EMILY'S ILNESS (2024 edition) by NORA GUTHRIE

BLUE VINYL - In triple fold out sleeve.

The <Complete Edition> will be realized after 14 years of repressing. The cover design has been renewed (using the original illustration idea *Note), the label surface and jacket format have been changed, and the complete edition will be delivered with rare photos and lyrics that could not be included in the 2009 edition. This is the only and precious single released by Nora Guthrie, the daughter of American folk musician Woody Guthrie, sister of singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie, and granddaughter of famous Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt, in 1967 at the age of 17. "Emily's Illness" is a beautiful masterpiece that has been passed down beyond the circles of 60's music enthusiasts as a miraculous song that combines the sound image of the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" with a sense of aesthetic psychedelia/acid folk.


The title and lyrics of "Emily's Illness" are said to be a homage to the 19th century poet Emily Dickinson, and the photo of Nora at that time used for the cover also evokes the world of Dickinson's time. Eric Eisner, who was 18 years old when this song was written, was her boyfriend and worked with Peter Galway in a band called The Strangers, the precursor to the 5th Avenue Band. Eric and Nora were crazy about Joao Gilberto (and her singer Astrud) at the time, and you can hear the influence of Joao Gilberto in both "Emily's Illness" and "Home Before Dark," but above all, another miracle occurred when they had Nora, who was a complete amateur as a singer, sing it. In terms of the recording, professional musician Artie Schrock added impressive harpsichords and strings to create a melancholic world. (Note: The "Nora Lee" that Eric Eisner later provided for Howdy Moon is actually Nora Guthrie.)

*Note:
The 2009 edition used art printing technology, which was still rare at the time, and in order to make the most of this effect, the original binding design was revised (I just remembered this). The printing was extremely expensive for a small business and singles were cheap at the time, so no matter how many we sold, the profits would always be negative, so we gave up on the insert printing that we had planned to include. About 15 years have passed since then, and we have gotten a little wiser, and this time we have been able to include our long-awaited rare photos and lyrics to make it a "complete edition.