Emitt Rhodes

October 12, 2006 11:04 AM

Emitt Rhodes "still doesn’t know what hit him. Thirty years ago, he was the new Paul McCartney, an ambitious kid who craved the perfect pop song. Then he got blindsided into submission by the heartless business of music. Now he’s just another sad guy with a boatload of talent that got buried in a black hole of depression."
posted by njm (21 comments total)

Very interesting story.

I wonder how much money it would take for a grassroots effort to put together an album.
posted by Kickstart70 at 11:29 AM on October 12, 2006

It's not-so-refreshing to realize (again) that the music industry has always sucked, and that the awfulness of the current industry is really just the evolution of the old.

When was the internet going to change all that again?
posted by illovich at 11:35 AM on October 12, 2006

Heh. I once owned his "Emmit Rhodes" album. It was in the cut-out bin at the local furniture store back in '72 or '73. My friends and I enjoyed mocking "Fresh As A Daisy," but the rest of the album was pretty good, as I recall.
posted by Floydd at 11:50 AM on October 12, 2006

I like Emmit but to me he never really lived up to the new Paul McCartney title. Nice post though. I've never really known much about Emmit's personal life and will now dive it into a bit more.
posted by gfrobe at 12:06 PM on October 12, 2006

I'd take Rhodes over McCartney's solo career any day.
posted by dobbs at 12:15 PM on October 12, 2006

He should have never listened to Yoko. Everyone knew that she would be he demise.
posted by esquire at 12:20 PM on October 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

Floydd -- "Fresh as a Daisy" is a great song, and Emmit Rhodes First two albums are -- indeed -- the great lost Paul McCartney albums. Everyone also needs to check out Rhodes' work with his first group, the Merry Go Round (some people may have heard covers of their song "Live" -- Bangles did one, I think, and "You're a very lovely Woman"). Some of the Merry Go Round songs are included on the two excellent Emmit Rhodes compilation CDs currently in print.
I have to say that even though I'm possibly the world's leading Emmit Rhodes fan, his later albums were so awful that one can't help but wonder if his subsequent disappearance from the business was all that much of a tragedy. I mean, he might just have been played out -- the same way Paul McCartney was more or less played out after the Beatles.
Further, I remember reading an interview with him in the early 70s, where he complained about being compared to McCartney, and said that James Taylor was his real major influence. James fricking Taylor! I almost puked.
posted by Faze at 12:56 PM on October 12, 2006

Thanks so much for this post, njm. Rhodes is someone I always forget to check out.
posted by sleepy pete at 12:59 PM on October 12, 2006

I like Emmit but to me he never really lived up to the new Paul McCartney title.

Dubbing anybody "the New [insert rock legend]" is a recipe for doom, especially "the New [former Beatle]." That said, Emmit Rhodes did make some fine pop-rock gems.
posted by jonmc at 1:03 PM on October 12, 2006

Hey, at least he made it to the Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack, and at least he didn't wind up in a mental hospital.
posted by redsparkler at 1:09 PM on October 12, 2006

Thanks for the info Faze.

I just bought Emitt Rhodes on Sunday, so I'm not familiar with any of his other recordings beyond the samples in my 2nd link.

sleepy pete, you're welcome.
posted by njm at 1:12 PM on October 12, 2006

An interesting Trivia note: When Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks recorded Where's the Money, they were the opening act for Rhodes at the Troubador in LA that week.
posted by Danf at 1:16 PM on October 12, 2006

His songs are catchy, but it seems like he was doomed to failure since he sounded so much like McCartney. It's rare that a carbon copy contemporary of such a hugely popular artist can lay down a foundation for a lasting career.

Who was that guy that was supposed to be the next Bob Dylan, no, not Bruce Springsteen, who managed to keep his distance stylistically from his influences… Oh yeah, Sammy Walker.

I mean, Rhodes sounds great, but it's hard to get excited about it because it doesn't sound unique, or new, blah blah blah…
posted by JBennett at 1:17 PM on October 12, 2006

Actually, he doesn't really sound THAT much like McCartney. I think the biggest point of similarity is Rhodes' use (overuse) of the pounding-triplet piano style that characterized a lot of McCartney's late Beatles and early solo stuff. A little bit of that goes a long way (see "Maxwell's Silver Hammer").
posted by Faze at 1:45 PM on October 12, 2006

I don't know. In 1970, I bet that debut album sounded a LOT like McCartney. I'm not saying it's identical, but Rhodes broke exactly no new ground while recording a cool record.

The Beatles were a tough act to follow even for all 4 Beatles! I just don't think anyone should be surprised that Rhodes didn't become "The next Paul".
posted by JBennett at 2:07 PM on October 12, 2006

I just had his albums recommended to me over on ILX when I was asking about power pop... I'll have to (ahem) acquire some from the internet when I get home.
posted by klangklangston at 2:17 PM on October 12, 2006

Wait, what's the problem with being in a black hole of depression? Elliott Smith had it and he ... oh wait, nevermind.
posted by nasreddin at 7:09 PM on October 12, 2006

...and here's another thing to keep in mind: In 1970, nobody else was doing this stuff anymore! Okay, there was Badfinger. But everybody else in the world of popular music was in a drugged up, long-guitar-solo-playing haze. Rock was beginning its headlong plunge into the pretentious banality that -- a few years later -- would make the scorched earth arrival of punk if not necessary, at least understanable. Rhodes was out there all alone, trying to do the thing that had gotten us all interested in rock music to begin with -- create a good pop song. Finally, the Raspberries (pop's apotheosis) came along to pick up the baton in whatever it was -- 73, or so. But, man, you had to be there to know how utterly bleak the future of rock music looked in 1970. Even a guy like Rhodes, who was breaking no new ground, who was just holding the fort, was deeply appreciated.
So respect this man.
posted by Faze at 7:16 PM on October 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

Your favorite decade of rock sucks.
posted by Bugbread at 9:19 PM on October 12, 2006

My dad somehow ended up with a cassette copy of the first album in his car. We still don't know how it got there, but man was I happy to hear it.

Among Emitt's more well-known studio work was his production of Judee Sill's unreleased (until 2005) third album. /FYI
posted by pxe2000 at 2:15 PM on October 13, 2006

Oh, all Emitt's albums are worth hearing. There are three, or four if you count the A&M demos cash-in disk "American Dream." The third one, "Farewell to Paradise" has a heavier, jazzier sound that's less accessible, but anyone who digs great sunshiney pop will love "Emitt Rhodes" and "Mirror." McCartney soundalike or no, he wrote such deliciously sweet and catchy songs, and there aren't many one-man-band artists who managed to make their recordings sound so warm and full.

Like most of his younger fans, I found Emitt's albums in the quarter bin. I remember taking "Emitt Rhodes" home and playing the first song... and being so blown away that I took the needle off the record and decided I was going to wait until the next time I felt blue and use the rest of what was obviously a great album to cheer myself up. That's the only time I've ever done that, and I'm pleased to report it worked.

Emitt is a very... interesting person. Extremely frank, funny, no self pity, not vain. The interview he gave Edwin Letcher and I (for Scram and Garage & Beat) is one of the favorites I've ever conducted (excerpt), and I recently put some of the photos he shared from his mom's collection up on flickr for others to enjoy. Look at that baby face!
posted by Scram at 2:31 PM on October 14, 2006