Susan Christie – Paint A Lady (1970)
Artist: Susan Christie
Title: Paint A Lady
Year: 1970
Format: LP
Label: Finders Keepers
Susan Christie was a Philly based sophomore folk singer who had one novelty hit for a major label and never quite recovered – Afterwards, her psychedelic take on country standards and hand crafted tales of inner-city solitude backed by a break heavy folk-funk rhythm section was never accepted as a commercial viabilty by record company big-wigs.
They obviously couldn’t quite muster their nostradamus sensibilities to forsee what future hip hop producers and DJ’s would be feeding into digital music-machines 30 years down the line!
Luckily three -fifths of a handful (literally three!) privately pressed vanity copies were manufactured in early 1970 one of which became the source material for Finders Keepers 6th LP in their expanding library of obscure, obtuse, obsolete and obsessive vintage music from the 60′s and 70′s.
Uber legend John Hill who penned the acid-rock floor-filler ‘LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE,’ for ‘Wool’ and ‘Pacific Gas And Electric’ produced the LP which features 8 tracks including a Johnny Cash cover and a 9 minute ‘drugsploitation’ epic called ‘Yesterday – Where’s My Mind’ featuring Susan flipping vocal styles between Janis Joplin and Margo Guryan (… who was in fact a close friend of Susan’s at the time of recording). (Prairie Prince Minsky)
Track Listing
- Rainy Day
- Paint A Lady
- For The Love Of A Soldier
- Ghost Riders In The Sky
- Yesterday, Where’s My Mind?
- Echo In Your Mind
- When Love Comes
- No One Can Hear You Cry
One of those voices that glows with innocence and seduction at the same time. The centerpiece here is an extended take on the Box Tops’ “Yesterday Where’s My Mind” with a whispered / moaned / shrieked narrative beginning that anticipates Patti Smith by a few seasons. “Why pretend you don’t see her, just be glad you don’t have to be her.”
I like these songs. No doubt she is seriously trying to atone for her novelty record, “I Love Onions”, by turning up the melancholy. “Paint a Lady” is almost too depressing: the cotton-candy seller, the man with a pointed stick who picks up papers, who can know their pain? “Echo in Your Mind” is a folk song for people on the road. “Rainy Day” uses a time-honored descending chord progression to set a doleful mood. Then again, “When Love Comes”, you feel happy – indeed you do. Finally there’s “No One Can Hear You Cry”, a sort of “Alfie” bossa nova that seems a little out of place here.
“Echo in Your Mind” and “Ghost Riders In The Sky” are the highlights in this album IMO. thx
When I heard Yesterday, Where’s My Mind? I sat bolt upright in bed ran back to my office and had no idea what was playing until I rechecked my playlist. I was stunned, no words to describe this girl and that track except, Amazing…
It’s cool.