Last month, Omnivore Records re-issued a pair of vintage albums by the late troubadour Steve Goodman, whose playing style mixed country, jazz, folk and blues with a sardonic with not unlike Mort Sahl or Dave Frishberg. Two more albums of his have recently been re-released, along with a slew of wonderful bonus material.
1984’s Santa Ana Winds was issued right after Goodman’s death from leukemia, and only a little while after his highly clever swan song Affordable Art. This one is technically his last “finished” album, mixing concert and studio material, as he sings and plays guitar with The Amazing Eclectic band, and is essentially a C&W album with a twist. Jeff Hanna and Jimmy Ibbotson from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band contribute “Face on the Cutting Room Floor” and the rocker “The One That Got Away” and Emmylou Harris sits in on the heartacher “Fourteen Days.” A bunch of solo acoustic tracks are added on, including “Homo Sapiens” and “Outside of Nashville.” Strong and filled with “what ifs.”
In 1987, Unfinished Business was released as a patching together of various older recordings that reflected the wide palate of his musical taste. You get some sophisticated ballads like “Whispering Man” and “ In Real Life” while some country bubbles up on “Mind Over Matter” while his sardonic with is exemplified in “ God Bless Our Mobile Home.” A dash of jazz standards is elicited on an intimate“ My Funny Valentine” and some cozy duets include one with Goodman and mandolinist Jethro Burns during “”Now And Then” There’s a Fool Such as I.” Goodman’s unpretentious and casual voice makes you feel right at home the whole time. A talent worth (re)discovering.