Buzzy Linhart - Loves You (2001)

Buzzy Linhart is a cult artist, albeit a cult artist with celebrity fans -- something that the back cover of Razor & Tie's compilation Buzzy Linhart Loves You: Classic Recordings makes no bones about, as it touts Jimi Hendrix, Bill Cosby, David Crosby, John Sebastian, Bette Midler, Richard Belzer, Harry Nilsson, and Todd Rundgren (among others) as fans. This actually offers an indication of what Linhart's music is all about. It's an eccentric, humorous, take on pop, folk, and soul, tied together by Linhart's unfocused gifts. This compilation, assembled and annotated by Ben Vaughn, offers selections from 1970s Music, 1971's The Time to Live Is Now, and 1972's Buzzy, all the albums Linhart completed before his health started to deteriorate. As Vaughn points out in the notes, Linhart always seemed to miss the boat, playing with Sebastian in a pre-Lovin' Spoonful outfit, almost singing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, and even turning down an offer to play on Highway 61 Revisited. It's hard not to feel pangs of sympathy for Linhart's bad luck, but listening to his solo recordings, it's little wonder that he didn't break out of a cult. That's not to say that this is bad music, since it isn't. It often shows flashes of brilliance, either in its performance and composition; Linhart is an enthusiastic performer and these are nice early-'70s rock songs, with slight soul and soft rock inclinations. But, he comes across as a looser, folkier, less arrogant, more accessible Rundgren (who did mix Buzzy and whose Utopia colleague Moogy Klingman collaborated with Linhart). This may sound like the key to a wider audience, but it's not, since it comes off as more insular. But -- and this is a pretty big but, actually -- once you acquire a taste for Linhart, he's pretty irresistible. Not consistent, even on this compilation, but very charming, as he spins out wild guitar solos, crafts tuneful, sings soulfully, and just indulges in weirdness (check the scatting and vibraphone solo (which dips into "Flight of the Bumblebee") on "Cheat-Cheat-Lied/Hit the Road Jack"). So, this may not be for everyone, but lovers of early-'70s pop eccentrics certainly should give this a spin.