Seastones

An album of experimental electronic music by Ned Lagin, with contributions from Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart among others. It was first released on vinyl in 1975, and then reissued on CD in 1990. That included an additional unreleased version from 1975. More recently (2018) it has been released as a 2CD set, including more additional material, with some taken from live performances.

The original 1975 LP has three sections with vocals. The credits list the vocalists as Jerry Garcia, David Crosby, David Freiberg and Grace Slick.The first portion with vocals is section II, but the vocals are so processed that they are impossible to distinguish. However, Ned Lagin's score lists the text, also reproduced in the artwork on the back cover of the LP in the top two boxes on the left-hand side.

Here and elsewhere I've made no attempt to replicate the layout on the LP cover, which seems broadly to follow the layout in Ned Lagin's score.

II:
"so steps kiss wet blows wee wiggle round so becoming all sea sweet wind sighs shimmers silent rain every day drawing straight lines asking but simply now yes or all listening you simply dizzying wish"
The second portion with vocals is sections IV A and IV B. The text here is less distorted and easier to make out. It is also reproduced in the three middle boxes on back cover of the LP and in Ned Lagin's score.

IV A:
"two fingers reach and drop skyward"
IV B:
"nursery eyes burned until fall returns against the red waves mouth melt"
The LP then continues with what seems to be the text from the score (and on the back cover of the LP), but "sung" in two parts simultaneously against each other. This portion isn't on the "original February 1975 version" on the CD release.
"white pearl bud sad moon dew, tarnished copper five trees and sea birds crying the circlings dry squeaking spring dance star rock coast there between her legs rests pale and rosy ocean shell toneless (embroideries) daybreak with the flowers the new the purple spreads under red awakening diamonds of cold nakedness (white night) frigid scintillations islanded star-prisons (a son smiles, tendril light in the silence a first forgiving hushed tears sweet boats of glass sugar whipers secret lullabys blank pain fingerprints salt, moonstone born)"
(The words in italics are on the LP cover but not in Ned Lagin's score - but I think the vocals on the recording do start with white pearlbuds". The brackets are in both.)

The final portion with vocals is section VI, listed in the right-hand box of the LP cover and in Ned Lagin's score.

VI:
"cool trembling quietly earth dark and soft (nibbling) scattering rain drops no song of love flood bathes flaming into dark red purer tingling tip of beach downily oceans of warm rustling quivering up wave planes thinning likeness splashing water beads her own tip pointed grass blade dripping waiting empty burning night storms bed of sea seed a transparencies darkly pale submerged (root) sky soaked murmur wave lines bleed (stillness within still-ness) water-gray breathed itself out done night black breath (still soft lead) whitish stones milky silver opal ball bones pink seastones salt change the purple seeds bright noise on the wind dry spilling sweetness sunny golden waterspray again blue circled naked trembles on the lips of things liquid prick sun stone bitterness"
The December 1975 version released on the CD in 1990 doesn't seem to have any vocals.

The 2018 2CD version is split into 83 tracks. Track 19 is section IV A above. Track 20 is section IV B. And Track 66 is section VI. Track 3 has vocals too heavily distorted to make out - but it's not the same as section II above.

See also "Phil & Ned" for live recordings of Ned Lagin and Phil Lesh during the interval in some Grateful Dead shows in 1974.



 


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