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Music / Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Jajouka

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bc64058cc26a824fbcb657575d8a8340.jpg
The original album cover.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5200819a93f287430cc06f763b23cc1c.jpg
The CD reissue cover.

Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Jajouka note  is an album recorded by Brian Jones in 1968. Because Jones, who was best known as a founding member of The Rolling Stones, died two years prior to its 1971 release, it's notable for being his only recording made apart from the band (aside from his soundtrack for the 1967 film A Degree Of Murder).

Interestingly enough it's not a rock album, but a collaboration with the Moroccan ensemble the Master Musicians of Jajouka, who play traditional Sufi music. Jones was introduced to the group by painter-novelist Brion Gysin and author Paul Bowles, who often spent time in Morocco. He liked the music and recorded it on a portable tape recorder. Back in London he trimmed the length of these hours-long mesmerising and hypnotic songs and added stereo phasing, echo and other effects. Apart from that he kept the music as authentic as possible, refraining from performing on it himself. So it's really more a Master Musicians of Jajouka album than a Brian Jones album.

The album is significant for bringing North African and Middle Eastern music to the attention of the rest of the world. Even renowned jazz musician Ornette Coleman came to discover the Master Musicians of Joujouka thanks to this record and incorporated their sounds on his own albums. The Stones themselves invited the Master Musicians of Jajouka featuring Bachir Attar to record the track "Continental Drift" for their Steel Wheels album in 1989 — two decades after the passing of Jones. It's also an early predecessor of Trance music.


Tracklist:

Side One
  1. "55 (Hamsa Oua Hamsine)" (0:58)
  2. "War Song/Standing + One Half (Kaim Oua Nos)" (2:22)
  3. "Take Me With You, Darling, Take Me With You (Dinimaak A Habibi Dinimaak)" (8:05)
  4. "Your Eyes are Like a Cup of Tea (Al Yunic Sharbouni Ate)" (10:34)

Side Two

  1. "I Am Calling Out (L'Afta)" (5:54)
  2. "Your Eyes are Like a Cup of Tea (Reprise)" (18:05)


Principal Members:

  • Ahmed El Attar - drums
  • Ahmed Bouhsini - rhaita, lira
  • Abdelslam Boukhzar - vocals, drums
  • Abdelslam Dahnoun - drum, rhaita, lira
  • Abdelslam Errtoubi - rhaita, lira
  • El Hadj - vocals, clapping
  • Muckthar Jagdhal - vocals, drums
  • Brian Jones - sound effects
  • Mohamed Mokhchan - rhaita, lira
  • Mujehid Mujdoubi - lira


The Tropes Of Pan:

  • Covers Always Lie: Brian Jones does not appear on the record, even if he is the producer.
  • Crossover: Brian Jones meets the Master Musicians Of Jajouka, even though he doesn't actually perform with them.
  • Cut Short: Some pieces are broken off rather abruptly.
  • Design Student's Orgasm: The album cover features Middle Eastern drawing and calligraphy.
  • Drone of Dread: The chanting drones can sometimes have a haunting effect on the listener.
  • Epic Rocking: All tracks are very long and fade into each other making the entire album one epic long piece. And normally this music can go on for far longer, so this record only gives listeners a small impression of how epic these chants can be in real life.
  • Fading into the Next Song: All tracks fade into each other. At some points one can notice that another track starts, but most of the time it's all one continuous musical experience.
  • God-Is-Love Songs: The music was performed at the annual Rites of Pan festival in Morocco.
  • Live Album: The performance is live, with some editing and additions of psychedelic effects.
  • Longest Song Goes Last: The album closes out with the 18-minute "Your Eyes are Like a Cup of Tea (Reprise)".
  • Meaningful Rename: The CD version changed the last word in the title from "Joujouka" to "Jajouka" to avoid confusion with another Moroccan band who have the exact same name, except for a differently spelled version of the word.
  • No Title: The original liner notes on the album didn't provide any titles. The CD-reissue added them.
  • One-Book Author: This is Brian Jones's only officially released solo album and it doesn't even feature him!
  • Posthumous Collaboration: Subverted by the fact that all of it was recorded in 1968, but Brian Jones's death a year later interrupted a possible release, which was postponed until 1971.
  • Record Producer: Brian Jones.
  • Re-Cut: The original LP release was sequenced as two untitled, side-length tracks; CD releases sequences them as separate tracks with actual names.
  • Regional Riff: In one way or another this entire album might be one.
  • The Show Must Go Wrong: At some points we hear people coughing and scratching their throat during the performance. Outside we can vaguely hear a dog bark during that moment. The dog inside the room where the music is recorded at one point barks back, but is shushed. These were not intended to be on the recording, but Jones kept them in anyway.
  • Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Despite Brian Jones being credited in the title he doesn't sing or perform on this album. His only additions are the phaser effects and the production. Yet it is safe to assume that many rock fans would otherwise never have listened to this album if his name wasn't on the cover.
  • Solo Side Project: Jones worked on this album while still being a part of the Stones.
  • Spell My Name With An S: The original album title is "Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka". The 1995 CD reissue changed this last word into Jajouka, because there are two Moroccan folk music groups who call themselves under a similar name, one being the "Master Musicians of Jajouka" whose music was recorded by Brian Jones, the other "Master Musicians of Joujouka", who are unrelated. To avoid confusion the title was altered to the name the band uses nowadays: The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar.
  • World Music: All tracks are Moroccan Folk Music and sang in Moroccan, but there are some Psychedelic Rock influences, added by Jones afterwards.

Alternative Title(s): Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan At Joujouka

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