Rodriguez - Cold Fact (Light Attic)

Recorded in Detroit in 1969, Cold Fact wasn't a huge success when first release. With the follow up also bombing, Rodriguez put an end to his career. Through word of mouth, Cold Fact's popularity grew and had success in South Africa and then later Australia, seeing Rodriguez temporarily return to the music scene with some small tours in the late '70s and early '80s.

After this, Rodriguez disappeared back into obscurity. After years of speculation about his whereabouts, he was finally tracked down. By 1998 he was touring Africa to 5000 people a night, but he still had another ten years to wait before Cold Fact reached UK shores.

The strange thing about this album is that the three or four tracks that are worth listening to seem somehow extraordinarily familiar. You'd almost swear the album was a success when it was originally released! It does contain some great songs in the form of 'Sugar Man', 'Rich Folks Hoax' and 'I Wonder', all utilising a mellow fusion of blues, folk, rock and Dylan-like lyrics.

Everything else has a lesser impact but still manage to keep with the theme Rodriguez has introduced on 'Sugar Man', where you get a picture of a young Rodriguez busking in some '60s American inner-city district with the relaxed chords and whistling synthesizer. The frequent echo effect in this album only adds to this image.

Rodriguez has dipped in and out of fame throughout his stop-start career and that's exactly what you want to do when listening to the blues-style artist. You wouldn't actively seek his work out, nor would you avoid it. Truthfully, you don't really know what to do with it, an approach that has probably caused the almost four decade delay in this album reaching the northern hemisphere.

What must be frustrating for Rodriguez is that Cold Fact has aged and has missed generations of fans who could have brought it to classic status, like much of Dylan's work. It should have reached acclaim long ago, but unfortunately that time has now long passed. At least now Cold Fact won't be forgotten, even if it's more for its long and arduous journey than its content.

Rating: 3/5

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25/08/2008
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Rodriguez - Cold Fact (Light Attic)
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http://www.sugarman.org/

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Published: 25/08/2008 at 15:55
Author: Phillip Clark
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