today. He knew nothing of our world. He was not a capitalist. He did not believe in free enterprise. He did not support the acquisition of wealth or the good things in life. He did not believe in massive education. He had never heard of democracy. He had nothing to do with going to church on Sunday. He knew nothing of social security, food stamps, welfare, American exceptionalism, unemployment numbers, or immigration. He had no views on tax reform, health care (apart from wanting to heal leprosy), or the welfare state. So far as we know, he expressed no opinion on the ethical issues that plague us today: abortion and reproductive rights, gay marriage, euthanasia, or bombing Iraq. His world was not ours, his concerns were not ours, and—most striking of all—his beliefs were not ours. The problem then with Jesus is that he cannot be removed from his time and transplanted into our own without simply creating him anew. When we create him anew we no longer have the Jesus of history but the Jesus of our own imagination, a monstrous invention created to serve our own purposes."