Miller Speaks: the 'Life As I See It' LP, 1961

In April 1956, Ben Grauer recorded an interview with Henry Miller while he was in New York for a few months (his mother was dying). The interview was released as a double-album (RLP 7002) on NY's Riverside Records as Henry Miller Recalls And Reflects, part of their 'Modern Voices' series. Five years later, in 1961, parts of the 1956 interview were re-assembled for a single LP and re-released on an off-shoot of Riverside called OffBeat Records (OLP 4901).


Ben Grauer [pictured at left from the back of the Life As I See It LP sleeve] was a notable American media personality of the 40s and 50s (I spoke of him briefly in this post). He also happened to be the brother of Bill Grauer, who co-founded the mostly-jazz Riverside Records in 1954. Grauer wrote liner notes for the Miller recordings, which I assume would enlighten me on the context of the interview, but the scan of the back sleeve (from which I found the photograph) is illegible. Ben interviewed others for the Modern Voices series, including Elenor Roosevelt in 1957.

I have heard neither Recalls nor Life and can therefore not compare the content. However, I do have the track listings for Life As I See It:

SIDE ONE: 1. Morality and modern man; 2. Playing it safe; 3. Pebble in the pond; 4. French prostitutes and German; SIDE TWO: 1. Our insect world; 2. The Paris "houses"; 3. Getting free.

Miller had his first private listen to the album on September 22, 1957: "I was moved myself. Some of it might be improved on, but when I reflect how ti was done--no preparation, damned little time, my mother dying, financial worries of the wrost sort, and so on, I think it's pretty good. If I get another try at this sort of thing I know I will be still better. I have offers all the time, but not with the right guys." --- Henry Miller, in a letter to Eddie Schwartz, Sept. 23, 1957 (qtd from Bibliography Of Primary Sources, Vol. II, p. 365).

This album is available for purchase from a few places on the internet. First, all of my graphics came from scans found on this ebay posting (selling for US $100). Another ebay poster is auctioning a copy until February 27th and is still stuck at his starting bid of US $9.99.

The recording is also available for US $121 along with a digitally remastered CD copy, from Vinyl Revolution. Or get a US $60 copy from The Spin Starts Here.

Click here to read an earlier Henry Miller Blog post about another album that Henry recorded, in 1949.