#BESTTHINGS2011 // DRAG CITY Reissues
Eternally cool indie rock label Drag City got pretty deep into the reissue game this year. Focusing mainly on singer-songwriters from a few decades back, you can really hear in each the influence on contemporary Drag City mainstays like Will Oldham and Bill Callahan that the Chicago label built its reputation on.
Mickey Newbury - Looks Like Rain (1969), ‘Frisco Mabel Joy (1971), & Heaven Help This Child (1973)
Mickey Newbury was a member of the progressive country songwriter scene that born household names like Kris Kristofferson and subaltern heroes like Townes Van Zandt. Not for the faint or optimistic at heart, this achingly melancholic trio of LPs (also released this year on cd as the American Trilogy boxset) showcases Newbury at his most powerful, crafting three interrelated, thematically linked story-song narratives. Newbury’s “American Trilogy” is the kind of conceptual country Willie Nelson would stake his critical fame on a few years later - only these came first, are way sadder and at points, more elegant.
Mickey Newbury - “The Future’s Not What It Used To Be” from ‘Frisco Mabel Joy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw_v83e8L3E
Ed Askew - Imperfiction (1984)
A weirdo’s weirdo, Ed Askew originally released Imperfiction in 1984 on cassette only. Keep in mind, the mid-80s predates any kind of arcane, subcultural currency the cassette has developed in the post-aught economy. This thing came out on cassette only because that was the going format at the time. Recorded on a crummy sounding two-track recorder, Imperfiction is Askew alone with his shaky voice, a harpsichord, a harmonica and a short-necked, 10-string acoustic guitar called a tiple. It’s an outsider folk record affecting that same lo-fi aesthetic indie rock would exploit a few years later. Good, weird stuff.
Ed Askew - “Hitchhiking” from Imperfiction http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtwkvflsmH8
Carol Kleyn - Love Has Made Me Stronger (1976)
Despite her homely sounding name, Carol Kleyn was a sun child of the highest order. A real deal hippie, her self-released LP originally came out just a hair past its time. This late-70s record would have been a real hit with the early-70s scene. But unbeknownst to “mountain child” Kleyn, the world had gone to coke and shit by 1976 and utopian folk records like this just didn’t hold the weight they would have 3 or 4 years earlier. Now a few decades removed, those minor details have blurred enough to appreciate Love Has Made Me Stronger for the counter-cultural statement it is. Featuring just Kleyn’s voice and, at its most powerful points, only a harp, Love Has Made Me Stronger is the kind of singular statement record the reissue market was made for. It’s a time capsule of an album, and even if it was initially planted a little too late, it’s definitely not too late to enjoy.
Carol Kleyn - “Love’s Goin Round” from Love Has Made Me Stronger http://soundcloud.com/meridiansignals/carol-kleyn-loves-goin-round
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#BESTTHINGS2011 is a series focusing on the “best things” released in 2011. Bucking arbitrary numerical distinction, these postings will appear in no particular order with no particular concern for whether they are original releases or reissues from this year. I’m hoping to post one a day for the remainder of the calendar year or until I run out of best things to write about. Not sure which will come first.
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