When Important Records originally released (in 2005) Henry Jacobs 'The wide weird world of Henry Jacobs / The fine art of gofing off”, it was met with instant acclaim and a lengthy, nationally broadcast feature on NPR. We are happy to announce the reissue of this out-of-print CD/DVD set. Over forty years ago, Henry Jacobs left a large collection of his recordings underneath his house in Mill Valley, CA only to have it discovered in the past decade. Restored, sequenced and mastered by producer Jack Dangers, The Wide Weird World of Henry Jacobs is a tribute that seamlessly blends Jacobs' early loop experiments, goof interviews, rare 45s from his MEA imprint, sound effects, musique concrète, and much more. This is as fine an introduction to the Jacobean as anyone is likely to get. The companion DVD, The Fine Art of Goofing Off, contains three half-hour programs that artist Bob McClay and Henry Jacobs collaborated on in the early 1970s. Combining stop-action, collage, animation, and superdoodles, The Fine Art of Goofing Off harkens back to the early days of public television when experimentation was encouraged even celebrated. Contributors include artist Victor Moscoso, filmmaker Jordan Belson, theologian Alan Watts, and writer George Leonard. Bob McClay saved these films from the dustbin and the world is richer for it.
