The Lost Philip Glass Sessions (RSD 21)

The Raybeats went in to Green St. Recording on June 4, 1982 with Philip Glass, Michael Riesman, and Kurt Munkacsi without really knowing what to expect. We wouldn’t know what we had until thirty years later. The Raybeats handle the A sections and Philip arranged the keyboards for the B sections. The ride out is a hypnotic swirl of groove and interlocking keyboard figures played by long time Philp Glass Ensemble member Michael Riesman. A Sad Little Caper started with a riff from Danny Amis. Pat plays the melody and Philip arranged the song with a call and response figure on the keyboard. The song would end up on the Raybeats second LP, It’s Only A Movie, in a completely different form. The name of the song came from an off handed comment that guitar great Bob Quine made about the Raybeats, “a sad little band….” Quine was a friend and lasting influence. The last song we recorded was Jack The Ripper. The Raybeats’ was pretty much in place by the time Philip got his hands on it. It’s one of the great guitar instrumentals, originally recorded by Link Wray of Rumble fame. There wasn’t much to add to this one, it was already filled up with sheets of Jody Harris guitar feedback and a driving beat, but Philip gives it a pulse that drives the song in to new territory.