- Popeye - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album · 1980
- The Brave Little Toaster · 2005
- Popeye - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album · 1980
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Music from the Film) [Deluxe Edition] · 2011
- The Brave Little Toaster · 2005
- Popeye - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album · 1980
- Popeye - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album · 1980
- Song Cycle · 1967
- Enjoy Every Sandwich - The Songs of Warren Zevon · 2004
- Discover America · 1972
- Orange Crate Art · 1995
- Popeye - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album · 1980
- Old Summer Reckoning - Single · 2021
Essential Albums
- On Song Cycle (1967), Van Dyke Parks creates his own micro-genre: psychedelic cinematic folk-pop. His debut album is a densely-woven sonic tapestry, blending bits of old-time movie themes, patriotic marches, Cole Porter-style cabaret tunes, sea chanteys, tangos and just about everything else from the Western musical tradition. The results are heady, confusing and often exhilarating — beneath all of his cleverness, Parks reveals a droll sense of humor and a real love for his American heritage. Adding to the dazzling swirl of his music are his complex, pun-filled lyrics, with tilted portraits of city-bound country boys (“The All Golden”), Hollywood gadabouts (“Palm Desert”) and nostalgic dreamers (“The Attic”). Especially charming is his reworking of Donovan’s “Colours” into a polychromatic instrumental suite. Hints of social commentary peek out of “Widow’s Walk” and “By The People,” though you have to listen hard to catch them amidst the odd arrangements. The album takes some effort to get into — and needless to say, it wasn’t a commercial success. But this rich soufflé of sweet melodies, cryptic words and quirky orchestrations is truly like no other musical work of the last 40 years. Song Cycle is quite a ride.
Albums
- 2019
- 1967
Singles & EPs
Live Albums
Appears On
About Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is regarded as one of the most talented and admired behind-the-scenes figures in rock and pop from the mid-'60s onward. His work often shows a deep refinement and sophistication, revealing an encyclopedic understanding of American musical vernacular and sounds from around the world. While he's best known for writing the lyrics for many of the songs on the long-lost Beach Boys album SMiLE, he's worked with a variety of other artists as a producer, songwriter, arranger, and session musician. Although he's fared better working for others than recording on his own, Song Cycle (1968) is regarded as an orchestral pop masterpiece, while the Caribbean experiments of Discover America (1972), the film music anthology Super Chief: Music for the Silver Screen (2013), and his exploration of Latin sounds in ¡Spangled! (2019) are fine examples of what he can do when given full rein.
- BORN
- 1943
- GENRE
- Pop