RODD KEITH
SAUCERS IN THE SKY
roar 10 CD
also available via iTunes
Rodney Keith Eskelin, aka Rodd Keith, aka Rod Rogers, would've
certainly found the recognition during his lifetime that his talent
demanded, if he hadn't chosen to work in the lowest depths of
the music industry: the "send us your lyrics" field, known
today as the song-poem genre. Saucers In The Sky gathers together
twenty-six previously uncollected Rodd Keith gems from the hundreds
upon hundreds of songs that he recorded before he leapt from a highway
overpass in 1974.
It would be inaccurate to call this a collection of forgotten pop
classics. "Forgotten" implies that they were known in the
first place. Outside of the aspiring lyricists who bankrolled the
proceedings, plus a few of their friends and relations, none of
Rodd Keith's records registered the slightest blip on the musical
radar of their time.
The irony runs deep: the song-poem business was a stylus' breadth
away from being an outright scam, capitalizing on the dreams of
would-be songwriters and filling their heads with visions of breakout
hits and fame and fortune. In reality, if the lyrics themselves
weren't unwieldy or strange enough to hobble any chances of
entering the charts with a bullet, the assembly line production
style of the recording insured that the majority of the songs were
musically undistinguished. The best of Rodd Keith's work, however,
easily transcends its lowly, no-hope origins, and therein lies the
kicker: if the pressing runs for songs like "Magic In Her Eyes"
or "Go Go Girlie" had broken the triple digit mark, or found
their first point of sale in a Sam Goody rather than a thrift shop,
they could've undoubtedly attained some measure of the popular
success that their hapless creators were led to believe would follow.
And while such tunes as "Ravens" or "Sawdust" were
too lyrically bent for Billboard glory, they remain prime examples
of Rodd's brilliance as a singer, composer and arranger.
Saucers In The Sky also includes two never-before-released tracks:
a cover of "Here Comes The Judge" from a soul-soundalike
session, and "Get On My Honda, Rhonda," written as a birthday
gift for Rodd's best friend's son. Packaged in a mini-LP
gatefold sleeve, with liner notes from Del Casher, inventor of the
wah-wah pedal and guitarist on many of Rodd's early recordings,
and Stacey Keith, Rodd's daughter.
"He was a '60s Bob Pollard...beyond the weird lyrics, many
of the songs on Saucers In The Sky are just wonderful pop songs,
with great melodies and strange, unexpected chord progressions...whereas
most song-poems sound like the rush jobs they usually were, Keith's
are surprisingly detailed, with weird production ideas, verses and
choruses that actually make sense together, and good performances...a
virtuosic songwriter." - Charlie Wilmoth, Dusted
"Mort dans un accident son personnage flotte comme le fantôme d’un être dont l’inaccomplissement est à la mesure des dons qui lui étaient échus. Cette édition, sorte d’«œuvres complètes» dérisoires vise évidement à donner une place aimante à la mémoire de cet errant sans poids." - Noël Tachet, Improjazz
"Highly recommended" - Jennifer Hor, The Sound Projector
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