Drummer Jerry Marotta and bassist Tony Levin are both best known for their work as members of Peter Gabriel's band; Steve Gorn is less famous, but legendary in woodwind circles as a virtuoso player of various ethnic flutes and a regular collaborator with avant-garde flute maestro Robert Dick. To record this album, the three set up recording equipment (with the expert help of engineer Tchad Blake) in the cavernous Widow Jane Mine in upstate New York. The resulting music is, as one might expect, haunting, beautiful and prodigiously reverberant. Levin alternates between electric and upright bass and the Chapman Stick (a 12-stringed instrument designed to be played simultaneously as a bass and as a guitar); Marotta spends most of his time on subdued ethnic percussion instruments, focusing primarily on a set of handcrafted drums from Taos, NM; Gorn plays clarinet and saxophone, but makes his most affecting sound on the Indian bansuri flute. For several tracks, Blake took his microphones out in a boat on the underground lake that fills much of the mine, and the resulting sound is difficult to describe and well worth hearing. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
From the Caves of the Iron Mountain is a music album by Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta and Steve Gorn released in 1997 on Papa Bear Records.
The album was recorded inside the Widow Jane Mine in the Catskill Mountains, New York by Tchad Blake using a binaural microphone setup. The recording technique makes the album very enjoyable when listening with headphones.
The instruments featured on this album include Chapman Stick, NS electric upright bass, various reed and East Indian flute instruments, a range of percussion instruments and even a short passage of squeezebox played by Jerry Marotta.
Track listing
"Approching the Cavern" - 1:26
"Man Walking from A to B" - 3:40
"In the Caves of the Iron Mountain" - 3:35
"Drumming on Water" - 3:30
"Devil's Kitchen" - 3:50
"Shakers in Five" - 3:54
"Glass Beads" - 3:26
"Joyous Lake" - 2:35
"Catskill Gallery" - 8:06
"Shepherd's song" - 3:37
"Catacombs" - 4:17
"Magic Meadow" - 3:44
"The Widow Jane Mine" - 3:11
"Squeeze Box" - 1:02
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