Forgotten Treasure: Robert Callender ”Le Musée de L’Impressionnisme” (1972)
This one has to be heard to believed. Bobby Callender, the self-proclaimed enigma, released a R&B hit single in 1963 that got him a record deal at MGM for a full album. He took a shot at a concept album in 1968, which was a trendy thing to do at the time.
Going along with the times, the LP was a full-blown psych/pop/poetry album, called ‘Rainbow’. Nothing like the hit that got him the record deal in the first place. As to be expected, it didn’t really catch on.
A deep karma yoga / om shanti album called “The Way (first book of experiences)” followed, on the Canadian Mithra label. An experimental ballet was written using the album as a score. On the album you can hear elements that forecast the unique album I see as a Forgotten Treasure, one that should be included in the Panthenon of Great Soul Albums.
My contribution, a 1972 record called Le Musée de L’Impressionnisme, is a twenty-chapter conceptual hommage to the movement of the French Impressionist artists. Yes, you read that right. Ten French painters (Degas, Monet and them) are immortalised in a caleidoscopic suite of soul, bound together by a thematic opening, recurring melodies, interludes and a finale. Executed to perfection.
The whole album is a feast of lush, rich melodies, string ensembles combined with a funk backbeat, breaks and the works. Bobby sings in part English, part French, part Fren-glish. And yes, the lyrics and the lack of skill when it comes to actually speaking French are a bit, well, quirky. To further add to the enigma that is this album, it was only released in Holland and in really small quantities. Luckily, the generous guys at Fallout Records re-released this album on CD, so you don’t have to pay the steep admission price of an original vinyl pressing.
But fam, this remarkably honest album is to be enjoyed in its full glory. And time boundaries need to be leaped. If you still hang on to that limited concept called time : free your mind. The rest will follow. So leap!
On a side note, there is a piece about the recording of this album to be found on the web. As this is a single source, we as readers can’t confirm the liability, but it’s a fun read anyway. Enjoy!
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