Illuminations is the sixth album by the American singer Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in 1969 on Vanguard Records.Leo, Geoff; Woloshyn, Roxanna; Guerriero, Linda (October 27, 2023). "Who is the real Buffy Sainte-Marie?". CBC News. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. From a foundation of vocals and acoustic guitar, Sainte-Marie and producer Maynard Solomon made pioneering use of the Buchla 100 synthesizer to create electronically treated vocals. It was also an early quadraphonic vocal album. The album's only single was "Better to Find Out for Yourself".
British experimental music magazine The Wire listed Illuminations amongst its '100 Albums that Set the World on Fire While No-One was Listening'. Pitchfork ranked it the 66th best album of the 1960s.
Production The album was among the first to make prominent use of the Buchla synthesizer, which was previously featured on Morton Subotnick's 1967 recording Silver Apples of the Moon. On Illuminations, the synthesizer was employed to create treated electronic sound, particularly of Sainte-Marie's voice. The opening track "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" featured lyrics taken from Leonard Cohen's novel Beautiful Losers. Peter Schickele provided arrangements to "Mary", "Adam" and "The Angel", whilst the tracks "Suffer the Little Children", "With You, Honey", "Guess Who I Saw in Paris" and "He's a Keeper of the Fire" were the first of Saint-Marie's not to be produced by Vanguard boss Maynard Solomon. They had a stripped-down rock sound and were produced by little-known folk-jazz songwriter Mark Roth. Bob Bozina played guitar, John Craviotta drums and percussion, and Rick Oxendine played bass.
Reception Illuminations has acquired a fan base quite distinct from that associated with any of Sainte-Marie's other albums. In addition to its being cited as a favourite album by a number of musicians (notably Steve Hackett), a number of critics have seen its twisted, eerie soundscapes as laying the grounds for the evolution of electronica and gothic music.
In 2000, just before Vanguard re-issued it on CD, Wire magazine listed Illuminations amongst its '100 Albums that Set the World on Fire While No-One was Listening'.
Track listing All songs composed by Buffy Sainte-Marie except where noted.
"God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" (text by Leonard Cohen from his novel Beautiful Losers / music by Buffy Sainte-Marie) – 4:51 "Mary" – 1:30 "Better to Find Out for Yourself" – 2:12 "The Vampire" – 2:05 "Adam" (Richie Havens) – 5:05 "The Dream Tree" – 2:34 "Suffer the Little Children" – 2:53 "The Angel" (Ed Freeman) – 3:41 "With You, Honey" – 1:48 "Guess Who I Saw in Paris" – 2:25 "He's a Keeper of the Fire" – 3:21 "Poppies" – 3:26
Personnel Vocals, Guitar – Buffy Sainte Marie Electronic Score – Michael Czajkowski Bass – Rick Oxendine (tracks: 9, 10, 11) Drums – John Craviotto (tracks: 9, 10, 11) Lead Guitar – Bob Bozina (tracks: 6, 9, 10, 11) Arranged By – Peter Schickele (tracks: 2, 5, 8) Engineer – Bob Lurie, Ed Friedner Mixed By – Jack Lathrop Producer – Maynard Solomon (tracks 1 to 6, 8, 12) Producer – Mark Roth (tracks: 7, 9 to 11)
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