Rev. Robert Wilkins - "Prodigal Son"

when everything else is a bit too sallow and lacking in conviction



the past two months i've been religiously immersed in old blues music - most of it predating the common penumbra of what properly constitutes the "blues" as it is currently known, instead sharing similarities with folk or (as they were lamentably called) "race" records; primarily, mississippi john hurt, skip james, blind lemon jefferson, blind willie mctell, memphis minnie, blind willie johnson, blind boy fuller, memphis slim...obviously leadbelly is a prominent force within all of this, and i honestly think i could listen to his music for the rest of my life with the same perpetual kind of wonder, affection and beautiful sadness. rev. robert wilkins is a bit new to me, as i just came in contact with his music a few weeks ago. initially, i became interested through the rolling stones cover of "prodigal son" on "beggars banquet" and felt determined to seek out its progenitor. happily so, i must say. wilkins' music collates nicely with all the aforesaid names and artists who are still so sorely neglected, despite the immensity of their influence. it's hard to resist calling this music anything other than brutally honest - it is, almost painfully so. much of the greater capacity for benevolence and beauty - the larger possibilities of music as a form of intimate communication - are reflected perfectly in music of this kind. i have such overwhelming, zealous affinities for this old music (i could probably talk exhaustively about skip james for hours on end like a proper dullard) that i hope to convey that enthusiasm and expose it to others, as i find its charms so undeniable.

there's a 7 volume set of leadbelly that i'll upload soon - to the best of my knowledge comprised of all his various recordings. marvelous.

here's a fabulous blog and rev. wilkins' collection. please do enjoy.

http://onmuddysavariverbank.blogspot.com/2010/10/robert-wilkins-prodigal-son.html

Tim Buckley..."Lorca"

mournfully, this is the only track from "lorca" available on youtube, and therefore the only piece i can offer up for purposes of preview:



opinion tends to vacillate and unsteadily stammer back and forth with tim buckley's work, as there are some (myself among them) who think the majority of his discography is an unprecedented success, while others think his improvisational and experimental aspirations were beyond his means and only mildly successful; still others think all of his work is utter shit, saving their allegiance for the well-known covers of perhaps buckley's greatest song, "song to the siren" -- famously rendered by this mortal coil and innumerable others. a swarm of people also neglect tim in favor of his son, jeff, which i am stymied to even contemplate (understatedly, i am definitely NOT a fan). "lorca" preceded "starsailor" - his most ambitious and beautiful album - and divines some of the territory and depths he would later mine. initially my response to "lorca" was one of reluctance and modest admiration, due mostly to the confounding title track that commences the record, but i've evolved to it, i suppose, and it strikes me as one of his best efforts. the first side of the record is the more difficult of the two, with the latter half evoking the stylings of his previous release "blue afternoon" and some of the work on "happy sad." the focal point here is obviously buckley's voice, his characteristic hysterics and lunacy, his unfettered paroxysmal wailing. though living happily in the shadow of "starsailor" (or "goodbye and hello" for some people who wouldn't let him live down past glories), "lorca" is as good as the source of its namesake (frederico garcia lorca). ideal for late night solitude, as is most of his work.

download tim buckley's "lorca":

http://rapidshare.com/files/185148235/Lorca.zip

(i was feckless and took this link from singer-saints, a fantastic blog you should check out)