Robbie Basho
Venus In Cancer

[Blue Thumb, 1969; Tompkins Square, 2006]

Styles: progressive folk
Others: Joanna Newsom, John Fahey, Leo Kottke

Robbie Basho had skills on the acoustic guitar. And yet, even as his former Takoma labelmates John Fahey and Leo Kottke become more revered with each passing year, Basho remains largely unknown. There are several theories surrounding the guitarist’s obscurity, but it’s hard to point to any one of them with certainty. In the end, maybe he just didn’t care for fame.

Robbie’s brand of improvisational, Eastern-influenced soloing was never obvious. Even after a half dozen listens to Venus In Cancer – which appears on CD for the first time by the grace of Tompkins Square – it’s hard to tell what the hell he was on about. Although it was 1969 and The Beatles had come and gone, Ravi Shankar’s wandering sitar never cracked the mainstream consciousness enough to establish a firm context for Basho’s flamenco raga to thrive in; never mind this sprawling Blue Thumb epic, loosely themed around a beady-eyed, crab-fisted succubus tormenting a virginal Venus. Of course, lack of context wouldn’t keep Basho from earning a dedicated fanbase in Appalachian folk circles, but radio sure wasn’t knocking his door down.

His voice was another obstacle. Though terrifically apt for his style of abstract, new age mystic expressionism, even dedicated followers admit that you don’t go to Robbie for his singing. I’m still on the fence about his emoting howls in "Eagle Sails The Blue Waters"; they’re either extremely moving or extremely funny. That with the structurally unregulated soloing spelled doom for commercial success.

Like Joanna Newsom, Robbie’s music is most poignant when his mouth is shut. Venus’ title track matches the whimsy, playfulness, and naked fragility of its album art for over nine minutes. The clearly recorded 12-string plucking crests on shuffling plateaus of circular contemplation, with the odd moment of visceral activity spewed frantically overtop. The ten-minute "Kowaka d’Amour" follows suit, blending European gypsy curses, North American folk, and alien intelligence, like a deep telekinetic link with brain planets in far off galaxies. So, yeah, it’s easy to see why Robbie never really took off in his day, but it’s just as easy to see why he’s now ascending higher than before.

1. Venus In Cancer 2. Eagle Sails The Blue Waters 3. Kowaka d’Amour 4. Song For The Queen 5. Cathedrals et Fleur de Lis 6. Wine Songs (Sweet Wine of Love)