''Motor-Cycle'' is the debut album by singer-songwriter
Lotti Golden
Lotti Golden (born November 27, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, poet and artist. Golden is best known for her 1969 debut album '' Motor-Cycle'', on Atlantic Records.
Winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for songwriting and RI ...
released on Atlantic Records in 1969. The album is a semiautobiographical account of Golden's immersion in the life of New York's LES and East Village, written in music & lyrics because, according to Golden, "a book is too flat.” "Hentoff, Nat (July, 1969) "Cosmo Listens to Records". Cosmopolitan, p.74. Motor-Cycle describes the underground world of the late Sixties counterculture, “down to the last seconal capsule.”David Edwards, Patrice Eyries, and Mike Callahan "Atlantic Album Discography, Part 5" 8000 Series (1968-1972) SD-8198 to SD- 8305
Music and lyrics
Musically, ''Motor-Cycle'' is a synthesis of
stream of consciousness
In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First L ...
confessional poetry, R&B infused vocals and a "sometimes satiric mélange of rock, jazz, blues and soul".Barry, Thomas (Sept 9, 1969). "The Salty Socking Soul of Lotti Golden". '' Look'', pp. 76,76,78 The album was composed by Golden as memoir recounting the time she spent in New York's East Village.Saal, Hubert (July 14, 1969). " The Girl's-Letting Go". Newsweek, pp. 68,71. describing the underground world of the late ‘60s with lyrics that evoke "a Kerouac novel." Golden's coming of age saga is likely the first rock
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Some ...
by a female recording artist. On an album of "restlessly epic roadhouse suites"PATH ( May 29, 2008). 196 "Lotti Golden- Motor-Cycle" Delorean, Tiny Mix Tapes Golden uses the story-based format, featuring a cast of archetypal characters while playing the part of "emcee" of her own "aberrant cabaret."
Critical reception
''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' hailed Golden as a new breed of female troubadour—an artist who not only sings, but writes her own songs: "What is common to them -- to
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...
and Lotti Golden, to
Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' music critic
Nat Hentoff
Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. Fo ...
, who said in 1970, "It's an extraordinary evocation of a life-style... and one girl's plunge into and out of it." ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' critic
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
was less impressed, giving it a "D+" in his consumer guide Motor-Cycle tlantic, 1969“I don't like this myself, but I also don't like Laura Nyro. If you do, you might glance at the lyrics on the back of the jacket.”
‘‘Motor-Cycle’’ continues to be referenced as a groundbreaking album as in a 2017 piece in
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
referencing the seminal female singer songwriters of the Sixties. Golden's song, from the LP, “Get Together (With Yourself)” appeared on the 2022
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...
TV miniseries and soundtrack,
Pam & Tommy
''Pam & Tommy'' is an American biographical drama miniseries chronicling the marriage between actress Pamela Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, played by Lily James and Sebastian Stan, respectively, during the period their unauthoris ...
.https://www.nylon.com HULU ENTERTAINMENT
“EVERY SONG FEATURED ON HULU'S 'PAM & TOMMY' SOUNDTRACK”
In a retrospective review, music critic Path, of
Tiny Mix Tapes
''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...
, said how ''Motor-Cycle'' plays like a musical, transporting the listener to the late 60's underground: "Golden gets help on ''Motor-Cycle'' from an impeccably arranged Atlantic Records session band... with a flawless, swinging rhythm team. Then, at key moments, the curtain goes up and they've got rows of saxes, trumpets, vibes...and you begin to realize that this is not the same song and dance... it's as if The
Velvet Underground
Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
recorded for
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
."
Track listing
*All songs written by Lotti Golden, except track 5 (Golden/Bob Crewe). Copyright Saturday Music.
#"Motor-cycle Michael" 8:14
#"Gonna Fay's" 8:31
#"A Lot Like Lucifer (Celia Said Long Time Loser)" 6:32
#"The Space Queens (Silky is Sad)" 7:21
#"Who Are Your Friends" 5:52
#"Get Together (With Yourself)" 5:36
#"You Can Find Him" 5:13