Van Dyke ParksBest Van Dyke Parks Albums Ranked
8.2
Avg Score
4
Opinions
4
Albums
3
Reviewers
Summary from 4 ratings
On Wavelength, fans have rated Van Dyke Parks's catalog across 4 albums from 4 opinions, with an overall average of 8.2/10. The top-rated Van Dyke Parks album is Song Cycle (1966) with a 8.5/10 average from 2 ratings, followed by Arrangements, Vol. 1 - EP and Songs Cycled. The discography on Wavelength spans 1966 to 2013.
Song Cycle
“Last year, the seminal American composer and arranger put out Arrangements, Vol. 1 on his Bananastan label. He has now reissued 1968's towering Song Cycle, 1972's calypso-themed Discover America, and the 1975 songbook record Clang of the Yankee Reaper.”
Arrangements, Vol. 1 - EP
“The wonderful Arrangements, Vol. 1 draws on Parks' self-described "earliest studio adventures," featuring a dizzying cast of collaborators (Little Feat, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt singing calypso) with his unifying hand presiding over the collision of styles.”
Songs Cycled
“Van Dyke Parks' first new material in almost 20 years shows his kooky-genius orchestral Americana (see his work on Brian Wilson's Smile and Joanna Newsom's Ys) to be as inspired as ever. A companion to his 1968 head-turner, Song Cycle, conceived as a set of seven-inch singles, the LP shows his ear remains a melting pot: Opening with a Malagasy folk song, he sings of France with musette bagpipes ("”
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