After releasing
Richard Swift's final studio album
The Hex a couple of months after his untimely death in 2018,
Secretly Canadian pairs two of the songwriter/producer's EPs, 2008's
Ground Trouble Jaw and 2011's
Walt Wolfman on an R&B-themed compilation. A pop historian often recognized for the influence of Tin Pan Alley and stylistic heirs
Randy Newman and
Harry Nillson on his songwriting -- including their sharp wit -- on these EPs,
Swift also prizes soul, funk, and blues on contrasting sets. The earlier
Ground Trouble Jaw includes an eclectic, tuneful mix of styles, from the classic Motown-steeped "Lady Luck" to the vaudeville-esque ditty "A Song for Milton Feher." The former features
Swift's trademark haunting reverb, as does the soulful vintage prom ballad "Would You?" More mischievous and less sweet, "The Bully" combines '60s soul and the novelty quality of "Monster Mash" for the funnest "bully"-titled song since "Wooly Bully." Speaking of monsters, more extreme on all fronts is
Walt Wolfman, whose ghostly "MG 333" is so cavernous as to be nearly incomprehensible. Displacing lyrics, its lush, echoing vocal harmonies, skittering drums, and seemingly infinite depth take the spotlight, also pushing aside keyboards that are only barely needed and only barely there. Later, the aptly titled "Zombie Boogie" leads into the howling, psychedelic rock tune "Out & About." The seven-track monsters-and-misfits-themed EP closes with "Drakula (Hey Man!)" and the funky,
Booker T.-inspired instrumental "St. Michael." Each notably self-recorded on a four-track, these EPs stand as a record of
Swift's rewarding audaciousness as a producer and as a song stylist. ~ Marcy Donelson
