Terry Callier › The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier [Bonus Tracks]

Personnel: Terry callier (vocals, acoustic guitar); Terbour Attenborough, John Tweedle (bass).

Recorded at Webb Studios, Chicago, Illinois on July 29, 1964. Originally released on Prestige (7383). Includes liner notes by Rent Foreman.

Personnel: Terry Callier (vocals, guitar).

Audio Remasterer: Joe Tarantino.

Recording information: Webb Recording, Chicago, IL (07/29/1964).

Nowadays, people know different. But when Terry Callier's first album sneaked out to little fanfare in the mid '60s, he was still Chicago's best-kept secret. It would be some time before he had an opportunity to fully exploit his soul and jazz influences. Callier's youthful voice, backed sympathetically here by his acoustic guitar plus two basses, was a strikingly androgynous instrument--sounding like a smooth, steady Nina Simone minus the simmering anger.

Over eight songs, four of them traditional, Callier's relaxed air belies his tender years. His calm presence turns the yearning "900 Miles" into a thing of haunting beauty. Selections such as "Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be" and "Cotton Eyed Joe" are the real oddities, however, even in the remarkably varied Callier canon. Certainly the riff-driven "It's About Time" shows its teeth, a warm-hearted plea for peace more familiar to Callier converts. In hindsight, THE NEW FOLK SOUND doesn't look unhappy in the company of early Buckley, Hardin, et al. On its own merits, there is much more than mere curiosity value to recommend it. False starts are rarely so engaging.

Genre:

• Folk

Music Categories:

• R&B: Chicago Soul