| features in: Album Chart of 1971 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s |
On his second album, there’s a general sense that his bitter stories of bad drugs, broken dreams and ghetto struggles have given way to a slightly more palatable serving for norms, where even the odd love song is permittable. Sounds to me like someone’s made a change in him. Not for nothing did contemporary reviews mention Jose Feliciano and Bill Withers in the same breath. Groan. His London-based group for this one were: Chris Spedding (guitar); Gary Taylor (bass); Andrew Steele (drums); Phil Dennys (keyboards) and Tony Carr (bongos, percussion). Rodriguez recalls: “We spent 30 wonderful days recording the Reality album. We stayed in Belgravia, London.” Thankfully, this softening is not an exact science, for the fire in the belly is still in evidence here and there. The dropouts and degenerates get it tight on “A Most Disgusting Song”, a most amusing early album highlight. Sixto’s exquisitely picked guitar plays-off against Jimmy Horowitz’ gorgeous violin on “Sandrevan Lullaby / Lifestyles” as our man takes a pop at society’s ills with some dazzling prose: “America gains another pound, only time will bring some people around, Idols and flags are slowly melting, Another shower of rice, to pair it for some will suffice, the mouthful asks for second helpings”
Album closer “Cause” is a stunner – sublime imagery and gorgeous production, every bit the equal of Nick Drake, the master of the genre. Steve Rowland (the record’s producer) in the documentary “Searching for Sugarman” made this astute summation: “Couple of them [talking about songs from “Coming From Reality”] are so sad. There is one in there, that’s absolutely a killer. One of the saddest songs (…) I’ve ever heard. [listens to the song] That really makes me sad, because that was the last song we recorded… And was makes it even sadder is, the album was released in November 1971. And we expected big things and it did absolutely nothing. And then two weeks before Christmas Sussex dropped him off the label – and the very first line of the song as if premonition was… Oh man, you have to think about that. This guy deserves recognition!” The opening lines to which Rowland were referring were: “Cause I lost my job two weeks before Christmas, and I talked to Jesus at the sewer, and the Pope said it was none of his God-damned business, while the rain drank champagne.” Damn. What a delivery. It is indeed sad that nobody was interested in this in 1971. What was wrong with music fans back then?
The Jukebox Rebel
28–Aug–2015
| Tracklist |
| A1 | [04:54]  Rodriguez - Climb Up On My Music (Sixto Rodriguez) Folk Rock / Americana |
| A2 | [04:49]  Rodriguez - A Most Disgusting Song (Sixto Rodriguez) Alternative Country |
| A3 | [03:25]  Rodriguez - I Think Of You (Sixto Rodriguez) Songwriter |
| A4 | [03:22]  Rodriguez - Heikki’s Suburbia Bus Tour (Sixto Rodriguez) Rock |
| A5 | [02:04] Rodriguez - Silver Words (Sixto Rodriguez) Songwriter |
| B1 | [06:37]  Rodriguez - Sandrevan Lullaby Lifestyles (Sixto Rodriguez) Songwriter |
| B2 | [03:21]  Rodriguez - To Whom It May Concern (Sixto Rodriguez) Songwriter |
| B3 | [04:01]  Rodriguez - It Started Out So Nice (Sixto Rodriguez) Alternative Folk |
| B4 | [02:27]  Rodriguez - Halfway Up The Stairs (Sixto Rodriguez) Folk Rock / Americana |
| B5 | [05:30]  Rodriguez - Cause (Sixto Rodriguez) Folk |
