Larry Jon Wilson - Let Me Sing My Song To You 1976 (Monument)

Label : Monument 

Value :

Larry Jon Wilson came to the party late. When he arrived in Nashville, he had already spent ten years in corporate America. He did not start playing guitar until the age of 30, but five years later he released his debut, New Beginnings and followed it a year later with Let Me Sing My Song To You. A revelation among the hipsters and critics of Nashville, they ensured Larry Jon was immediately embraced as part of the mid-'70s "outlaw country movement" that eschewed slick production in favor of a raw, gritty approach. When a film crew came to document this burgeoning sound, they made straight for Larry Jon's door. He was a singer and writer of intensely private, painfully moving tales of southern life. With his deep, papa-bear voice, funky southern groove, and richly evocative narratives of rural Georgia, Larry Jon was a unique stylist but his gutsy, greasy sound did not translate into sales. Too funky for the country crowd, too heartfelt for pop radio, he fell between the cracks. New Beginnings and Let Me Sing My Song to You play like two halves of a double album, showcasing his unique mix of country, folk, soul and swampy blues. New Beginnings had failed to propel Larry Jon to even the modest cult acclaim enjoyed by his contemporaries; the frustration this conjured can be heard on Let Me Sing My Song To You. Both the title track and the self-deprecating "Drowning In The Mainstream" speak of Wilson's hope to inch a few steps towards the big time without making too many compromises. Any album containing the likes of the heartfelt, deeply beautiful tribute of "Ballad of Handy Mackey" and the superlative country-gothic funk opus "Sheldon Churchyard" - the lead track from the lauded Country Got Soul (2003) compilation - must rank as essential listening.

Taste :

Larry Jon Wilson - Sheldon Churchyard

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By Electric Looser