THE RISING STORM

R. Stevie Moore, with hundreds of albums under his belt – most of them scratchy home-recordings released on cassette tape – is an unrecognized genius. Born in Nashville, son to Elvis’s bass player, Bob Moore, Robert Steven Moore grew up in the music business. Opting to make it on his own with the reel-to-reel instead of working sessions, his dedication to independent recording has yielded troves of unaffected, wildly original music. Earlier this year, he told Vanity Fair: “I’ve worked harder than anybody to become rich and famous, but I remain poor and anonymous!”

Phonography was Stevie’s first official long player, recorded from 1973 to 1976 and originally released in 100 copies on the artist’s private Vital Records. Ingredients include lo-fi, direct input, overloaded electric guitar, a classical approach to warbly analog synth arrangements, hi-pitched erratic vocals, oddball skits that are genuinely funny, and a fine gift for pop songcraft. Within a few listens you’ll hear traces of Brian Wilson, The Mothers, Gary Wilson, and Daniel Johnston, the latter especially on goofy cuts like “Goodbye Piano.”

The opener, “Melbourne,” sets an unexpected stage, an anthemic synthesized introduction. Then Stevie shares a few words about his background whilst taking a piss!  The album is schizophrenic, but wonderfully listenable, even through magnetic tape distortions. The beauty is in the fidelity, Moore recognizes what’s special about recordings, and the record’s presentation is engaging rather than just plain weird. Then a perfect pop song comes out of nowhere!

Phonography is a record like no other, and merely an introduction to the incredible world of R. Stevie Moore. Find more than you could ever handle at rsteviemoore.com.

“I Want You In My Life”

CD Reissue | 1998 | Flamingo | rsteviemoore.com ]
MP3 Album | download at amzn ]