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''New Green Clear Blue'' is the seventh and final studio album from American musician/singer/songwriter Dan Hartman. It was his first album since 1984's ''I Can Dream About You'' (discounting the unreleased 1986 album ''White Boy''), and was his final album of all new material. After the big hit of "I Can Dream About You", the same-titled album, and a similarly-styled unreleased 1986 album ''White Boy'', Hartman abruptly changed his musical style again and released ''New Green Clear Blue'', his penultimate solo album in 1989. The tracks, played and recorded live were largely instrumental, ambient songs with the concept of being a journey into the subconscious. Upon release, the album was critically well received, but it failed to gain any commercial success. The album was written, performed, engineered and produced entirely by Hartman. Special thanks for the album went to Vangelis Papathanassiou, Harold Budd and Richard Harries, Jr. for musical and personal inspiration; New York City; all at Green Street Recording Studios; Amanda Stone and Andrew Derrick Design, London; Dana Millman and all at Gold Spaceship and at Private Music. For the album notes, Hartman himself quoted ''"The subconscious mind is a powerful world possessing experiences and feelings we do not necessarily recognize in our daily movements; but nonetheless they influence our entire lives. The tones and shades in this collection were performed live and intuitively for the purpose of opening channels by which the listener may visit their own subconscious"''〔 He also stated ''"This music is meant to be something that helps people connect with their subconscious. It is intended to be played at very low levels in a tranquil environment. It's a platform for the imagination."'' ==Background== Within a 1989 interview for the Mohave Daily Miner, Hartman revealed that having listened to the music of Brian Eno and Vangelis, he felt inspired to record similar material of his own. He admitted ''"I knew there would be a time in my career when I would stop doing what I was doing and try to create some of this on my own."'' The project came to fruition when Hartman and his record company MCA had disagreements over Hartman's career. The company had expected Hartman to continue writing similar songs to "I Can Dream About You". When Hartman decided to begin the project that would become ''New Green Clear Blue'', he began reading material on the subconscious mind and intuitiveness, as well as how songs work to create an emotional reaction with their listener. After researching these subjects for eight months, Hartman began writing and recording material in his Connecticut studio. During this time he turned down producing other artists, as well as offers to cut pop records from three record labels in order to work on an album designed to allow listeners' subconscious memories to surface. He worked on the album from August 1987 to August 1988.〔http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=943&dat=19890307&id=gGkLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OlMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6768,567004〕〔http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ujVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vj0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6685,5139919&dq=dan+hartman+new+green+clear+blue&hl=en〕 When recording the album's material, Hartman revealed ''"I tried to reflect on my own subconscious feelings that caused me to make the music that I do. It was like stirring up the bottom of a kettle. The basis of this album was to use tones and shades in certain patterns so the door to a listener's subconscious would be opened. Everything moves too fast and people don't identify with their subconscious every day. Things happened to you when you were 10 or 20; they went into your subconscious."'' Ensuring the album is not New Age, he stated ''"I don't generally like new age. It's derivative of jazz. My music has more of a neoclassical leaning than new age. This isn't to be confused with subliminal messages. There's nothing placed in the music to tell you things. It's merely my trying to tap the subconscious feelings of people who listen to it. It may bring up bad memories. In a lot of ways it's very melancholy to me. It's not an upper. Life isn't either. In a lot of ways this music is very soothing. I think there's a place for music that is peaceful and soulful unto the spirit. After plane bombings, AIDS and everything that has come upon us in this decade, I think we can use a little solace and reflection."''〔 During the recording of the album, Hartman felt himself unlocking his own subconscious after only writing a bit of material. ''"I became frightened, to the point I was going to stop doing it. I was unlocking my own subconscious. And the first two or three pieces I listened to I felt were planets away from fulfilling my concept. Little by little, it began to flow."'' Once he was half-way through writing the project, Hartman noted ''"I sat at the keyboard and created some sounds that seemed interesting. When I listened back I was amazed it came out completely as one piece. By that time I think I was on automatic pilot. I knew I had shifted gears to another level of the creative process. I ended up making 23 pieces for the collection. I narrowed it down to 11. I played it for neighbors. Some said it put them in a state where they felt very intimate with themselves. One girl said it was like the deepest massage she'd ever felt. I don't make any claims that I have that kind of power. I was pleased to see the reaction manifest itself that strongly. I look at this album as a flag to a different level of my creative life. I'm 38, but feel younger than eve. I feel freer, more able to make decisions for myself."'' Hartman finally revealed he was sure he'd write more of the same kind of musics on ''New Green Clear Blue'' again. He stated "I've begun to record contemporary vocal songs again - dance, rhythmic things I like to sing about. I feel a sense of freedom, after delving into this whole other area. I realize all you need to do is do it. I think we all restrict ourselves in our lives from doing some things. We have choices and alternatives."''〔 In the Spin magazine of November 1989, Hartman was quoted ''"The music is meant to slow down the pace enough so that you begin to sense a little bit of who you are. The world is moving too fast today and getting so tangled up, what with Beijing, crack, AIDS... all of that. I think we need to be able to at least be in touch with ourselves to be able to handle it."'' The article also described the album as "abstract material". The article spoke of creating the album, stating ''"In creating "New Green Clear Blue," Hartman took a long, hard look at his own emotions to find what it was he wanted to express."'' Hartman stated ''"It was totally scary. I have to give a lot of credit to Peter Baumann because it was such new music to me. When I first started, I played him "Adrift in a Red Sky" and he said, "That really stops time. Just focus on what was happening to your energy there, get inside that and go through to the other side and you'll find the world of what you're looking for." I found out a lot about myself. I didn't do any meditating or chanting of mantras or any of that garbage."'' Hartman dedicated the album to his sister Kathy Hartman, and this was because of her eyes, and how he felt she was still seeking her inner self. After the album was released, Hartman would give talks at colleges on the subject."'' In a similar interview with Edgar Winter, whom Hartman was in the band The Edgar Winter Group with, Winter mentioned the album by stating ''"We last saw Dan shortly before he passed away. He came to L.A. for a visit. We had red wine with Moniques special pasta, which was Dan's favorite. He had brought us a copy of "New Green Clear Blue", along with several books for Monique (they had a unique, spiritual bond - and loved to share philosophy). There was music, dancing, and deep conversation. We will always treasure this memory of the last time we spent together. I felt that "New Green Clear Blue" marked a new evolutionary step in Dan's writing. It is pure music of the spirit with no commercial intentions - meditative, peaceful, and serene. For anyone who hasn't heard it, this CD reveals an entirely new and different side of Dan. I know it came straight from his heart and was a beautiful parting gift to us all. I can't help but wonder what he would have done next!"'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New Green Clear Blue」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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