Magma - Wurdah Itah CD (expanded)
SKU
15-Seventh Rex IX-V2
This great album, which was recorded in April, 1974, has an interesting history. When originally released, this was released as a 'solo' album by Christian Vander, but for all intents & purposes, it was (and is) the fourth Magma album, having been released between M.D.K. and Kohntarkhoz.
The album is also interesting because it is a Magma album stripped down to the barest essentials of electric and acoustic pianos (all played by Christian), bass by Janick Top, choir (Vander, Klaus Blasquiz and Stella Vander) and drums by Vander; this is the purest, distilled essence of the Magma ethos.
This wasn't the first album I heard from them but it was the first album that I LOVED by them and I think it is a brilliant, unique album, and very well be my single favorite work by them if I was forced to choose.
But wait: There's more! Part of the 'interesting history' of this album is that there was an early version of the album that was 'stolen' from a bootlegged cassette of a rehearsal, by a film director and used without permission in his film adaption of Tristan et Iseult (which was the name given to the original vinyl release of this album). You can see this fairly ridiculous-looking film on youtube, and basically, to my jaundiced eye, all the battle scenes look like they hired GWAR to fight with cardboard swords while not very well recorded Magma plays in the background!! (Made you want to look, right?)
Well, it wasn't a rehearsal, it was a very preliminary studio session from 1972 (18 months earlier!) of the work and it appears here, released legitimately (and without the cutting up it received in the film) for the very first time. It isn't nearly as magnificent as the 'real' version of Wurdah Itah, but any true Magmoid will absolutely NEED to have this.
Warning! I guarantee you will NEVER be able to unsee the following!
- LabelSeventh
- UPC3149025058386