Dog Years in the Fourth Ring


Dog Years in the Fourth Ring is a compilation album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk featuring 2 CDs of previously unreleased live performances and Kirk's solo album Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata on the third disc. It was released on the 32 Jazz label in 1997.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek states "None of this material is substandard... The blues range is deep on many of these tracks, as is the entertainment value. Kirk was a performer as much as he was a musician, before and after the stroke. His lyric and harmonic sensibilities were deeply embedded in one another, and his way of crossing harmonic strategies was truly singular because it was so unorthodox... Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata is its own classic, and it deserved its own release apart from the package, but listeners will have to take what they can get. For this album alone, this package is worth the price". Writing for JazzTimes Bill Shoemaker noted "With few exceptions, the new material is engaging; heard in tandem with Kirk's daring real-time solo pieces, they flesh out a high-contrast portrait of this singular artist". In Jazz Review Lee Prosser observed "The live cuts from the 60's seem the most anachronistic on this set, being that they align more closely with bebop/hardbop tradition than the majority of the later performances. Still, Rahsaan's own brand of freedom was already exhibited. Indeed, the evolution over this set is from the relative conservatism of the 60's live material to the unique live-in-the-studio recordings of 1971". All About Jazz suggested "Overall, this box is a must for the Rahsaan fan. For the Rahsaan virgin, I'd suggest picking up We Free Kings, or the two-disc set Does Your House Have Lions first. But once you've gained an appreciation of Rahsaan, definitely, definitely pick this up. The gospel awaits all the true believers". Entertainment Weekly said "Kirk juggled musical genres as easily as he did a huge swath of saxophones and flutes, thumbing his nose good-naturedly as he dashed all notions of refinement and constriction".

Track listing

All compositions by Rahsaan Roland Kirk except as indicated.
Disc One:
  1. "Box Tops and Whistlin' Rings" - 0:19
  2. "Domino" - 5:04
  3. "Blues for Alice" - 6:18
  4. "I Remember Clifford" - 3:37
  5. "Freddie Freeloader" - 6:01
  6. "Lester Leaps In" - 5:32
  7. "Sister Sadie" - 5:03
  8. "One Mind/Seasons" - 4:41
  9. "I Say a Little Prayer" - 12:58
Disc Two:
  1. "Jammin' With a Wolf" - 0:25
  2. "Three for the Festival" - 3:53
  3. "Untitled Blues" - 7:23
  4. "Passion Dance" - 8:09
  5. "Petite Fleur" - 7:34
  6. "Giant Steps" - 4:13
  7. "Misterioso/Blue Monk" - 1:03
  8. "Rahsaantalk" - 0:25
  9. "Multi-Horn Medley: Satin Doll/Lover" - 6:18
  10. "Blacknuss" - 6:22
  • Recorded in Bremen, Germany, in 1964, Paris, France, in 1970 and 1972, unlisted location on April 10, 1972, Berlin, Germany, in 1973, Montreux, Switzerland, in 1975, and Pori, Finland, on July 10, 1975.
Disc Three:
  1. "Something for Trane That Trane Could Have Said" - 3:05
  2. "Island Cry" - 3:52
  3. "Runnin' from the Trash" - 2:12
  4. "Day Dream" - 3:40
  5. "The Ragman and the Junkman Ran from the Businessman They Laughed and He Cried" - 3:02
  6. "Breath-A-Thon" - 1:55
  7. "Rahsaanica" - 3:40
  8. "Raped Voices" - 1:54
  9. "Haunted Feelings" - 2:25
  10. "Prelude Back Home" - 3:44
  11. "Dance of the Lobes" - 2:05
  12. "Harder and Harder Spiritual" - 2:02
  13. "Black Root " - 3:17

Personnel