This CD release is an exciting opportunity to bring the full works of Nobody in Particular in one collection for the first time.
They had recorded together before they officially became a duet. She had sung backup on a few of his independent recordings, which were only made available at shows on the road. It was a low-tech operation, he'd joke. He'd still answer every fan letter by hand (and even 30 years later, he was still getting fan mail from his original groupies), but the CD orders took sometimes as long as 3 years to process.
Legend has it that she began working for him as an intern at the Radio Station (and supposedly did a lot of the programming and propping him up during those years as well). He was still touring as a solo act, or with his vanity band, but she was often tagged in photos and credited as "Road Manager". Their first official album as a duo, "Handsnaps and Fingerclaps" was originally released a full decade after they had met. The cover art is a blurry picture taken of them standing on an outcropping of rock, which scholars estimate to be in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, NYC, a place where she had lived intermittently.
Their second album contained mostly songs of her voice and his arrangements, his voice having already begun its losing battle with esophageal cancer. The bonus tracks presented here span a wide range of time and style, especially the bonus live tracks, exemplifying their legendary status as the "greatest duo that will never be Anybody in Particular".
The last notable item that haunts every reviewer is the occasions of their deaths. Hers is recorded as ---, and his is recorded as ----, just a few days later. It had been at least 20 years since they had performed together and sources close to both of them deny any known contact in the years leading up to their deaths. They had died in different states, literally and figuratively. Her in a car accident in Massachusetts and he of cancer in his home in Connecticut. The temptation is to imagine a deep psychic connection between the two. 2 days is not enough time for him to have seen her obituary in a paper, nor does it seem likely that in those days his local paper would have even carried it.
The one mystery we don't have is the magic of their music, which we-at Rock 'Em Records-hope you will enjoy their singing-and their clever patter- as we do. Enjoy!!
They had recorded together before they officially became a duet. She had sung backup on a few of his independent recordings, which were only made available at shows on the road. It was a low-tech operation, he'd joke. He'd still answer every fan letter by hand (and even 30 years later, he was still getting fan mail from his original groupies), but the CD orders took sometimes as long as 3 years to process.
Legend has it that she began working for him as an intern at the Radio Station (and supposedly did a lot of the programming and propping him up during those years as well). He was still touring as a solo act, or with his vanity band, but she was often tagged in photos and credited as "Road Manager". Their first official album as a duo, "Handsnaps and Fingerclaps" was originally released a full decade after they had met. The cover art is a blurry picture taken of them standing on an outcropping of rock, which scholars estimate to be in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, NYC, a place where she had lived intermittently.
Their second album contained mostly songs of her voice and his arrangements, his voice having already begun its losing battle with esophageal cancer. The bonus tracks presented here span a wide range of time and style, especially the bonus live tracks, exemplifying their legendary status as the "greatest duo that will never be Anybody in Particular".
The last notable item that haunts every reviewer is the occasions of their deaths. Hers is recorded as ---, and his is recorded as ----, just a few days later. It had been at least 20 years since they had performed together and sources close to both of them deny any known contact in the years leading up to their deaths. They had died in different states, literally and figuratively. Her in a car accident in Massachusetts and he of cancer in his home in Connecticut. The temptation is to imagine a deep psychic connection between the two. 2 days is not enough time for him to have seen her obituary in a paper, nor does it seem likely that in those days his local paper would have even carried it.
The one mystery we don't have is the magic of their music, which we-at Rock 'Em Records-hope you will enjoy their singing-and their clever patter- as we do. Enjoy!!
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