Higgins, Gary

***The music business is full of funny stories—and some of them aren’t that funny at all. Take GARY HIGGINS. In the early ‘70s, he made a great record, the culmination of years of listening and playing and work. Then he went to jail for marijuana possession, a short stint, but still, the kind of crime that’s almost not a crime these days. The record came out—but without him to promote it, almost nobody heard it, until 2005: Red Hash, Higgins’ megaobscure psychedelic folk-rock masterpiece is reissued on CD, drawing all kinds of acclaim and selling thousands of copies. Shows are played, interviews are done. But how to answer the question, why haven’t you made another record since then? 2009: Gary Higgins’ Seconds. is here to answer the question. It’s a beautiful acoustic-based record featuring careful, melancholy arrangements in the tradition set by his famous previous record— ut with a few unpredictable musical touches. Additionally, Seconds. weaves black threads of lyrical reflection into its sleeve in the shortlived Higgins tradition. His was never a hippie-dippy perspective—back in the day, his songs featured a thoughtful, but worldweary, occasionally even paranoid perspective. Whether the material has been gathered in the years since his reemergence in 2005 or over the longer stretch since the last released Higgins material, it flows with oneness. And accompanied by his fellow travelers (including a couple Red Hash players as well as his son), he’s put together a bold and colorful statement of where he’s at today. Seconds. ain’t no Sweet Baby James, or anyone else for that matter. This is the sound of Gary Higgins, making music and digging it once again. (STREET DATE - 9/29/2009)