Emitt Rhodes

Emitt Rhodes has been called a one-man-band. That’s fair. He did, in fact, write the songs, play all the instruments, and even record himself in his home recording studio, creating a layered, indie-pop that still sounds modern today.

Rhodes being all of the pieces of the whole may be what gives Emitt Rhodes, released in 1970, such heart. It’s an emotionally bare performance— nothing between performer and listener. And with that barrier removed, there’s a rawness that runs quietly underneath. At times that rawness comes out as sadness (“Long Time No See”), other times as a deep regret (“Promises I’ve Made”), but it’s always honest. This is an honesty that sometimes feels like catching a glimpse of a letter that wasn’t meant for you, a diary page left open.

The first of his three solo albums in the 1970s, Emitt Rhodes is not just an artist introducing himself, it’s an artist revealing himself, song-by-song.