New York, NY (Top40 Charts) October 14 will see the release of the studio recording of Carl Sandburg�s
Chicago Poems, a new project from Brooklyn singer/musician/composer
David Nagler. A song cycle created out of 16 Carl Sandburg poems, the record features a host of guests hailing from or associated with Chicago, including
Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Robbie Fulks, Jon Langford & Sally Timms of the Mekons,
Kelly Hogan,
Daniel Knox and more.
Today Nagler has shared a new video for the album's lead track "Chicago." As Nagler explains, the video �combines archival footage of
Chicago in the early 20th century (when the text for Carl Sandburg�s poem was written and published) with footage from the recording of the
Chicago Poems album and the project�s first live performances... In the writing, arranging, and recording of this song, I wanted to evoke the time period that the archival footage comes from." The video is currently streaming via Popmatters.
Vulture recently premiered "Theme In Yellow," featuring vocals from Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. The track was subsequently spotlighted by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound and others. Nagler later shared the lead track "
Chicago" with The Atlantic. �That song in particular, there had to be a sincerity to that in order for it to work," says Nagler. "There�s a lot of sarcasm and bite to his words, but the earnestness of his sentiment in the poetry is evident.�
The album was recorded in 2015 at a number of studios including The Magic Shop in NYC (where
David Bowie secretly recorded his last two records) and the
Wilco Loft in Chicago, with an 11-person ensemble comprised of musicians who have played with LCD Soundsystem, Bj�rk, D�Angelo, Pulp,
David Byrne & St. Vincent, Vampire Weekend, and others. The record was produced by Nagler and film composer Max Avery Lichtenstein (Jesus� Son, Tarnation), and co-arranged with Jon Natchez (The War on Drugs, Beirut).
Carl Sandburg�s collection
Chicago Poems was published 100 years ago in 1916. Including well-known poems like �Chicago� (�Hog Butcher for the World / Tool Maker / Stacker of Wheat�) and �Fog� (�The fog comes / on little cat feet�), the collection was highly-regarded for its style, topicality, and immediacy, and helped establish Sandburg as the �people�s poet.� Sandburg would go on to be known as the definitive Renaissance Man: poet, journalist, biographer, musician, and orator.
The album weaves together a variety of influences: folk music (Carl Sandburg was the compiler of the influential collection The American Songbag); American orchestral composers such as
Aaron Copland and Charles Ives; Americana pop singer/songwriters such as
David Ackles, Randy Newman, and Van Dyke Parks; and Chicago's still-thriving live music scene, where open-minded musicians intertwine rock, country, free jazz and countless other genres every night of the week.
Nagler is the musical director for
Wesley Stace�s Cabinet of Wonders at City Winery, where he has played with over 100 different artists including Rosanne Cash,
Aaron Neville, Fred Armisen, Steve Earle, and Andrew Bird. He was the �feral choir� conductor and arranger for the Mekons on their new album/book/video Existentialism. He is also the host of The Oracle Show at NYC piano bar Sid Gold's Request Room, and the founder and frontperson of NY metropolitan area pop group Nova Social.
Track List:
1) Chicago
2) Lost
3) Happiness - vocals by Sally Timms
4) Mag
5) Personality
6) Fog
7) Killers
8) Limited
9) Under a Hat Rim - vocals by Jon Langford
10) Child of the Romans - vocals by
Daniel Knox
11) Under the Harvest Moon - vocals & arrangement by Robbie Fulks
12) Nocturne in a Deserted Brickyard
13) Theme in Yellow - vocals by Jeff Tweedy
14) Child - vocals by The Cornhuskers: Gerald Dowd,
James Elkington,
Kelly Hogan, Chris Mills, Nora O�Connor, and Deanna Varagona
15) Gone
16) Under a Telephone Pole
All other vocals by
David Nagler.
Upcoming Shows:
9/30: New York, NY -
Wesley Stace's Cabinet of Wonders @ City Winery
10/16: New York, NY - Joe's Pub (Record Release Show)
10/27: Chicago, IL - Poetry Day @
Chicago Public Library
