Track Listings
| 1. Island of Dreams |
| 2. Grooving in Chi |
| 3. Summer Lover |
| 4. Daughter of Love |
| 5. Abide with Me |
| 6. Blues for Katherine |
| 7. The Fulcrum of Bemadhi |
| 8. Christine |
| 9. What Would Alice Do? |
| 10. Parasol |
| 11. Waiting for a Thought |
| 12. Alkali Sunset |
Editorial Reviews
About the Artist
Berkeley, California-based songwriter Gordon Whiting describes himself as a pop composer in the tradition of Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael and Van Dyke Parks. His latest CD, Blues for Katherine, reflects a wide range of literary and musical influences, and showcases his fondness for harmonic surprise against a rock'n'roll beat.
Gordon began his musical studies at age 8 in Los Angeles. Under instructor Tom Carvey III, a guitarist with Judy Collins, he developed the fundamentals of voice with guitar accompaniment. Later, when his family moved to Singapore, Gordon was exposed to eclectic musical traditions that included Chinese Opera, Gamelan, Raga and British Music Hall. Continuing his studies under Brian Leonard, a musician formerly with the British Army Band in Malaya, Gordon received training in theory and composition. At age 14 he began leading jazz and rock ensembles at the Singapore American School, playing at school dances and local clubs.
At age 16 Gordon organized a seven-piece rock ensemble called the Sequoia Band that recorded an LP, entitled Home Again. The album included four of his original songs. The following year he directed the school musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, leading a cast, choir and band numbering more than 100 members. In 1977, while attending San Francisco State University, he co-founded, with Geoffrey Blaisdell, the pioneering socio-comic punk band Death Army. The band's first record, Tourist Attraction, made the San Francisco Bay Area playlists and sales charts, and was favorably reviewed in BAM magazine by Howie Klein, later president of Reprise-Warner Records.
Gordon composed and produced many independent recordings during the 1980's, including the guitar instrumental Spice Island, which Reverb Central magazine called "…gentle, inspired, and very nice for a hot summer afternoon drive down the coast…great to have." In 1991 he produced the soundtrack for the documentary film Season, Symbol and Heritage, and continued working with a variety of engineers and musicians to expand his range of musical understanding. Standout projects during this period included chamber music recordings with The Fidelio Quartet and polyphony recordings with the Stanford Early Music Chorale.
Blues for Katherine is Gordon's first full CD release as a solo artist. The twelve songs on the album run from the personal to the political. The title song, Blues for Katherine, is about grief and coping after the sudden death of a beloved sister. The single Grooving in Chi (co-written with Dr. Strangelove screenwriter Terry Southern) is about the 1968 Democratic Convention. Other songs include Summer Lover, about a 1930's-era romance in San Francisco, and Waiting for a Thought, about ditching a mundane job for a life of meaning.
Product Description
Twisted rock'n'roll songwriting in the tradition of Randy Newman, Richard Thompson and Lindsay Buckingham.
Blues for Katherine,Gordon Whiting,Basic Songs,A classic ensemble of vocals, Telecaster, Hammond B-3, bass & drums, rocking through the 1968 student riots, romance in Depression-era San Francisco, lonesome highway breakdowns and irreconcilable loss of love.,Rock/Pop
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