Jaime Brockett - Remember The Wind And The Rain (Reissue) (1968/2005)

Folksinger and composer Jaime Brockett's debut album, Remember the Wind and the Rain (1971), easily demonstrates why readers of Broadside magazine heralded him as Boston, MA's top male performer circa 1968. Brockett's emotive side is revealed on the title track, "Blue Chip," and the hauntingly beautiful "Nowadays," juxtaposed against the anti-authoritarian hippie anthems "Talkin' Green Beret New Super Yellow Hydraulic Banana Teeny Bopper Blues" and the nearly quarter-hour "Legend of the U.S.S Titanic." Even though the latter sounds like an amphetamine-fueled rave, it includes a coded message and some sage advice: if one has the need to partake of recreational combustibles, it should be done "in the privacy of your own home." This is opposed to imbibing on the bow of a ship -- as the narrative blames a pot-tokin' first mate as the responsible party for the vessel's fate. "St. Botolph St. Grey Morning Dulcimer Thing" -- bearing the name of St. Botolph, Boston's patron saint -- is another interesting entry, as it is Brockett's sole original as well as the only instrumental on the disc. The melody contains a few striking resemblances to the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," and Brockett's prowess on the hammer dulcimer is impressive as the tune ambles and winds up to an accelerated climax and then gently slows for the conclusion. As the spelling might infer, the achingly poignant "Suzzane" isn't a cover of the Leonard Cohen song, but is one of the effort's standouts, thanks in part to Tony Rubino's eloquent acoustic fretwork. The withdrawn intimacy in the reworking of "One Too Many Mornings" sharply contrasts with Bob Dylan's version, offering up an otherwise obscured vantage point in the author's verse. The long-player concludes on a portentous note with "Bag on the Table," a hauntingly noir tale of a life lost and tragically wasted. Although Brockett would go on to record a couple more albums, it is undoubtedly Remember the Wind and the Rain that most folks will recall.