My statue’s got a concrete heart but you’re the coldest bitch I know.
A few years ago a friend of mine, whom we shall call Bay Bay, turned me on to Rodriguez. She had just seen the acclaimed, and future Academy Award winning documentary about Rodriguez called “Searching for Sugar Man.” If you get a chance, I highly encourage seeing this film. It had a pretty big impact on my friend. She sought out Rodriguez’ music and shared it with me. I fell for him, too. Having only released two proper studio albums in his career, 1970s “Cold Fact” and the 1971 follow-up, “Coming From Reality,” offer a wonderfully rich selection of rock, blues, folk songs. Then Rodriguez disappears for a while never to be seen again. Actually, that’s wrong. He does re-emerge performing on another continent in the late ’70s. See the film to learn the real story of Rodriguez. Back to his music…
“Cold Fact” offers a dozen of short, thoughtful tunes that features Rodriguez’ inviting singing and poetic lyrics:
“The moon is hanging in the purple sky
The baby’s sleeping while its mother sighs
Talking ’bout the rich folks
Rich folks have the same jokes
And they park in basic places.
The priest is preaching from a shallow grave
He counts his money, then he paints you saved
Talking to the young folks
Young folks share the same jokes
But they meet in older places…” ^
Other “Cold Fact” highlights for me are This Is Not a Song, It’s an Outburst: Or, the Establishment Blues, Crucify Your Mind, Hate Street Dialogue (written by Gary Harvey, Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey; Theodore and Coffey are two musicians who back Rodriguez on the record), Rich Folks Hoax, Inner City Blues and Sugar Man. Bay Bay really likes Forget It and I Wonder. My favorite Rodriguez song is actually found on “Coming From Reality.” Climb Up on my Music is so awesome, I had to give it its on due. Check out these fantastic words:
“Have you ever had a fever,
From a bitter-sweet refrain,
Have you ever kissed the sunshine,
Walked between the rain.
Well, just climb up on my music,
And my songs will set you free,
Well, just climb up on my music,
And from there jump off with me.
Well, there was a girl named Christmas,
Did I tell ya she drank gold,
She wasn’t very hard to capture,
But she was rather hard to hold.
Well, just climb up on my music,
And my songs will set you free,
Well, just climb up on my music,
And from there jump off with me.
Have you ever been in darkness,
And your mind could find no peace,
When you woke up after midnight,
Found your swans have turned to geese.
Well, just climb up on my music,
And my songs will set you free,
Well, just climb up on my music,
And from there jump off with me.” ^
Combine those lyrics with a cool, early 70s groove, and you get a vibe that says in a quiet but assured voice, come play with me. “Coming From Reality” is a worthy follow-up to “Cold Fact;” you can’t go wrong with either album. Take the time to discover the mysterious Rodriguez. I am certainly glad my friend Bay Bay did.
^Words and music by Rodriguez.
365, Album of the Day 2014 