RODRIGUEZ
''SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)''
JULY 24 2012
50:56
1/Sugar Man
Sixto Rodriguez/3:49
2/Crucify Your Mind
Sixto Rodriguez/2:31
3/Cause
Sixto Rodriguez/5:29
4/I Wonder
Sixto Rodriguez/2:34
5/Like Janis
Sixto Rodriguez/2:36
6/This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, the Establishment Blues
Sixto Rodriguez/2:07
7/Can't Get Away
Sixto Rodriguez/3:56
8/I Think of You
Sixto Rodriguez/3:25
9/Inner City Blues
Sixto Rodriguez/3:27
10/Sandrevan Lullaby: Lifestyles
Sixto Rodriguez/6:38
11/Street Boy
Sixto Rodriguez/3:46
12/A Most Disgusting Song
Sixto Rodriguez/4:47
13/I'll Slip Away
Sixto Rodriguez/2:51
14/Jane S. Piddy
Sixto Rodriguez/3:00
Bob Babbitt/Bass
Tony Carr/Percussion
Dennis Coffey/Arranger, Guitar (Electric)
Phil Dennys/Arranger, Keyboards
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Strings
Jimmy Horowitz/Arranger, Violin
Bob Pangborn/Percussion
Carl Reatz/Horn
Rodriguez/Archival Materials, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Andrew Smith/Drums
Chris Spedding/Guitar
Gordon Staples/Leader
Andrew Steele/Drums
Gary Taylor/Bass
Mike Theodore/Arranger, Brass Arrangement, Keyboards, String Arrangements
REVIEW
by Chrysta Cherrie
In the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, director Malik Bendjelloul looks back at two music fans' quest in the early '90s to learn the fate of '70s singer/songwriter Rodriguez (born Sixto Diaz Rodriguez to Mexican immigrant parents in Detroit), musically accompanied by the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack that collects tracks from his two albums. Growing up in South Africa, record retailer Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and music journalist Craig Bartholomew had a very different relationship with Rodriguez than folks in his native U.S.; while debut Cold Fact and follow-up Coming from Reality (released on the short-lived Sussex label in 1970 and 1971, respectively) attracted critical praise from the few press outlets they reached, commercially they went nowhere, seemingly dooming the artist to obscurity. But against all odds, a bootleg recording of Cold Fact made its way to South Africa, just as the stronghold of apartheid was growing, and Rodriguez's anti-establishment storytelling, filtered through a psychedelia-tinged folk-rock lens, connected deeply with black Africans as well as liberal young Afrikaners. As word of mouth about the singer/songwriter spread, he became a South African sensation (naturally helped along when the government banned his records), eventually going not just platinum but also finding listeners holding him in the same artistic esteem as Bob Dylan and the Beatles. It wasn't until the late '90s that the artist -- rumored to have committed suicide years before -- would learn of his overseas fame, sparking a string of live dates abroad and awakening stateside interest. The Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack rolls together songs from Cold Fact (featuring kaleidoscopic production by Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore) and Coming from Reality, focusing on the most iconic songs in the Rodriguez discography, not only showing that the lyrics resonate decades later but reminding listeners of the transformative power of music. Signature song and nickname "Sugar Man," which listeners may recognize as being sampled by Nas and Large Professor, is a piercing ode to drugs that elevates its simple lyrics with a trippy arrangement, opening with percussive, flamenco-like guitar and spacy Moog, and swelling with paranoid strings before drifting out to the ether. Conversely "I Think of You," which also reached audiences decades later thanks to a cover by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., shows Rodriguez's romantic side as he breezily reflects on a sweetheart. But his bread and butter are gritty tales of city life, whether calling out the signs of social corruption ("Gun sales are soaring, housewives find life boring/Divorce the only answer, smoking causes cancer/The system's gonna fall soon, to an angry young tune/And that's a concrete cold fact") with "This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues"; encountering runaways on the side of the road on "Inner City Blues" (his own composition, not to be confused with the Marvin Gaye song); or verbally eviscerating hipsters at a dive bar in the Arthur Lee-meets-"Rocky Raccoon"-styled "A Most Disgusting Song." Three bonus tracks that Rodriguez recorded with Coffey and Theodore in 1972 and which first appeared on the At His Best bootleg, including the vibrantly orchestrated artistic autobiography "Can't Get Away," are also collected here. Whether moved by the documentary or simply interested in a one-disc anthology of Rodriguez's work, the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack is a thoughtfully curated celebration of this devastatingly underrated artist.
BIOGRAPHY
by Quint Kik
Another serious contester for the title of "artist least likely to enjoy a major career re-estimation," the story of cult enigma Rodriguez is nonetheless characterized by recurring moments of renaissance, sprawled over four decades and as many continents. Hopelessly obscure in the United States during his formative years as Detroit's answer to Dylan via Motown and Bacharach, in South Africa the artist notoriously remains a nostalgic reminder of apartheid. As Dutch national newspaper NRC Handelsblad discovered in 2005, young white South Africans who had been enlisted with the national service had embraced Rodriguez as their own counterculture Hendrix. However politically incorrect this must seem, their longing for the Vietnam era -- when smoking grass and listening to Rodriguez' thought-provoking lyrics was viewed as a means of rebelling against their own ultra-conservative government -- comes across as perfectly imaginable. As a consequence, much of his repertoire remains a big favorite of singalongs at an average "Braai", or barbecue party.
Born in Detroit in 1942, Sixto Diaz Rodriguez originated from a working-class background and dropped out of high school at the age of 16. Dividing his time between hanging around the university campus and playing assorted unconventional clubs and bars, he was introduced to Impact's Harry Balk, which led to the recording of his first single "I'll Slip Away" in 1967. When Balk took off for a career as a creative director at Motown, session players and ardent Rodriguez supporters Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore put him under the attention of Clarence Avant. About to set up his Sussex label, the latter was genuinely impressed with the artist's take on Detroit street life and supplied Theo-Coff Productions with sufficient means to cut an album's worth of material. Naturally, Theodore and Coffey took up keyboard and guitar duties, in addition to employing second wave Motown Funk Brothers for a rhythm section. Recording Rodriguez separately, they afterwards matched his voice and acoustic guitar to a sonic palette of various orchestrations and psychedelic effects. Being Sussex' first release, the resulting Cold Fact was a stone-cold folk-rock classic with an otherworldly feel to it.
Though industry-wise it was met with positive reviews, commercially the album gathered only dust. Theories as to why it didn't catch on in the climate of socially conscientious albums like Cloud Nine and What's Going on range from either not being played by underground radio and thus not meeting its intended public, or insufficient marketing by Buddah, with whom Sussex had a promotion and distribution deal. Though subsequently concentrating on Bill Withers, Avant offered Rodriguez the chance to record a follow-up in London with Steve Rowland (renowned for Family Dog's "Sympathy"). When 1971's Coming from Reality met a similar fate as its predecessor, the artist left the music business to enroll at university, in between working construction to support his family. End of story, you would think, but unbeknown to Rodriguez, he definitely wouldn't be left to reside in the "where are they now files".
Much to the artist's own surprise in 1979, he was requested to do some small theater shows Down Under, coinciding with the chart success of Australian re-releases of his albums. Fast forward to 1998, when Rodriguez was even more amazed to find vast amounts of mainstream acceptance. Apparently, some South African fans had invested quite a lot of effort in tracking down their long-lost hero. Their excitement to find him alive and well convinced Rodriguez to play arena-sized venues. At last, in the 21st century, his genius was acknowledged across America and mainland Europe, his popularity re-sparked by hip-hop loving-crate diggers like David Holmes, whose mix compilation Come Get It, I Got It used Cold Fact's opening shot "Sugar Man" for its own eclectic musical journey. In 2008, Cold Fact became more easily available through a lovingly annotated re-release, followed in 2009 by Coming from Reality. To celebrate his umpteenth rediscovery, Rodriguez embarked upon a world tour, meeting old fans and a whole new generation of admirers. This renaissance was mirrored in the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man and companion compilation soundtrack, which followed two Rodriguez fans' quest to discover the fate of one of their most beloved artists.
''SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)''
JULY 24 2012
50:56
1/Sugar Man
Sixto Rodriguez/3:49
2/Crucify Your Mind
Sixto Rodriguez/2:31
3/Cause
Sixto Rodriguez/5:29
4/I Wonder
Sixto Rodriguez/2:34
5/Like Janis
Sixto Rodriguez/2:36
6/This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, the Establishment Blues
Sixto Rodriguez/2:07
7/Can't Get Away
Sixto Rodriguez/3:56
8/I Think of You
Sixto Rodriguez/3:25
9/Inner City Blues
Sixto Rodriguez/3:27
10/Sandrevan Lullaby: Lifestyles
Sixto Rodriguez/6:38
11/Street Boy
Sixto Rodriguez/3:46
12/A Most Disgusting Song
Sixto Rodriguez/4:47
13/I'll Slip Away
Sixto Rodriguez/2:51
14/Jane S. Piddy
Sixto Rodriguez/3:00
Bob Babbitt/Bass
Tony Carr/Percussion
Dennis Coffey/Arranger, Guitar (Electric)
Phil Dennys/Arranger, Keyboards
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Strings
Jimmy Horowitz/Arranger, Violin
Bob Pangborn/Percussion
Carl Reatz/Horn
Rodriguez/Archival Materials, Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Andrew Smith/Drums
Chris Spedding/Guitar
Gordon Staples/Leader
Andrew Steele/Drums
Gary Taylor/Bass
Mike Theodore/Arranger, Brass Arrangement, Keyboards, String Arrangements
REVIEW
by Chrysta Cherrie
In the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, director Malik Bendjelloul looks back at two music fans' quest in the early '90s to learn the fate of '70s singer/songwriter Rodriguez (born Sixto Diaz Rodriguez to Mexican immigrant parents in Detroit), musically accompanied by the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack that collects tracks from his two albums. Growing up in South Africa, record retailer Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and music journalist Craig Bartholomew had a very different relationship with Rodriguez than folks in his native U.S.; while debut Cold Fact and follow-up Coming from Reality (released on the short-lived Sussex label in 1970 and 1971, respectively) attracted critical praise from the few press outlets they reached, commercially they went nowhere, seemingly dooming the artist to obscurity. But against all odds, a bootleg recording of Cold Fact made its way to South Africa, just as the stronghold of apartheid was growing, and Rodriguez's anti-establishment storytelling, filtered through a psychedelia-tinged folk-rock lens, connected deeply with black Africans as well as liberal young Afrikaners. As word of mouth about the singer/songwriter spread, he became a South African sensation (naturally helped along when the government banned his records), eventually going not just platinum but also finding listeners holding him in the same artistic esteem as Bob Dylan and the Beatles. It wasn't until the late '90s that the artist -- rumored to have committed suicide years before -- would learn of his overseas fame, sparking a string of live dates abroad and awakening stateside interest. The Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack rolls together songs from Cold Fact (featuring kaleidoscopic production by Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore) and Coming from Reality, focusing on the most iconic songs in the Rodriguez discography, not only showing that the lyrics resonate decades later but reminding listeners of the transformative power of music. Signature song and nickname "Sugar Man," which listeners may recognize as being sampled by Nas and Large Professor, is a piercing ode to drugs that elevates its simple lyrics with a trippy arrangement, opening with percussive, flamenco-like guitar and spacy Moog, and swelling with paranoid strings before drifting out to the ether. Conversely "I Think of You," which also reached audiences decades later thanks to a cover by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., shows Rodriguez's romantic side as he breezily reflects on a sweetheart. But his bread and butter are gritty tales of city life, whether calling out the signs of social corruption ("Gun sales are soaring, housewives find life boring/Divorce the only answer, smoking causes cancer/The system's gonna fall soon, to an angry young tune/And that's a concrete cold fact") with "This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues"; encountering runaways on the side of the road on "Inner City Blues" (his own composition, not to be confused with the Marvin Gaye song); or verbally eviscerating hipsters at a dive bar in the Arthur Lee-meets-"Rocky Raccoon"-styled "A Most Disgusting Song." Three bonus tracks that Rodriguez recorded with Coffey and Theodore in 1972 and which first appeared on the At His Best bootleg, including the vibrantly orchestrated artistic autobiography "Can't Get Away," are also collected here. Whether moved by the documentary or simply interested in a one-disc anthology of Rodriguez's work, the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack is a thoughtfully curated celebration of this devastatingly underrated artist.
BIOGRAPHY
by Quint Kik
Another serious contester for the title of "artist least likely to enjoy a major career re-estimation," the story of cult enigma Rodriguez is nonetheless characterized by recurring moments of renaissance, sprawled over four decades and as many continents. Hopelessly obscure in the United States during his formative years as Detroit's answer to Dylan via Motown and Bacharach, in South Africa the artist notoriously remains a nostalgic reminder of apartheid. As Dutch national newspaper NRC Handelsblad discovered in 2005, young white South Africans who had been enlisted with the national service had embraced Rodriguez as their own counterculture Hendrix. However politically incorrect this must seem, their longing for the Vietnam era -- when smoking grass and listening to Rodriguez' thought-provoking lyrics was viewed as a means of rebelling against their own ultra-conservative government -- comes across as perfectly imaginable. As a consequence, much of his repertoire remains a big favorite of singalongs at an average "Braai", or barbecue party.
Born in Detroit in 1942, Sixto Diaz Rodriguez originated from a working-class background and dropped out of high school at the age of 16. Dividing his time between hanging around the university campus and playing assorted unconventional clubs and bars, he was introduced to Impact's Harry Balk, which led to the recording of his first single "I'll Slip Away" in 1967. When Balk took off for a career as a creative director at Motown, session players and ardent Rodriguez supporters Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore put him under the attention of Clarence Avant. About to set up his Sussex label, the latter was genuinely impressed with the artist's take on Detroit street life and supplied Theo-Coff Productions with sufficient means to cut an album's worth of material. Naturally, Theodore and Coffey took up keyboard and guitar duties, in addition to employing second wave Motown Funk Brothers for a rhythm section. Recording Rodriguez separately, they afterwards matched his voice and acoustic guitar to a sonic palette of various orchestrations and psychedelic effects. Being Sussex' first release, the resulting Cold Fact was a stone-cold folk-rock classic with an otherworldly feel to it.
Though industry-wise it was met with positive reviews, commercially the album gathered only dust. Theories as to why it didn't catch on in the climate of socially conscientious albums like Cloud Nine and What's Going on range from either not being played by underground radio and thus not meeting its intended public, or insufficient marketing by Buddah, with whom Sussex had a promotion and distribution deal. Though subsequently concentrating on Bill Withers, Avant offered Rodriguez the chance to record a follow-up in London with Steve Rowland (renowned for Family Dog's "Sympathy"). When 1971's Coming from Reality met a similar fate as its predecessor, the artist left the music business to enroll at university, in between working construction to support his family. End of story, you would think, but unbeknown to Rodriguez, he definitely wouldn't be left to reside in the "where are they now files".
Much to the artist's own surprise in 1979, he was requested to do some small theater shows Down Under, coinciding with the chart success of Australian re-releases of his albums. Fast forward to 1998, when Rodriguez was even more amazed to find vast amounts of mainstream acceptance. Apparently, some South African fans had invested quite a lot of effort in tracking down their long-lost hero. Their excitement to find him alive and well convinced Rodriguez to play arena-sized venues. At last, in the 21st century, his genius was acknowledged across America and mainland Europe, his popularity re-sparked by hip-hop loving-crate diggers like David Holmes, whose mix compilation Come Get It, I Got It used Cold Fact's opening shot "Sugar Man" for its own eclectic musical journey. In 2008, Cold Fact became more easily available through a lovingly annotated re-release, followed in 2009 by Coming from Reality. To celebrate his umpteenth rediscovery, Rodriguez embarked upon a world tour, meeting old fans and a whole new generation of admirers. This renaissance was mirrored in the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man and companion compilation soundtrack, which followed two Rodriguez fans' quest to discover the fate of one of their most beloved artists.
