Maybe it was the runner’s high, but by the time I got to the end of the first episode of Sound Barrier: Sylvester I was grinning from ear to ear. The documentary podcast closes with a live rendition of the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” transformed by the underground disco legend from a bittersweet guitar ballad into a piece imbued with exuberance.
Presenting more of this side of the artist, Private Recordings, August 1970 is a collection of songs recorded shortly after Sylvester’s arrival in San Francisco but well before “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” – the 1978 disco anthem that topped international charts (but not stateside), faded into obscurity, then was later brought back to life by dance music enthusiasts. The new collection from Dark Entries Records sounds a world away too, but far from flashy disco and hi-NRG studio production, it’s just piano and voice: all Great American Songbook classics like the ones your grandparents might have sung around the house.
The good-old-days charm of songs like “Stormy Weather” and “Happy Days Are Here Again” is counterweighted by a wistful loneliness, kind of like the way he turned the mellow and melancholy “Blackbird” into an expression of joy. I can’t presume to know if that’s what Sylvester was feeling when he recorded these, but that’s how they might hit for you. There’s no upbeat disco camp here; instead, you’ll discover Sylvester’s singular ability to wring every last drop of emotion out of a tune, even ones you’ve heard tons of times before.
