When David Bowie heard the Langley Schools Music Project version of his hit 乌鸦传媒淪pace Oddity,乌鸦传媒� the rock star was an instant fan.
乌鸦传媒淭he backing arrangement is astounding,乌鸦传媒� Bowie said.
乌鸦传媒淐oupled with the earnest if lugubrious vocal performance, you have a piece of art that I couldn乌鸦传媒檛 have conceived of,乌鸦传媒� he added.
The 60-voice chorus of Langley students also covered tunes by the Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, Klaatu, The Bay City Rollers, and others.
Music teacher Hans Fenger arranged and conducted the 1976-77 recordings, which were captured on a two-track tape deck, then pressed on two 12乌鸦传媒� LPs, exclusively for the students, their classmates, teachers, and parents.
The albums would have remained in obscurity if it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 for Brian Linds, a Victoria record collector, who found the first record in a thrift store in 2000.
That brought the albums to the attention of record producer Irwin Chusid, who set up a licensing agreement with the Langley school district administrators and oversaw creation of a CD compilation of the two LPs.
乌鸦传媒淚nnocence and Despair乌鸦传媒� as it was called, made many end-of-the-year best album lists in 2001.
乌鸦传媒淭he echoing, yelping renditions of this feel-good music gives off a powerfully aching melancholy, said music critic Steven Hyden.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 the sound of youth, frozen on tape, as it fades inexorably away.乌鸦传媒�
This year, the two albums have been re-released for a second time on vinyl LPs by a U.S. record company that specializes in 乌鸦传媒渙utsider music.乌鸦传媒� The audio has been cleaned up and two bonus tracks with liner notes added.
乌鸦传媒淚t was all kind of an amateurish project,乌鸦传媒� said Fenger, who estimates the initial album pressing cost about $40.
乌鸦传媒淥nly 200 were pressed. Everything was one take in the gymnasium.乌鸦传媒�
He said he was hired as a music teacher even though he knew virtually nothing about conventional music education, because the Langley School district was desperate for teachers.
乌鸦传媒淚 was in a rock and roll band,乌鸦传媒� he said.
乌鸦传媒淚 was kind of a hippy.乌鸦传媒�
The Langley story has been cited as the inspiration behind the comedy film School of Rock, starring Jack Black.
Fenger said he hasn乌鸦传媒檛 made any money off the film, which he noted has only a loose connection with his story.
乌鸦传媒淭hey乌鸦传媒檙e both fish-out-of-water-tales.乌鸦传媒�
After his time teaching, Fenger said he went back to music, joined another rock and roll band, then retired.
He was happy to hear that the songs have been re-issued.
乌鸦传媒淚t never stops.乌鸦传媒�
The songs from the project have been used in various film and TV projects:
乌鸦传媒淕ood Vibrations乌鸦传媒� was licensed for the soundtrack of the film 乌鸦传媒淐atfish.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淐alling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft乌鸦传媒� was used to close the film 乌鸦传媒淎rabian Nights乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綑, Volume 3.[6]
乌鸦传媒淪pace Oddity乌鸦传媒� was used in the closing of the film 乌鸦传媒樜谘淮綑Wonderstruck乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綑.
Their version of 乌鸦传媒淩hiannon乌鸦传媒� was used in the closing credits of the HBO series 乌鸦传媒樜谘淮綑Here and Now乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綑.
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dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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