R Stevie Moore - Me Too!

Back to the archives with the patron saint of home recording

Me Too! is Cherry Red’s second voyage of exploration into the furthest reaches of the parrallel universe that is self-styled king of the independents, R Stevie Moore’s immense archive of DIY recordings – an epic journey that began with last year’s Meet The R Stevie Moore.

Endearingly, as with its predecessor, the 21 homegrown creations, plus the secret bonus item, are stylistically, musically, thematically and conceptually all over the place. With all material written, recorded, performed and produced by RSM between 1976 and 1994 (1986 seems to have been particularly productive, with eight tracks dating from this year alone), Moore’s distinctively maverick approach is captured in all its freewheeling glory across a bewildering range of styles.

As befits a native of Nashville, various shades of country and weirdness are detectable, albeit mixed and matched with left-field electro beats, as on Elation Damnation and Ryman Auditorium. For RSM at his most out-there look no further than Outpatient, a song sabotaged by cut-ups of phone conversations where the caller is heard trying to locate the number of a record company in LA, while complaining about a blocked sink.

Cherry Red | CDMRED 413

Reviewed by Grahame Bent
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