Another artist that time appears to have passed by. Another record I find myself falling in love with.
Despite the derivative sounding up-tempos, despite the lack of a signature hit, there is more than enough heart and soul, passion and pain on You Got My Mind Messed Up to catch my attention midway through the first listen and not let up for a week or more.
It is the evocative down-tempo tunes which initially enchant, not as catchy or heartbreaking as those of Arthur Alexander, but polished and profound nonetheless.
As usual for this era, the session musicians backing Carr are phenomenal, building him up and keeping out of his way, never pulling focus but oh-so accomplished when you do actually notice them.
For once, although I fully endorse Tom Moon’s inclusion in the thousand, I understand why Carr’s name is not a household one. There is no single song here that demands attention, nothing that makes a listener sing along with more than perhaps just the evocative song titles themselves. The rest is beautiful, but there is no urgency, no immediacy.
If this sounds like a lukewarm recommendation, then I am not doing this album justice. It is the kind of record that gets into your head and under your skin – it certainly got into and under mine.
For all its apparent shortcomings You Got My Mind Messed Up is the kind of album that gets played again and again. And if I am not accurately articulating the reason why, you’ll just have to go have a listen for yourself . . .
Next Week: The Original Carter Family – 1927 to 1934
Owned before blogging? No. (12 of 160 = 8%)
Heard before blogging? No. (21 of 160 = 13%)
Recommend? Yes. (134 of 160 = 84%)