Music Review: Emitt Rhodes: The Emitt Rhodes Recordings 1969-1973 (Hippo, CD)

Emitt Rhodes made three amazing LPs in the early 70s, playing and recording everything himself at home. He looked and sounded a bit like McCartney and was labeled “The One-Man Beatles.” Unfortunately, his is a sad, familiar tale—a crazy-bad record deal, he lost the rights to his music, got ripped off, and left the business. His albums have been notoriously hard to find on CD, so the release of this new set—which combines his three solo albums with one recorded as he was leaving1960s pop band The Merry Go-Round—is like finding the Holy Grail for his cult of fans. Vocally, Rhodes echoes Harry Nilsson and The Monkees' Davy Jones as well as, of course, McCartney, but he was also a first-class writer and unique instrumentalist. A spiffy remastering job presents these recordings with clarity. Recommended to fans of 70s melodic rock. This is a limited edition, so get it before it's going for $100 on eBay.