Jobriath – As The River Flows: the unreleased recordings (1971-72)
Eschatone Records, June 2014
Alejandro De Luna
★ ★ ★ ★
The most tragic and underrated story in pop music?
If you think that David Bowie, next to Marc Bolan, The New York Dolls and Roxy Music pioneered glam rock and androgyny in music, well, it´s true, but you´re certainly not giving credit to this graceful and unlucky man…
Meet one of the most underrated, tragic and obscure artists of all time. Meet an elegant man, who lived (and died) like a New York segregated drag queen, and without the opportunity to fully show his talent covered in stray glamour and sexual ambiguity.
Meet the first openly gay rockstar of all time that was too advanced to its generation. Meet the fragile man that was too damn real – maybe still too real – for being even poorly successful or recognized by the greediness of the music industry and homophobic journalists.
Meet a pioneer with a unique perspective in music, art and life detonated by an overdose of glitter and doom, theatrics with a Broadway-like approach, nudity, androgyny, tons of cheap make up and paraphernalia, a savage past, tragedy and a wonderful voice embellished with a heartbreaking piano and glam-like gaudy guitars.
Meet Jobriath, the timeless artist that lived in the vault of degradation and discrimination for decades. Meet Jobriath´s music, a collection of immaculate and timeless recordings that were disfavored and forgotten till the judge of time fairly brings honor and pays his respects to the legacy of a tremendous artist.
The story goes like this. Born Bruce Wayne Campbell in 1946 in Pennsylvania, this classically trained pianist and tormented soul trapped in the invisible prison of American conservatism and double morality, migrated in the early 70s to the sleazy streets of Manhattan where he started working as a hustler while acting and playing piano for a friend´s theatre show. With a handful of outtakes, a drag-like appeal and renamed Jobriath, our fragile man got signed by Elektra Records. The deal materialized with Jobriath (1973) and Creatures Of The Street (1975), two of the most obscure (and essential) albums from the 70s that could be easily compared with gems like The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars, Roxy Music or Electric Warrior.
But the world was not ready for Jobriath so they kicked him out of the label. Then he retreated to a cabaret under the name of Cole Berlin and worked as a prostitute in the streets of New York until he lost the battle against AIDS in 1983. He never saw a piece of recognition. Life´s fair?
Although masterfully talented, Jobriath has already been laughed off the face of the planet (this one, and quite possibly other planets, too) as a beautiful blunder whose lyrics read like and exchange of under-the-dryer face pack gossip. On every level, the press work against him, and his name is generally only heard as a punch line. My duty is to run to his rescue, and thankfully he makes it all worthwhile – Morrissey
Jobriath – As The River Flows
Life isn´t fair and Jobriath´s the best example, but to celebrate his legacy, Eschatone Records just released the most important piece of recorded noise that came to my hands in a long time. After releasing Amazing Dope Tales, Jobriath´s three-song, 10” vinyl last fall, this NY record label brings a more ambitious project that beautifully presents the glitter and tragedy of Jobriath.
This is Jobriath´s major release in four decades and his first full-length album of previously unreleased recordings from 1971-72 – definitely an essential piece of underrated pop culture and Jobriath´s most honest and raw collection of songs from his unfortunate career. And it comes beautifully presented in three editions: the digital download for the practical listeners; a CD in a seductive digipack, and an outstanding 180-gram, deluxe limited-edition (500) vinyl full of hidden goodies for the nostalgic ones. Certainly a must have.
As The River Flows revives this New York cabaretesque street feeling that artists like The Velvets, Lou Reed or The New York Dolls achieved while outlining social decadence, prostitution and drug abuse. Half of the tracks include a full piece band of pink glam-like glamour while the other half captures a lonesome Jobriath at his darkest and more virtuosic at the piano while he throw eloquent stories on dope, money, fame, sex, and homosexuality.
From the cabaretesque ‘Duck Lullaby’, to ‘Amazing Dope Tales’, a song that could easily fit into Lou Reed´s early amphetamine fueled catalogue that mutates into an scat singing anthem about smack. From ‘Imamam’, a Jobriath´s classic reinvented in a piano driven piece where his own description as an elegant man waiting to love another man, gains in hysteria while his voice diminishes as it fulfills his obsessions with classical music, to ‘So Long Miss Jagger’, a Jerry Lee Lewis-esque track embellished by its piano driven madness of primitive rock ‘n’ roll.
But where Jobriath gets more serious, vulnerable and at his darkest, is with songs like “Little Dreamer”, a tragic ballad about the passing of time and money that could certainly beat some of Bowie´s Hunky Dory best tracks. And what about this new version of ‘Inside’ or ‘City Freak’ that sound like if Elton John lost his mind.
Yes, you will remember Bowie´s best stuff when you listen to As The River Flows, but with a sense of rawness and sincerity that you cannot find in the London boy. And yes, it´s true that Bowie brought the sensual androgyny and lustful horror show to a massive level, but Jobriath was the real thing. Basically, he´s what Bowie wanted to achieve in customs. Let´s put it this way: Bowie reflected the glitter and doom with an alter ego, but Jobriath didn´t have any. He was the nitty-gritty of glam rock. Too damn real for Bowie´s plastic eccentricities and too damn real for all of us. And As The River Flows is a proof of this.
Where´s my glitter, high heels and lipstick?
