This is an absolutely stunning album, but for some reason Peter Blegvad remains one of the most unknown great performers in the world. For sometime now he has been one of our most able, original, and witty songwriters, and yet even knowledgeable fans will not even recognize his name.
While Blegvad has produced a number of first rate collections of songs, KING STRUT AND OTHER STORIES, first released in 1990, remains his finest achievement. Nearly every song on the album is a stunner, from the opening and title track, "King Strut," all the way to its raw, "plugged" reprise at the end of the disc, Blegvad churns out one amazingly original song after another. There are no weak cuts on this disc. Among my favorites are "Not Weak Enough," which appeared originally on the album DOWNTIME, but which was recorded in a greatly simplified but improved version here, "Gold," "Stranger to Myself," and "Meantime," which unpeels like an onion the various uses to which that word can be put.
I think anyone enjoying good songwriting, from Elliot Smith to T-Bone Burnett to Richard Thompson, will find this to be a spectacular addition to their music library. This album is a classic that has yet to be recognized as such.
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