Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation [SEP] record label
Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation
Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation is the third and final spoken word album by the American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, released in January 1960 on Verve Records. The album was recorded during 1959, prior to the publication of Kerouac's sixth novel, "Doctor Sax".
Composition.
Jack Kerouac had released "Poetry for the Beat Generation" and "Blues and Haikus" (1959) following the publication of "The Dharma Bums". Both albums
featured jazz-based acommpaniment, however, for "Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation", Kerouac had decided to record the album solely in spoken word. Despite having no musical acommpaniment, biographer Gerald Nicosia stated that "the musicality of Kerouac's art is best exemplified by the "Readings" album."
Several readings on the album are from several of Kerouac's written works. The opening track, "San Francisco Scene (The Beat Generation)," is read from extracts of "Desolation Angels"