This double CD set came packaged in a clear case with almost no information about its creator, other than the concert recording dates and the vague promise of "New American Ethnic Music." Linked with figures such as
Yoko Ono and La Monte Young, and briefly a member of both the
Velvet Underground and the Fluxus art movement,
Flynt eventually retired from music for a career in philosophy. Beginning in the early '60s and ending roughly two decades later,
Flynt's musical odyssey was most certainly connected to "Old American Ethnic Music" in that there are seemingly endless references to hillbillies, hoedowns, white lightning, cowboys, and even lonesome train dreams. He was playing so-called "hillbilly electronic music" in 1975, and
Flynt's vision of such a phenomenon is not the
Charlie Daniels Band by any means. The two pieces featured on this set each takes up a full CD. "Celestial Power" was recorded in 1980, while "You Are My Everlovin'" comes from about a year later and was taped live at a New York City avant-garde music performance space.
Flynt's style on the violin is original and distinct, and these are virtuoso performances technically as well as in terms of concentration and focused energy. The earlier show is more of a drone, complete with Indian-style backgrounds. ~ Eugene Chadbourne