Emitt Rhodes - The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 (@320)

 

Emitt Rhodes - The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973

The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 Review by Tim Sendra.

Stacked back to back, the records made by Emitt Rhodes in the short time between 1969 and 1973 stand up as one of the great brief flashes of inspiration and greatness in pop-music history. The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 collects all four albums the singer/songwriter/musical wiz recorded over that period of time and adds one extra track (the 1973 single "Tame the Lion"). The set starts off with the album Rhodes recorded after his band, the Merry-Go-Round, broke up in 1969. The songs are a mix of newly written ones and Merry-Go-Round leftovers recorded with studio pros filling in for the band. Not surprisingly, the record is a little scattered-sounding, with some of the songs sounding like the Baroque pop that the MGR had mastered ("You're a Very Lovely Woman," "The Man He Was"), some are experiments in different styles (the calypso-tinged "Mary Will You Take My Hand," the folky "Textile Ranch"), and quite a few point toward the simple sound he soon crafted on his debut ("Let's All Sing," "Saturday Night," "Pardon Me"). That self-titled record from 1970 is the best of the bunch; in fact, it is one of the best pop records of the '70s, and sounds like what would have happened had Paul McCartney saved up his most emotionally powerful and melodically rich post-Beatles' songs and recorded them with Badfinger as his backing band. Each song sounds like it should have been a hit single, from the heart-breakingly direct "Long Time No See" or the deceptively jubilant breakup song "With My Face on the Floor," to the anthemic George Harrison-esque "Live Till You Die" or the rollicking "Fresh as a Daisy." The pacing, sound, and feel of the record are as near perfect as you could hope, and the most impressive feat is that Rhodes did everything on the record himself. It's truly a moment of genius that Rhodes found hard to repeat. His next album, 1971's Mirror, repeats the same basic formula as Emitt Rhodes but has fewer knockout songs, and there are some hard rock (on the title track) and blues (on "I'm a Cruiser") influences creeping in around the edges and scuffing up the perfect pop. Still, the album is filled with great songs like the rollicking "Birthday Lady," the rocking "Really Wanted You," and the bleak ballad "Love Will Stone You" that help make the record a solid and highly listenable follow-up.

By the time of Farewell to Paradise, though, the twin factors of pressure from the record company and Rhodes' increasing perfectionism led to his recording a melancholy, downhearted album that has far less pop and far more introspection in its soul. There is a newfound feeling of pain and hurt that suffuses Rhodes' vocals on songs like "Trust Once More" or "Blue Horizon" that gives the record some real depth, and the less focused and more folky arrangements give the record more of a Van Morrison feel than a McCartney feel. It would be easy to view the record as a disappointment on pure pop terms, but as a statement of Rhodes' disillusionment and frustration, it totally works and actually could be considered a lost treasure of the singer/songwriter era. Hearing it in context of his previous work shows just how much Rhodes had begun to change, and it makes it even more of a loss that Rhodes basically walked away from his career at the age of 24. The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 is essential to any fan of late-'60s/early-'70s pop music and hats off to Hip-O Select for giving Rhodes the attention he deserves.

Tracklist:

Disc 1 (66:13 minutes):

1. Mother Earth

2. Pardon Me

3. Textile Factory

4. Someone Died

5. Come Ride, Come Ride

6. Let’s All Sing

7. Holly Park

8. Saturday Night

9. You’re A Very Lovely Woman

10. Mary Will You Take My Hand

11. The Man He Was

12. In The Days Of The Old

13. ‘Til The Day After

Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "The American Dream" recorded in 1969 but released after his debut album (14 to 25 below) in April 1971 in the USA on A&M SP-4254 and May 1971 in the UK on A&M AMLS 64254

 

14. With My Face On The Door

15. Somebody Made For Me

16. She’s Such A Beauty

17. Long Time No See

18. Lullabye

19. Fresh As A Daisy

20. Live Till You Die

21. Promises I’ve Made

22. You Take The Dark Out Of The Night

23. You Should Be Ashamed

24. Ever Find Yourself Running

25. You Must Have

Tracks 14 to 25 are the album "Emitt Rhodes" first issued December 1970 in the USA on ABC/Dunhill DS 50089 and February 1971 on Probe Records SPBA 6256 in the UK

 

Disc 2 (70:06 minutes):

 

1. Birthday Lady

2. Better Side Of Life

3. My Love Is Strong

4. Side We Seldom Show

5. Mirror

6. Really Wanted You

7. Medley: Bubble Gum The Blues/I’m A Cruiser

8. Love Will Stone You

9. Golden Child Of God

10. Take You Far Away

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Mirror" issued on ABC/Dunhill DSX 50111 in the USA in November 1971 and December 1971 n the UK on Probe Records SPBA 6262

 

11. Warm Self Sacrifice

12. See No Evil

13. Drawn To You

14. Blue Horizon

15. Shoot The Moon

16. Only Lovers Decide

17. Trust Once More

18. Nights Are Lonely

19. Bad Man

20. In Desperate Need

21. Those That Die

22. Farewell To Paradise

Tracks 11 to 22 are the album "Farewell To Paradise" issued September 1972 on Probe Records SPBA 6266 in the UK and on ABC/Dunhill DSX 50122 in the USA.

 

Track 23 is "Tame The Lion", a non-album A-side. In the UK it was on Probe Records PRO 565 and in the USA on A&M 4315, both issued in 1972. "Golden Child Of God" - an album track off "Mirror" - is its B-side in both countries.

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