Internationally Unknown contains a mix of 15 original and gathered songs that reflect James' distinctive worldview and longheld global socio-environmental concerns, expressed with his characteristic humor and wordplay, lightheartedness and hope.

The collection is sparingly produced, very much like a live set. James' vocals and guitar are prominently mixed up front, supported by New York session players Ritt Henn on upright bass (except for Mark Murphy on Twelve Gates) and Jagoda on hand percussion. James' life partner, Calcutta-born Madhumita Chakrabartti, joins him in singing Dhuranta Ghurnir (Life is a Whirlwind) by the renowned Bengali composer, Salil Chowdhury.

The SONGS 
1 James revisits Song from Slovenia, his account of a harrowing automobile ride on the road that joins Slovenia's cities of Maribor and Ljubljiana. 
2 The title song Internationally Unknown refers to the term James coined some years ago to tongue-in-cheekly refer to himself and his musical journey. 
3 Post-Katrina & Wilma, James employs the 'folk process' to contemporize A Mighty Day, the traditional song that recounts the Galveston flood of 1900. 
4 Talking Life (Problem Solved): Utilizing the traditional talking blues form, James seeks rapprochement between the seemingly irreconcilable perspectives of Evolution and Creation, noting that if one steps back far enough to gain adequate perspective, perhaps one can see they are but disparate descriptions of the self-same event that continues to unfold before our eyes. His "largest" song, it begins with the Big Bang and distills the story of life into 9 verses. 
5 Like in A Mighty Day, James lends new verses to a familiar traditional song, giving Twelve Gates to the City new life both literal and metaphorical, asserting that if we are to achieve anything, we must first imagine the possibility. 
6 Somewhat less sanguine perhaps is his portrait of humanity at a crossroads, Living on Borrowed Time, which wonders whether we'll choose to continue evolving or slide backwards into the primordial abyss. 
7 There Goes the Mountain is James' cover of Tom Paxton's powerful environmental lament. 
8 A WHALING TRILOGY weaves three of James' songs (Whaling is My Trade, Thoughts of a Whaler's Wife and Whale Soliloquy) into an epic tapestry that views whaling Kurasawa-like, from three divergent perspectives, ultimately in defense of the majestic leviathan. 
9 "These things and greater shall ye also do," are words ascribed to our great teacher and wayshower, Jesus of Nazareth. The Seeker and the Sign posits whether he can truly have wished us to stop along the path and worship the signpost. 
10 Wealth & Consequences is the product of a rich imagination, best left to the Jung and the restless for deconstruction. 
11 James is joined by his life-partner Madhumita Chakrabartti in singing the rhythmic Duranta Ghurnir (Life is a Whirlwind), written by the renowned Bengali composer, Salil Chowdhury. 
12 Melissa Javors' dance of life song, Grace suggests we're all born in what Matthew Fox called "original blessing." 
13 With his fresh version of If I Had a Hammer, James pays tribute not only to its creators Lee Hays and Pete Seeger, but also with its style and conclusion to one of his other primary influences, the under-appreciated folk innovator, Bob Gibson.

"Truly intelligent lyrics in these songs redress the usual heart-over-head balance of American singer/songwriters." 
-- Mitch & Robyn Park/Folk on Sunday, Radio Kidnappers, New Zealand. ('Internationally Unknown' is among 15 titles singled out as "outstanding albums" of 2006.)

CD OF THE WEEK! (9/30/06) 
--Midnight Special (Rich Warren), WFMT-FM, Chicago

"Liked especially Talking Life and Duranta Ghurnir." 
--Pete Seeger

"A terrific CD." 
--Bob Sherman, 'Woody's Children', WFUV-FM, New York

"Thanks for sending the very excellent CD from James Durst...it locked me in throughout." 
--Eddie Russell, 'From The Dirt Radio Show,' Columbus TX

Available from discriminating desktops everywhere directly from WorldWind.

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Isn't This a Great Day for Singing?!

Newest addition to the 'Sidewalk Songs' community of family singalong recordings is an hour-long CD collection of 23 songs that, like its award-winning companion videos, are fun and easy to sing along with. In response to parents' requests for a recording that could accompany family automobile trips, James has brought together a carload of tunes (car tunes!) both rich in melody and ripe for harmony. In addition, he employs familiar songs to introduce children to the sections of the orchestra ('Old King Cole'), the sound of Spanish ('Somos El Barco/We Are The Boat') and irregular rhythms ('Itsy Bitsy 7-Legged Spider' and 'Kumbaya in 5'). Along for the whole ride is upright bass master, Ritt Henn; and joined for segments of the journey along the way are good friends Maroghini (percussion), Ron Sowell (harmonica), 'BanjerDan' Mazer (banjo & mandolin), Ken LaRoche (soprano sax) and Children of Roanoke. AND Special Guests Eb & Flo, James' lookalike cousins, make several humorous appearances as well, reprising their video performances of 'Buffalo Boy' (with Flo on autoharp) and 'Hole In The Bucket'; and adding a uniquely-crafted, canonical version of 'Itsy Bitsy 7-Legged Spider' in trio with Ritt's arachnidal bass part.

With creative, fresh arrangements James & Company make old song friends come alive, and will have you singing together for a long time to come.

Available from discriminating desktops everywhere directly from WorldWind.

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The songs are nimbly supported by such gifted musicians as Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Sebastian and folk favorite Reggie Harris (on Not Another Gun), drummer/percussionists Greg Ellis and Debra Dobkin, Beach Boys guitarist/vocalist Scott Totten, veteran bassists and longtime friends Simeon Pillich and David Jackson (who also doubles on accordion for the title cut, Surprisium), jazz vocalist Melba Joyce (on I Am A Seed of Peace), world-class oudist John Bilezikjian (on This Change Is Everything), Jamaican drummer/vocalist Maroghini (on Have A Friend), L.A. lap steel virtuoso Greg Leisz (on Make Believe), keyboard magician Bob Malone (piano on Happen This Way, What If...?, & Come To Me, and accordion on La Chanson de Massage), Argentinean classical guitarist Claudio Ragazzi (on Snow) and new age keyboardist Laurie Z (on La Chanson de Massage & Come To Me). And More!

The SONGS
1 Happen This Way  
(Words written in Chicago 11/84, Music, Cato NY 9/85)
Out of the blue, when least expected, love appears once again and I'm reminded of the effectiveness of what might be called "active passivity," or as was once so memorably expressed, to "let it be." And from out of the personal, the universal.
2 What If...? (It's A Jumble Out There)
(Written in Kobe, Japan 3/94)
I've a knack for departing locales about to experience violent upheaval (Cyprus, Beirut, Vietnam, Berlin, Romania, Russia, Kobe and most recently, Gujarat, India). Change being inevitable, why not imagine the most hopeful, if fanciful, scenario?
3 Burma Saved  
(Written in Guatemala City 10/00)
While living in Kobe, Japan, in the early '90s I became acquainted with friends who are actively aiding the Burmese refugees in the camps along the Thai border, and working in support of the democratic movement led by Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi. In Japan I marched carrying a placard a few times, and returned my credit card with a letter to Union Oil to protest their doing business with the repressive regime, but ultimately felt I could make a deeper impact with a song. (Visit www.brelief.net for additional information about Burmese Relief.)
4 The Entomology of American Participatory Democracy (The Lessor Of Two Weevils) (Written in Guatemala City 10/00)
You'll note this was composed prior to the 2000 presidential elections, and actually based on a cartoon I'd created several election cycles previous. But this time I was really disturbed by the lack of clear choice, as later characterized in Jim Hightower's incisive book titled If The Gods Had Meant Us To Vote, They Would Have Given Us Candidates.
5 Pre-Minstrel Syndrome  
(Written in Guatemala City 10/00)
Even the most fastidiously punctual among us can be unavoidably delayed on occasion.
6 Wish I Were Here  
(Written in Copenhagen 12/71)
A return to a song previously recorded, this time visited with a smoky, Raymond Chandler-esque '40s interpretation. How often have thoughts of distant love separated me from the present!
7 This Change Is Everything  
(Begun in 1998 & completed in Guatemala City 10/00)
Written for the character Leon Chameleon, the renowned change agent featured in my eco-musical, Hue Manatee's Quest. In 7/8 time.
8 Snow  
(Written in München, Germany 2/70)
Awoke, wrote it down. The song as I heard it in my head lay dormant until awakened by Claudio Ragazzi's inspired guitar.
9 Make Believe  
(Written in Woodstock NY 10/72)
A young writer's exercise in character creation, the song's protagonist no longer seems all that remote.
10 Surprisium: Element Of Surprise  
(Written in Los Angeles 1/01)
I've built my career on having been able to exceed an audience's expectations by remaining "internationally unknown."
11 Have A Friend (A Swiftian Proposal)
(Written in Copenhagen 1/72)
Inspired by guppies, who decrease their surplus population by cannibalism, & Robert Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land.
12 La Chanson de Massage
(Written in Northbrook IL 4/78)
Homage to the countless dedicated body workers I've been privileged to know, particularly those who've given me comfort along the way. As far as I know it's the world's only massage song in captivity; at least
I've not heard another one in the years since I wrote it.
13 Not Another Gun  
(Fisher/Durst) (Written in New York 8/00)
Impelled by innumerable news accounts of tragically preventable gun deaths. John Fisher did most of the heavy lifting here.
14 I Am A Seed Of Peace  
(Durst/Naguib) (Written at Seeds of Peace Camp, Casco ME, 6/97)
When invited to be the "minstrel-in-residence" at Seeds of Peace International Camp for Conflict Resolution in the summer of 1997 following a fundraiser I played with Pete Seeger, Tom Chapin & others in NYC, I wanted to express a sense of personal responsibility for peacemaking in a simple melody that could be easily learned and sung by the campers. (And, with staggered entrances á la 'Row Your Boat', harmony and polyphony occur effortlessly in what I call a 'Loose Canon'). Egyptian junior counselor Amgad Naguib approached me with a poem he'd written and his words became the verses; together, our words and my music became the Camp anthem, heard recently on the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes.
15 Come To Me  
(Written in Los Angeles 1/71)
My first job out of high school was at Disneyland & after completing my shift as an Adventureland ride operator, I'd head over to Frontierland's Pepsi-Cola Playhouse and spend hours listening to my friends, the Gertrude Ward Gospel Singers (Clara's mama). It was the indelible memory of their infectious harmonies & rhythms I had in mind when recording this song. Composed originally as a love song, but employed more recently as the voice of Source in my eco-musical, Hue Manatee's Quest.

"I've enjoyed (it) immensely! I love your voice and songs. You've also done an admirable job producing yourself - a rare thing in the world of self-produced recordings." 
--Paul Mills, producer, Stan Rogers, Tanglefoot, many more

"Intensity and immediacy with consummate skill. Finely tuned, emotionally clear and politically astute, James Durst is someone you should hear." 
- -Mark Gresser, Music Matters Review (www.mmreview.com)

"James Durst is a prolific singer/songwriter that leans more towards folk, and is unique from many of his peers by mixing various stylings into his music as well as taking more instrumentation chances. With lyrics running the gamut of heart-tugging to humorous and everything in between sung with an emotive but well controlled vocal timbre, James proves to be a serious and enjoyable talent." 
--Music Morsels

"As a fan of James Durst over many years and many records, I think that "Element of Surprise" is his best work yet. The songs are clever, varied, and well-performed. There is a lot of variety, from message songs ("I Am a Seed of Peace") to whimsical wordplay (the title song, with its graphic connection to the excellent cover art). In addition to solid vocal and guitar work, James' tasteful use of backing musicians is effective throughout. It is also interesting to note the copyright dates on the songs. They are written over a thirty year period, but all presented in a fresh contemporary style. Lyrics and recording information are included, and the CD package is environmentally conscious." 
- -John Stiernberg, business consultant/musician

"Songwriting is extraordinary. A wonderful mix of satire and humanitarianism--love it!" 
- -Eddie O'Strange, Town & Country Radio, New Zealand

Available from discriminating desktops everywhere directly from WorldWind.

Songs are written by James Durst, except where noted,
and © PhoeniXongs ASCAP

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Like the Wind
songs of a wondering minstrel