Compil. US 2004 on Rhino Handmade label
Spoken Word and Soundtrack (Dialogue, Poetry, Monolog)
A prestigiously crafted art & audio limited edition package, hand-numbered and authenticated by the pencil signature of Don Van Vliet upon his art within. The release was limited to 1,500 copies. The presentation consists of: 1) An outer heavy card slipcase, 235 x 325 x 70 mm, bound in dark green texture fabric. The front is titled, by two applied black gloss rectangles with white text, reading; "Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh" - "Don Van Vliet" at the top on a yellow oval and "Limited Edition" lower down. 2) A similarly bound outer heavy card 'wallet' with wide spine which slides into outer case from the left. This is trimmed with yellow and bears the limited edition number on a yellow sticker on the front. (This number appears in a 'window' cut-out in the slipcase). This 'wallet' is held closed by cloth ties. 3) Upon opening the wallet two compartments are revealed, one left, one right. Into the center spine between these is bound a black sleeve. Within this is a transparent protective sleeve containing the art print, signed in pencil at the bottom by Don Van Vliet as "VAN Vliet". It is referred to in the text as "Untitled (Self Portrait)", a brown/sepia wash portrait. It is numbered, as per the wallet sticker number. 4) In the right-hand compartment of the wallet are two books, bound in a lighter card, one green with a yellow spine, the other yellow with a green spine. Both measure 190 x 250 mm and have titling applied in the same manner as the slipcase. They are as follows; 4a) "Splinters" - "Don Van Vliet", the green-bound 96-page work, contains a personal snapshot-photo insight into the life of Vliet and his wife Jan, employing a wealth of images from the early days through to the 1990s, along with press cuttings, doodles and lyric-notes on various scraps. An intriguing insight in the workings of Vliet's thoughts and ideas. This book is rounded off with some personal photos taken by Vliet's friend and renowned photographer/director Anton Corbijn. The text for the poetic readings on an accompanying CD are also within this book. Inside back page; "Published by Artist Ink Editions, Los Angeles. A division of AOL/Time Warner. ©2003 Don Van Vliet; All artwork, word fragments and personal photographs. ©1980, 2003 Don Van Vliet / Singing Ink Music (BMI). Used by permission. All rights reserved. "Hot Head", "Ashtray Heart", "Dirty Blue Gene" and "Sheriff Of Hong Kong". ©2003 Book; Artist Ink Editions. ©Portrait photography; Anton Corbijn. ©1994 "Some Yo Yo Stuff" by Anton Corbijn for State Ltd. Printing and binding; Pozolli, Milan, Italy." 4b) "Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh" - "Don Van Vliet", the second yellow-bound 88-page work, is an overview and analysis by Ben Watson of Vliet's art. This is accompanied by 60 full-color plates of Vliet's paintings (37) and drawings (23), plus a Corbijn photo of the artist at work in his Mohave Desert studio. Inside back page; "Published by Artist Ink Editions, Los Angeles. A division of AOL/Time Warner. ©Artwork; Don Van Vliet. ©2003 Essay; Ben Watson. ©2003 Book; Artist Ink Editions. ©Portraits; Anton Corbijn Printing, binding and CD/DVD replication Pozolli, Milan, Italy." "All artwork appears courtesy of the artist and the Michael Werner Gallery, New York & Cologne." "Artist Ink Editions would like to thank Don and Jan Van Vliet, Michael Werner, Gordon VeneKlassen, Jason Duval, Ben Watson, Anton Corbijn and Jeff Gold." 5) In the left-hand compartment of the wallet is a green-bound CD wallet (with the cat#). Upon opening, this reveals a yellow DVD and a green CD in individual black card cases with over-flaps; one with a square cut-hole, opening to a yellow dot (the DVD) - the other with a round cut-hole, opening to a green square (The CD). These as follows; 5a) "Some YoYo Stuff" - "A Filmed Observation By Anton Corbijn For State Ltd", the DVD, is a short film by Anton Corbijn, featuring Vliet, Corbijn, David Lynch and Vliet's mother, Sue Vliet. ©1994 5b) "Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh", the CD, contains the collection of 11 poems and lyrical fragments recited, sung and whistled by Vliet. (As detailed in track list). ℗© 2003 Don Van Vliet Both books include the text; "Artist Ink Editions, 3400 W. Olive, Burbank, C.A. 91505, USA." "First Edition 2003, in a strictly limited edition of 1,500 copies" (Both books also have the same ISBN ref)
Don Van Vliet voc, h, *1941 US whistling, cd, narrator, cd, read by, cd, album by, featuring, voice, music by, written by | |
Anton Corbijn , *1955 NL film director, photography by, portraits, featuring, voice, film director, cameraman | |
David Lynch g, voc, perc, *1946 US featuring, voice | |
Sue Vliet , *1914 US featuring, voice |
Timothy Eames design, package & books |
Till Verclas illustration, etching in yellow book |
Ben Watson liner notes |
Richard Bell film producer |
Daniel Goddard video editor |
Don Van Vliet |
No | Title | Artist | Composer | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh | Don Van Vliet | 34:27 | |
2 | Guitars, Wood Guitars (Dec 1977) | Don Van Vliet | 2:14 | |
3 | Away From Survival (Dec 1977) | Don Van Vliet | 6:27 | |
4 | The I Saw Shop (Dec 1977) | Don Van Vliet | 6:58 | |
5 | Flat Mattress (Dec 1977) | Don Van Vliet | 3:52 | |
6 | Parachoke Stare (Jan 17 1978) | Don Van Vliet | 1:34 | |
7 | The Sand Failure (1980) | Don Van Vliet | 3:10 | |
8 | Geometry Street (May 17 1982) | Don Van Vliet | 2:22 | |
9 | The Word Crawled Over The Razor Blade (Jun 1 1982) | Don Van Vliet | 1:20 | |
10 | Sit Through This (Jun 1 1982) | Don Van Vliet | 1:16 | |
11 | Seaweed Beard Foam Bone Tree (Dec 7 1983) | Don Van Vliet | 4:38 | |
12 | The Thin Wood Door (Aug 1999) | Don Van Vliet | 0:31 | |
13 | Some YoYo Stuff | Don Van Vliet | 13:00 | |
14 | A Filmed Observation By Anton Corbijn For State Ltd. | Don Van Vliet | Don Van Vliet | |
15 | Evening Bell (Soundtrack) | Don Van Vliet | Don Van Vliet | |
16 | What Are We Going To Do With You (Soundtrack) | Don Van Vliet | Don Van Vliet |