Doom & Gloom From the Tomb

Bill Wilson - Ever Changing Minstrel

I know what you’re thinking: “Did Marlon Brando cut an LP for Columbia in the mid-70s? How did I not know about this?!” At least that’s what I thought when I saw the cover of Bill Wilson’s Ever Changing Minstrel, freshly reissued by Tompkins Square this month. Nope, this isn’t Brando under a pseudonym, just an excellent, long-lost collection of tunes produced by the legendary Bob Johnston, whose name graces the covers of classics by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot. The thin, wild mercury sound that was Johnston’s signature is very much in effect here, a funky Nashville thing with crackling snares, bouncy bass lines, crisp acoustic guitars and plenty of tasty slide guitar. Wilson’s direct songwriting and passionate vocals make Ever Changing Minstrel a record that will sit comfortably next to your Kristofferson, Newbury and Lightfoot releases from the same era — or in its more upbeat moments, anything off of Light In The Attic’s recent (highly recommended) Country Funk comp. The grooving “Pay Day Giveaway” is a standout, as is the innocence lost lament “To Rebecca.” Dig it! 

Sample a few tracks here.