Mormos Live at le Chat Ecarlate

by Mormos

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erniemuse MORMOS recorded 2 albums and 2 singles in France in the 1970s, on CBS records. Only recently, these "Live" tapes surfaced, displaying their even wilder and crazier performances! Edited and mastered by original MORMOS member, Ernie Mansfield.

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1.	There Is a River / Forever Seventh Loved Time 03:19	lyrics	buy track
THERE IS A RIVER There is a river runs through you Whose water is love Whose banks are the shores of your mind And the name of the river is life The water is yours, freely given If you let it freely pass But if you dam the river, Slow the flow, Expand the banks, And make yourself a lake For men to wonder at, Be certain to make spillways (Wide and generous) And see that they’re kept clean Otherwise, the river swells And bursts the dam And your private lake becomes A sea of public mud Without your help or with it Life will flow, The river will run. FOREVER SEVENTH LOVED TIME I’d like to live in sunshine Beside tall and rocky mountains Where the air is clean and biting And smells of strength and pine trees. I would like to know forever The feel of freezing free streams, To know the strong true seasons Where snow is hard and sun is close forever. And I’d like to see the green below Up here where I can feel and sing As deep and loud or soft and low Where I can run and laugh and cry Among the clouds that always fly In storms or in clear weather For there is where I’d take my love So it could be completely fine forever. I’d share my love of brightness And my heart among the rocks and pines I’d sing for him a love song Of life and all its splendor. There Is A River Words: Michael Hanks Music: Ernie Mansfield © Windsailor Music (BMI) Forever Seventh Loved Time Words: Kathi Bennett Music: James Cuomo © Pigeon Music This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00002
2.	Big Sugar Plantation 03:08	lyrics	buy track
I thought I’d found a new career, Loll around and feed the birds That come in from the sea, That’s alright with me. But I found my calculations wrong, There is no beach, no birds, That hover up above You can’t be free, Why must if happen to me? Cuz I’ve been working on that Big Sugar Plantation in the Sky Big Sugar Plantation in the Sky Big Sugar Plantation in the Sky Escape from here, go somewhere new, Where people care about The songs you sing and naturally agree, That’s the way it should be. There’s no escape when you’re a fool, Who thinks whatever happens, Happens because it’s meant to be. All you’ll find is misery. Cuz I’ve been working on that Big Sugar Plantation in the Sky Big Sugar Plantation in the Sky Big Sugar Plantation in the Sky Words & Music: James Cuomo © Pigeon Music (BMI) This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00011
3.	Doves Are White 02:04	lyrics	buy track
Doves are white Pigeons grey What a sad day. Doves Are White Words & Music: James Cuomo, Elliott Delman © Pigeon Music (BMI) This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00005
4.	St. Ives 03:15	lyrics	buy track
A woman with a hunk of wool Two penguins A man with a drum Has anyone been to St. Ives? Has anyone been to St. Ives? Words: Tobia Taylor & James Cuomo Music: James Cuomo © Pigeon Music This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00007
5.	Good Friday Spell 02:44	lyrics	buy track
Good Friday Spell, tonight, tonight, tonight, Good Friday Spell, tonight, tonight, tonight, Your golden suited knights ride their somber elephants through the sky, tonight Reaching far above the unexpected skies, tonight, tonight. Good Friday Spell, tonight, tonight, tonight, Good Friday Spell, tonight, tonight, tonight. Dead living trash made beautiful tonight, tonight In the thin braids of sweet green smoke tonight, tonight. That gather above your head as a halo Gather above your head as a halo. Words & Music: Jim Cuomo © Pigeon Music This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00009
6.	Paranoid Nightdream 02:43	lyrics	buy track
Frozen in my bed I hear the drunken night hunters Howling down the mountain, With their hound dogs mauling In the cold moonlight They jump past the distance Of the hills Their coal oil lamps Shoot white and yellow flashes through my head And flush the prowlers hiding there I run The hounds behind me sound like Lumps of flesh are catching in their maws I run The hunters yelp and follow hard I run I choose my death through barbs and branches Broken tree trunks, almost yelling from the joy I run, four-footed, small, important me I feel the bark caught in my claws I climb into the screaming brilliance Of the topmost limb and laugh at God I am free to raid the night, and dance behind my mask The hunters crowd the trees, Their flashlights glaring up to blind the moon I cannot move The echo of a gunshot Moves around the corners of the farthest hill To report the end of some insignificant thing. Words: Michael Hanks Music: James Cuomo © Pigeon Music This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00006
7.	Homeside 03:48	lyrics	buy track
My brother carried me, naked in naked arms, to the deep side of the tank. He said I'd learn to swim, I said Nossirree! He said he'd hold me up- I said I bet he would. He said he'd throw me in, I'd have to swim. But I was certain I would drown or else be eaten up by snakes; so I invoked the magic spell of Mother's wrath and made him take me Homeside, Home is where the heart is Homeside, Home is where the heart is Later, though, I had to swim and floundered badly, The arms that held me up were not my brother's and I touched bottom on the far side from home. Words: Michael Hanks Music: Ernie Mansfield © Windsailor Music (BMI) This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00012
8.	Great Wall of China 04:06	lyrics	buy track
Where the great wall of China meets the ground, A man can stand and know mountain beyond And brick beside and, ignorant of how it cause or when, Can recognize the hand of brother man. Where the great wall of China meets the ground, A man can stand and know mountain beyond And even this mountain is walked by shepherds and yeti. Words: Tobia Taylor Music: James Cuomo © Pigeon Music This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00004
9.	RIT Yellow 06:26	lyrics	buy track
The RIT yellow of the sun The RIT yellow of the sun The RIT yellow of the sun Splashes across the arena. Soaking up the bullfight Soaking up the bullfight Soaking up the bullfight An animated travel poster. The bull fighting for room to die From an unclean kill. The crowd displeased The matador swearing blue satin. But the bull But the bull But the bull Had found a way to die a week ago. Words: Deborah Cuomo Music: Jim Cuomo © Pigeon Music This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00003
10.	Deep River Blues 04:03	lyrics	buy track
Let it rain, let it pour, let it rain a whole lot more 'Cause I got them deep river blues Let the rain drive right on, let the waves sweep along 'Cause I got them deep river blues My old gal's a good old pal, and she looks like a water fowl When I get them deep river blues Ain't no one to cry for me, and the fish all go out on a spree When I get them deep river blues Give me back my old boat, I'm gonna sail if she'll float 'Cause I got them deep river blues I'm goin' back to Muscle Shoals, times are better there I'm told 'Cause I got them deep river blues Let it rain, let it pour, let it rain a whole lot more 'Cause I got them deep river blues Let the rain drive right on, let the waves sweep along 'Cause I got them deep river blues If my boat sinks with me, I'll go down, don't you see 'Cause I got them deep river blues Now I'm gonna say goodbye, and if I sink, just let me die 'Cause I got them deep river blues Let it rain, let it pour, let it rain a whole lot more 'Cause I got them deep river blues Let the rain drive right on, let the waves sweep along 'Cause I got them deep river blues Words & Music: Doc Watson © Downtown Dlj Songs o/b/o Budde Music Inc. This sound recording © 2022 Windsailor Music ISRC number: QZ-T7X-22-00001

about

MORMOS was formed by a group of American musicians in the 1970s. Led by Jim Cuomo, they emigrated from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), to Paris, France, where they were awarded a recording contract on CBS. Prior to this, Jim Cuomo had worked with John Cage; had already toured Russia with the Illinois Jazz Band; had led an electric rock band, The Spoils of War; and had been music director of the avant-garde LaMaMa Theatre in NYC. Collectively, all the musicians had backgrounds in classical, folk, jazz, and rock. MORMOS ended up being labelled as “psychedelic folk”, since they were an acoustic group, but with trippy lyrics, and a lot of improvisation. No two performances were ever the same, as you will hear in these recordings, if you already own the studio albums!

MORMOS had two albums and two singles on CBS. But these “live” recordings have never been released before. And although they are not as pristine as studio recordings (you can hear audience noises), they capture the true spirit of the group. Additionally, there are new songs never released before. I hope you enjoy them!

The other members of the group include Elliott Delman, Annie Hat, Ernie Mansfield, and Sandy Spencer. Previous to departing for Paris, Elliott and Ernie had recorded with Dan Fogelberg, a fellow Illinois colleague. Annie Hat had been lead singer with Spoils of War, and Head East.

After Mormos, Jim continued a solo career in Paris, becoming a sought-after session musician and performer. Elliott, Annie, and Ernie later went on to play with the SkyFarmer band in Chicago, and later, they formed “Rokko and the Hat” (minus Ernie who moved to San Francisco). Elliott was also accompanist for Bonnie Koloc for many years. Ernie later became a session musician in the San Francisco area, and also released several albums on Windsailor Music.

Dan Fogelberg (from Live at Carnegie Hall):
“This is a song that a very dear friend of mine wrote - his name is Elliott Delman - he’s a very funny man . . . Elliott used to play in a band called Mormos . . . and lived in Paris, France, for a while . . . and had a very unusual group of musicians in it . . . this lady who played the cello, some said she was the “Jimi Hendrix” of the cello . . “

credits

released April 4, 2022

Musicians:

Jim Cuomo: soprano sax, clarinet, domra, vocals
Elliott Delman: guitar, vocals
Annie the Hat: lead vocals
Ernest Mansfield: flute, alto flute, harmonica, vocals, percussion
Sandy Spencer: vocals, cello

Credits:

Production: Ernest Mansfield
Recording: Thierry deSmedt
Arrangements: Mormos
Cover Design: Ernest Mansfield
Publishing: See individual songs; for inquiries, contact Windsailor Music, PO Box 737, Berkeley, CA 94701. ernie@mansfieldmusic.com
Special thanks to Jake Riviera, manager
Editing & re-mastering by Ernest Mansfield
Sound recording ©2022 Windsailor Music
Catalog Number: WM 011

This album is dedicated to the memory of Jim Cuomo, Elliott Delman, and Sandy Spencer.

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Mormos Paris, France

In the 70s, a US group, led by James Cuomo, moved from Champaign, Illinois, to Paris, France; made 4 recordings with CBS- France; & performed in France, Switzerland, Belgium & Holland; an original brand of music now known as “psychedelic folk". These are the highest quality re-masters available, including Live never-released material. STAY TUNED FOR MORE!! ... more

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