Recorded in 1964, when Terry Callier was still a teenager, his debut finds him accompanying himself on acoustic guitar with two different bassists, Terbour Attenborough and John Tweedle, and this remastered version is remarkable. Apparently, the album was recorded by Samuel Charters, who had convinced Callier to come to Prestige but after the sessions, he ran off to Mexico, delaying the actual album release from 1965 to 1968. One can only wonder what would have happened to Callier if this had been released during the peak of the folk boom in America as this would undoubtedly have been feted by many as opposed to missing the opportunity through no fault of his own.
This never seems as if it is an album recorded by someone who was only just 19 years old as it appears to be by someone who has already lived a life, and in many ways, I found myself being reminded of Paul Robeson in his approach, although his vocal style is very different indeed. The bass and picked acoustic guitar are there just for something for him to pitch his vocals against, and one immediately falls deep inside the reverb as it is the vocals which matter, and his take on ‘Cotton Eyed Joe” is the slowest I have come across while the humour of the story behind “Johnny Be Gay If You Can Be” makes me smile each time I listen to it. Craft and Concord have been remastering a wonderful series of albums, and each one I have heard is an absolute classic with this being no different. If you enjoy the American style of folk from the Sixties and have never come across this album prior to this then you are in for a real treat.
Rating: 9/10
Links:
https://concord.com/