Sounds Great: The “One Man Beatles” Returns

Later this month a record will be released that, in many ways, is more important than any other record that will be released this year. To many, myself included, it’s release will prove more important than anything Kanye does, Taylor Swift says, or Beyoncé shakes this year. It’s release marks the quietly triumphant return of one of rock and pop music’s great lost souls, a man whose talents are so revered he has been called “The One Man Beatles”.

That man’s name is Emitt Rhodes and he released some of the most critically acclaimed records of the late 1960s and early 1970s both with his band The Merry Go Round…

…and as a solo artist.

But he hasn’t released a full album of new material since 1973.

Until now.

Rhodes’ new album, Rainbow Ends, will be released later this month by Omnivore Recordings. At the moment the only place you can hear the new single “Dog On A Chain” is at this Wall Street Journal blog. It’s great, of course, a precious and powerful little piece of pop perfection that’s properly aged. I will post again once more stuff from the record becomes available and this post is meant as a sort of primer to his work. But I will be honest with you, in the various New Music incarnations I’ve incantated on this site (New Music Weekend, Weekly, and Monday) I’ve recommended dozens of records to y’all over the years. But I’ve never recommended any record more with more vehemence than this new record from Emitt Rhodes. For what it’s worth.

Here I am on Twitter.