Elusive Butterfly: The Complete Jack Nitzsche Sessions

by Bob Lind

Overview

The name of arranger/producer Jack Nitzsche is prominent in the title of this reissue, possibly because Big Beat's parent label, Ace, had done a couple of various-artists compilations of Nitzsche productions shortly before this Bob Lind anthology was released. Actually, however, it comes close to serving not only as a best-of, but also as a document of almost everything Lind recorded for his mid-'60s label, World Pacific. All 22 of the tracks from his two World Pacific LPs (Don't Be Concerned and Photographs of Feeling, both from 1966) are here, as well as an unedited version of "I Can't Walk Roads of Anger" (which first came out on the 1993 collection The Best of Bob Lind: You Might Have Heard My Footsteps) and two previously unissued acoustic demos, "Whose Is the Funeral" and "Bring It All Down." Though nothing else he did was as successful or memorable as the big hit track on the disc, "Elusive Butterfly," it does include quite a few other recordings in a similarly pioneering orchestrated folk-rock style, some of which were covered by other artists ("Mr. Zero" by Yardbirds singer Keith Relf, "Counting" by Marianne Faithfull, "Cheryl's Goin' Home" by the Blues Project, and "Drifter's Sunrise" by the Gants). If you're trying to choose between Elusive Butterfly: The Complete Jack Nitzsche Sessions and The Best of Bob Lind: You Might Have Heard My Footsteps, it's a pretty close call, as 22 of the same songs appear on each CD. In its favor, You Might Have Heard My Footsteps has three songs not on Elusive Butterfly, including the 1967 single "It's Just My Love" and two 1967 outtakes, "I Fall to You" and "English Afternoon" -- the latter of which is a baroque-folk-rocker that's, unlike many such things added to CD reissues, one of the best things Lind ever cut. The two acoustic demos exclusive to Elusive Butterfly aren't so essential, though it's interesting that one of them, "Bring It All Down," was written for (but not recorded by) Cher. The annotation on both CDs is excellent, with plenty of quotes from Lind. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	06/26/2007
Label:	Chiswick Records / Big Beat Records
UPC:	0029667426527
Rank:	56058

Tracks

1. Elusive Butterfly
2. Mr Zero
3. You Shold Have Seen It
4. Counting
5. Drifter's Sunrise
6. Unlock the Door
7. Truly Julie's Blues (I'll Be There)
8. Dale Anne
9. The World Is Just a B-Movie
10. Cheryl's Goin' Home
11. It Wasn't Just the Morning
12. I Can't Walk Roads of Anger
13. Go Ask Your Man
14. Oh Babe Take Me Home
15. West Virginia Summer's Child
16. Eleanor
17. San Francisco Woman
18. The World Is Just a B-Movie Meets Reno, Funtown, USA
19. A Nameless Request
20. Remember the Rain
21. I Just Let It Take Me
22. We've Never Spoken
23. I Can't Walk Roads of Anger
24. Whose Is the Funeral
25. Bring It All Down

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Lind   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Bob Lind   Composer