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When jazz indie Prestige started dabbling in the 60s café folk scene, they likely thought they’d scored the male Odetta in Chicago singer/songwriter Terry Callier. In fact, Callier was more like the African-American precursor of Nick Drake, whose subtly sophisticated song ideas would likewise take some 25 years to be properly appreciated. On this re-release of Callier’s debut, with three unissued tracks added, you can hear that velvety rich voice and the economically jazzy guitar figures that put the quiet neighbour of Curtis Mayfield years ahead of his hootenanny contemporaries and inspired the current crop of soul folkies like Beth Orton and Joseph Malik. Lovely.
