At this rather late hour, I am all but ready to retreat to dream land, such is the weariness of my mind and body this evening. As if by magic (and always when you need it the most) I was listening to a random playlist earlier and the opening song was from Eden Ahbez. The rest of the playlist was nothing like this first track, but all I needed was this prompt – I’ve not listened to this album for a long time and I couldn’t thing of anything more perfect to end the day!
It was four years ago when I first discovered Eden Ahbez and what a wonderful and completely enchanting moment that was! I remain enchanted!
To save my weary head, I have copied and pasted the post from December 2020, so I hope you find the spell of Eden Ahbez as bewitching as me? I have also included below the playlist of the 60th-Anniversary Edition of Eden’s Island: The music of an Enchanted Isle – this record includes some previously unreleased tracks!
Music is escapism. This is one of the reasons I get so lost for so many hours every night; I disappear into a sonic rabbit hole and emerge many hours later. It’s bliss! Eden’s Island not only presents the opportunity to steal away a few precious moments, it also offers solace, enchantment and a place to return to any time you need to be free.
Eden’s Island (The Music Of An Enchanted Isle) was the 1960 debut album for George Alexander Aberle, a.k.a Eden Ahbez, an American beat poet, composer, songwriter and recording artist of the 1940’s-1960’s. Born in 1908, he passed in 1995 and became known as the original ‘hippie’, living an even more consistent dropout and hippie lifestyle way before the movement was born in the mid 60s! Ahbez was at one point camping out below the first ‘L’ in the Hollywood sign above L.A and spent many years studying Oriental mysticism. He slept outdoors with his family and ate vegetables, fruits, and nuts. He claimed to live on three dollars per week, though I dare say that all changed as his fame grew! Known simply as Ahbe, his lifestyle in California became very influential on the hippie movement, but that is no surprise given that he was the ultimate free spirit!
Another important detail to include about this fascinating artist was his composition and writing of a song that I’ve loved for many years! Originally released in 1948 by Nat King Cole, Nature Boy was actually penned and composed by Ahbez in 1947! The song became a #1 hit for eight weeks in 1948 for Nat “King” Cole and has since become a pop and jazz standard!
La Mar is one of the original songs from his debut album and I love how it reaches into your head and sculpts many an image, captivating images and scenes that each mind will perceive in its own way….Enjoy!
Listen above and check out the rest of the album (and more) below….
thelisteningpostblog.wordpress.com 