When I say that Johnny Lloyd Rollins sounds like Emitt Rhodes, I mean that he sounds like Emitt Rhodes. It's not just a reference for you fans of the game of who-sounds-like-who; it's the real thing, three decades on from the original.

From the first notes of Let's Be Poor Together's title song, a paen to the simple things in a romance, Rollins sounds all the world like Rhodes, intoning Rhodes' sweet, upper register vocal tones and approach to melody (and, not coincidentally, Paul McCartney's musical spirit). When Rollins double tracks his voice on the chorus, it sends chills up the spine. The considered, slow trek of the enticing "Sulphur Springs Midnight Scatt," a love song, if ever there was one, to a bath house, is a marvelous showcase for Rollins' voice and storytelling skills; Rollins the writer sweats all of the details that bring his tale to life. He even makes you feel sorry for the main character, who finds he can't get into heaven because of his sinning ways.

The one deviation from the ballad style Rollins perfects on this five-song EP (four of the songs are recorded sparely, with Rollins' acoustic guitar front and center) comes in the form of the barn raising, rockabilly rave-up "Miss Sugar Pie," which includes a sly nod to the guitar stylings of the Everly Brothers and a final, short shock of Fabness.

Rollins, hitting a home run out of the musical park his first time out, is an artist to watch. He's got more songs in the hopper (I've heard three, and they're equally as brilliant as anything here), and it would be a crime if you were to have to wait any longer than necessary to hear them.

Alan Haber
April 23, 2006

Go to: Johnny Lloyd Rollins

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