Wax The Van

I have been on a huge "Arthur Russell kick" lately, and I know what your saying, when am I not on a "Arthur Russell kick"? Well your point might be right, but, when was listening to AR over and over again a bad thing? Never. Point Exactly.

In 1985 Arthur worked on a dance based project in the guise of "Wax the Van", which featured Bob Blank's (a hugely prolific engineer and producer who worked on most of Arthur's musical projects) wife Lola on vocal duties. The song was written for Lola's solo record, which consisted of Arthur, who wrote the song, played keyboards, programmed drums, and added vocals were needed during the actual recording of the song. After many renditions of the song Lola's Wax the Van 12-inch finally saw the light of day and was released by Jump Street Records in 1987 with a good amount of commercial success, especially in the clubs.

This has been one of my personal favorites, especially of all the projects that Arthur has worked on besides his solo efforts. I can honestly say that I probably listen to this song three times a day for that past month.

I will also leave you with two other amazing renditions of "Treehouse". One which was released off Arthur Russell's 1986 ground breaking avant-garde solo World of Echo, which is basically Arthur singing and playing the cello. While an alternate, more dance version of the song with the slightly different title "Schoollbell/Treehouse", was released under the alias Indian Ocean, which was produced by both Arthur and Peter Zummo, who is also known for his work with Arthur on many occassions through his musical lifetime. This version was also released in 1986 by Sleeping Bag Records. Both versions have there own unique qualities and really help show the diverse sounds that Arthur experimented with musically.

Lola - Wax The Van
Arthur Russell - Treehouse
Indian Ocean - Schoollbell/Treehouse (Walter Gibbons Mix)