EMITT RHODES - The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973
Friday, July 31, 2009 at 03:32PM 
An early contender for Reissue Of The Year, this is a monumental release, one that made me flip when I found out that Hip-O Select was putting out all of Emitt Rhodes' 4 solo LPs. Along with Paul McCartney and Todd Rundgren, Rhodes possessed a near superhuman ability to write pure opiate classic pop melodies, sang with a golden voice, and had a vision that could only be realized by handling production duties and playing all of the instruments on his albums (with the exception of his debut The American Dream). Just 20 years old when he went out on his own after splitting his previous band the Merry-Go-Round, Rhodes should have had a long and successful career on the pop charts but was stymied by a foolhardy contract with ABC-Dunhill (6 albums, 3 years!) and the standard publishing relinquishment story. The would-be star left the industry in disgust and never recorded another album. Whether you are already familiar with Rhodes' music or not, you need this in your collection. He certainly deserves the royalties (finally) and much wider renown.
Reader Comments (2)
So great this is finally out. That first album still blows my mind and I have Mr. Andy Swan to thank for turning me onto it ten years back.
I actually called and talked to him on the phone this past spring (moment of boldness) and he suggested in the short conversation he might tour in 2010 and get up to Canada....fingers crossed!
This is so awesome, I can't get enough.