Rodriguez – Coming From Reality (LP)

Just imagine you wake up one morning and someone tells you that 20 years ago you’ve been one of the most famous artists in South Africa, but they think you’ve killed yourself on stage a long time ago. That’s pretty much what happened to Sixto Rodriguez who came from the music scene in Detroit where he played in small bars. He had a small fanbase in Australia but never had a big breakthrough, except for, without his knowledge, in South Africa where he became some sort of anti-Apartheid icon.
Coming from Reality is one of two albums he released in the early 70s and it’s slightly superior to his debut Cold Fact. When listening to it it’s incomprehensible why he never became popular in the United States, it’s raw and authentic singer/songwriter music with great lyrics and a certain coolness that only few possessed, parallels to Bob Dylan and Tom Waits aren’t too far off.