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Bull in a China Cabinet | Opus 01

by Charles Brown, III

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1.
Bull in a China Cabinet 00:50
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2.
Emulation 06:21
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3.
Rock Suite 12:15
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4.
Sign of Sending 03:30
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5.
Diagnosis 19:47
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about

Up until 1979, everything I had composed were either songs for rock groups, composition exercises as a music major at the Cincinnati Conservatory, or perhaps some pity little original piece for a church service. Shortly after New Year’s in 1979 though, I decided to leave my rock group Tracer, (which I had founded with Curt Sellers in 1977) and pursue a solo album of all electronic music.

For years people had said that they observed that I handle life like a bull in a china cabinet. That seemed an appropriate title for my first “serious” work.I had written some pieces as a composition major at the Cincinnati Conservatory and I did start to work on a master’s degree at the same Conservatory, but I realized that I really wanted to pursue commercial music because it was more financially lucrative than being an arts composer. Yet I was drawn to creating this album as a bridge between my rock and roll song composer life and heading into my new career as a jingle and underscore composer.

Side One, (on a vinyl LP there were “sides” in those days) is mostly pop music; with the exception of the opening piece, the title track of the album itself. Remember disco was starting to influence pop music at this point in time and I was guilty as charged. Side Two, Diagnosis, was a reasonably serious work discussing — in musical terms — what I was dealing with in my 1978 episode with a kidney stone. That was my first of three kidney stone experiences, experiences I never want to again repeat. Yet those four days in the hospital strongly influenced the music on “side two” with this, my first opus. You can read the liner notes to see the now “legacy” synthesizers I used. There is an acoustic piano on Sign of Sending, and there is a live saxophone player who appears at the very end of the work. Other than that, it was all produced on the very best electronic equipment that I could muster together at that time between 1979 and 1981.

It is interesting to me that, although this work is nearly 40 years old, it has appeared on the Internet in multiple places: it has been pirated by other users who have placed it on SoundCloud and other venues. Some of them credit me as the composer; some of them have no idea who wrote this. I assure you; it was I who composed Bull in a China Cabinet. I am indebted to those credited who helped me to produce this recording, artwork, mastering, and marketing. It’s certainly not a refined composition, but it is my first opus of some merit.

credits

released June 10, 1981

Written, produced, and engineered on the E-Mu 16 voice micro-processor keyboard.

Recorded from April 1979 to October 1981 at Audiocraft Recording Company and Fracture Electronic Music, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Track B5, thanks to L.A. Saxman, Greg Butler

THE SCIENCE
E-Mu 16 voice micro-processor keyboard, 48 K Ram, full software, with disk drive.
Three Cabinets of Analog Modules
1 - Prophet 5, Rev 2
2 - Oberheim expander modules
3 - ARP 2600
One Steinway Piano, One Human Voice (Sign Of Sending)


Mastered By – Roger Cadle
Written-By, Producer, Engineer, Keyboards [E-Mu 16 Voice Micro-processor Keyboard] – Charles Brown (7)

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Charles Brown, III Chicago, Illinois

I am a 21st Century Music Composer living and working in Greater Nashville.

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