I randomly stumbled upon this LP today and was left with one of those pleasantly surprised looks that any vinyl collector knows and loves. I had known about this record after hearing one of it's tracks on Fading Yellow Vol. 7. From what I can gather this is John Randolph Marr's lone LP and was released sometime in 1970. For the intents and purposes of this blog I will assume most of the material was recorded in 1969. Apparently Harry Nilsson was originally set up to produce this album but passed the baton to Gary Osborne to finish the job after being impressed with some of his results. Other than that the only thing about this record I can gather is that there was a promo single released ('Hallelujah b/w 'I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now') at an undisclosed date.
The album itself is a bit of a mixed bag with an array of styles most often accompanied by orchestral arrangements with occasional electric guitar and gospel backing vocals. Although nicely produced it's not typically something that fits my bill. At times Marr's voice recalls John Sebastian in certain Lovin' Spoonful tunes, and I also hear a bit of Tim Hardin here and there. By far the standout track (the one from the Fading Yellow Comp..) is the hauntingly sublime 'Raggedy Ann' which is enough of a force to include this LP on my blog. It really is one of those songs that wraps itself around your senses and removes you from your surroundings if you have the ear for this type of thing. Lush strings, distinct acoustic fingerpicking and prominent harpsichord provide a perfect backdrop to Marr's haunting and mysterious lyrics.
'Raggedy Ann has a pocket of goodies for you and for her and for me /
she is the mother of all of the children who blindly found hell just to see'
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