Rating: NNNN
Not a flimsy 2001 stab at breathy psychedelic pop, but the real thing, Margo Guryan’s striking Take A Picture debut came out in 1968 and got the attention of people like Astrud Gilberto, Glen Campbell and Harry Nilsson. Typically, Guryan immediately stopped making music, and Take A Picture vanished into the big-dollar world of Japanese bootleggers and British record collectors.
Franklin Castle’s tasteful reissue shows what got the folks in St. Etienne so worked up when they first heard it. Guryan barely whispers her vocals, giving most of the focus to string and sitar-drenched easy pop. Things occasionally lurch into loose, Gainsbourg-inspired funk but mostly stick close to subdued jazz and bossa beats. A Sunday-morning classic worth hunting down.
Franklin Castle’s tasteful reissue shows what got the folks in St. Etienne so worked up when they first heard it. Guryan barely whispers her vocals, giving most of the focus to string and sitar-drenched easy pop. Things occasionally lurch into loose, Gainsbourg-inspired funk but mostly stick close to subdued jazz and bossa beats. A Sunday-morning classic worth hunting down. www.franklincastle.com MATT GALLOWAY
