Wednesday, September 23, 2009
River is one of the best albums of the 70’s period (that’s full stop for you brits). We all know his history – missed Zeppelin by a whisker, Superlungs, etc, and a bunch of undistinguished solo albums and then River. Maybe it’s the chemistry between him and David Lindley but great songs, great playing and it feels like a whole. Seriously funky (for white guys). Crystal clear production – it’s like they’re in your living room even on a crappy stereo. And his voice is a revelation. You can’t see him playing the Robert Plant role but he soars on this record. Whether it’s the rockier stuff or the softer acoustic stuff (which my wife thinks sounds like Paul Simon for some reason). I saw him live a couple of times during this period and he never managed to create this sound or feel live. A shame. It should have been a smash and on everyone’s album of the year but it laid around and made little impact when it came out – and it isn’t one of those records that’s been revived by Mojo (yet) – or (as far as I know) Terry has recreated in the live environment (as so many are doing these days). Pick it up somewhere, It’s worth at least 40 minutes of your time.
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