In 1970, at the age of 20, Alicia Bay Laurel saw her first book published, a guide to bohemian country living completely handwritten and illustrated with her line drawings, which she created while living at a hippie commune in Northern California. Living On The Earth hit the New York Times Bestseller List the following year, sold over 350,000 copies, and influenced thousands to live closer to nature and make things from scratch.
In 2000, the book was published again in a 30th anniversary revised edition, and Alicia, now a professional musician, drove around the United States in a van for eight months, singing the songs she wrote alongside the original book at her booksignings. This CD is Alicia singing her songs, which richly evoke the spirit of the period much as the book does.
Alicia learned the open tunings she plays on guitar directly from John Fahey, who was married to her cousin Jan Lebow when Alicia was in her 'teens. West coast jazz also filled her ears growing up in Los Angeles, and some songs evidence this influence as well. The lyrics reflect a love of all things spiritual and natural, of honesty, freedom, simplicity and gratitude. The final piece is a choral rendition of the first piece by the Occidental Community Choir, arranged by Alicia's longtime friend and musical mentor, Ramon Sender, the co-author of the sequel book, Being of the Sun.
Track 6, "Rinpoche," is a jazz waltz tribute to the late Kalu Rinpoche, a meditation master from the Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism, who Alicia met in 1976, while he was establishing a Tibetan Buddhist center on Maui.
The photo of Alicia at age 22, playing a bamboo flute, was taken in 1971, shortly after the publication of the second edition of her book, Living on the Earth.
Listen to Thanksgiving Hymn
Lyrics from Music From Living on the Earth
Reviews of Music From Living on the Earth
Production Notes for Music From Living on the Earth
In 2000, the book was published again in a 30th anniversary revised edition, and Alicia, now a professional musician, drove around the United States in a van for eight months, singing the songs she wrote alongside the original book at her booksignings. This CD is Alicia singing her songs, which richly evoke the spirit of the period much as the book does.
Alicia learned the open tunings she plays on guitar directly from John Fahey, who was married to her cousin Jan Lebow when Alicia was in her 'teens. West coast jazz also filled her ears growing up in Los Angeles, and some songs evidence this influence as well. The lyrics reflect a love of all things spiritual and natural, of honesty, freedom, simplicity and gratitude. The final piece is a choral rendition of the first piece by the Occidental Community Choir, arranged by Alicia's longtime friend and musical mentor, Ramon Sender, the co-author of the sequel book, Being of the Sun.
Track 6, "Rinpoche," is a jazz waltz tribute to the late Kalu Rinpoche, a meditation master from the Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism, who Alicia met in 1976, while he was establishing a Tibetan Buddhist center on Maui.
The photo of Alicia at age 22, playing a bamboo flute, was taken in 1971, shortly after the publication of the second edition of her book, Living on the Earth.
Listen to Thanksgiving Hymn
Lyrics from Music From Living on the Earth
Reviews of Music From Living on the Earth
Production Notes for Music From Living on the Earth