With the Boston Bruins out of the
playoffs, this is a good time to note that there is still exciting sports news
- it is NFL draft weekend! My beloved Miami Dolphins picked 22nd
overall tonight and took an edge rushing defensive end named Charles Harris. I
kind of wanted a linebacker or a guard, but apparently Harris is the real deal
and will help the team. Hope springs eternal…
Disc 998 is…Searching for
Sugarman
Artist: Rodriguez
Year of Release: 2012 but featuring
music primarily from 1970-71
What’s up with the Cover? A man (musician Sixto Rodriguez)
strides purposefully into frame. Behind him a giant guitar stretches into the
distance. How will Sixto play such a massive guitar? What if he trips over that
high E string and falls on his face?
Fear not
my friend – it’s just a photo.
How I Came To Know It: I had heard of the movie for this
soundtrack from a few people but hadn’t been sufficiently interested to check
it out. Eventually it was Sheila who bought me the album for Christmas after
hearing good things herself.
How It Stacks Up: I only have this one Rodriguez album and as it
is a compilation from a couple of his studio albums, it can’t really stack up.
As a soundtrack I guess it can stack up though, and out of my (now) 32
soundtracks, I put “Searching for Sugarman” in at #10 but I’m not relisting the
other 31. If you want to see that, go here.
Ratings: As a compilation of Sixto
Rodriguez songs, I can’t rank this album, but as a soundtrack I’m going to do
so anyway. I’ll give it 3 stars, bordering on 4.
I don’t
know much about the documentary that inspired this compilation, other than it
is about an obscure seventies singer-songwriter. Knowing so little I came just
for the music, which didn’t disappoint.
Sixto Rodriguez
goes simply by “Rodriguez” which is something I don’t understand. If I had a
name as cool as “Sixto” I would use it as much as I could. It sounds like the
name of some legendary bandit crossed with some Beatnik poet.
The real
Rodriguez is more the latter than the former, singing thoughtful songs about
society and how we relate to it. He reminded me of a mix of Bob Dylan and
Townes Van Zandt, which is high praise. Like both of them, he’s not the most
gifted vocalist, but he writes songs that perfectly match his lyrical and
slightly ragged vocals. When he sings there is an edge of hurt that adds
gravitas.
On “Cause” he captures a down-and-out vibe
that is heartbreaking, the more so because the lyrics demonstrate clear that he
sees right through the core of his own condition with a clarity that makes it
all the more painful. With lines like “Cause
my heart’s become a crooked hotel full of rumours” capture the personal
sadness, and he follows up with a more generic indictment of society generally
with:
“Cause I see my people trying to
drown the sun
In weekends of whiskey sours
Cause how many times can you wake
up in
This comic book and plant
flowers?”
The album
benefits from good arrangements as well, with a nice mix of acoustic guitar,
bass riffs and flourishes of a horn section and violin. The violin on “Cause” is a mix of triumph, regret and
acceptance that perfectly matches the lyrics. Rodriguez makes it clear that while
he is testifying, but that we shouldn’t expect him to provide answers.
The
album is mostly from two records recorded in 1970 and 1971 respectively, and at
times they sound very much of their time. The jazz flute in “Can’t Get Away” and bongo drums in “Street Boy” made me feel like I was hearing
the soundtrack to some early seventies cop show, but I kind of liked it.
I liked the production less, that is a bit tinny in places, and also has some challenges with volume consistency - likely the result of the original master tapes, but it was noticeable, particularly when I was listening in quieter environments. Fortunately, it is minor and doesn't wreck the experience.
Rodriguez
has a natural talent for phrasing, which helps give the songs their groove. He
just feels cool. On “A Most Disgusting
Song” he delivers what feels like very early rap, as he describes a club
full of degenerates and lovelorn losers, all the while reminding us that any of
us could find ourselves there on a given night. After hearing about “Jimmy ‘Bad Luck’ Butts,” “Playboy Ralph” and “the local diddy bop pimp” make their way through the smoky bar I
felt like I had visited the place, only I didn’t have to have my blazer dry-cleaned
afterward. I also had visions of turning the whole thing into a rap song – it wouldn’t
be hard.
Rodriguez
is clearly a cool dude, and there are places where he is almost too cool,
sounding a bit too self-aware of just how chill he is. It is a minor quibble
though, on a record that muses about individual failings and existential angst
with equal thoughtfulness.
Best
tracks: Crucify
Your Mind, Cause, Like Janis, A Most Disgusting Song, Jane S. Piddy
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