Saturday, August 09, 2025

Graham James - What Is Me? (1974)



don't hang around, enjoy good music!
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

3/5 RYM

"Intriguing Underground Folkie Rarity
Most reviews of this rare private SSW rural folk album center around the first two songs – the opening title song, a downer-loner-psychedelic gem and “The Superlative Life Is Free”, a wasted acid-folk jaunt. Now, I’ll admit if Mr. James had continued with the same formula as those first two songs, this would be insanely amazing. The good news here is that there are other songs that are solid on their own merits. James’ vocal abilities are limited as he sings with a flatten delivery however, he does try to inject curious lyrics and creative melodies within the 10-song set. “Lamora” is a by-the-numbers folk tune that delivers on the basic folk playbook. “Unknown/Unmaned” has curious lyrical maneuvers that keep the listener engaged. Side I closes with the coffee shop crooner acoustic-led “Love Is The Answer”, where Graham puts his vocal pipes to the test. Side II opens with the short folker “Obese Mama” …you can figure out what this bizarre song is about – just listen carefully to his lyrics, wow. The melodic “Take Me Home Little Mama” is a rural mountain folk song with nice acoustic work. There’s a crisp percussion backing that works well in “Because It’s Not An Easy Thing”. The harmonica laden “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” is a let down for me as I don’t like big doses of Harmonica. The album ends with the instrumental filler “Malaquena”. For underground SSW folk collectors like myself, this is a great find and one that needs more attention in the coming years."

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/graham-james/what-is-me/

7:55 PM

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