This album is in my top 10 of all time. It may be known, but I believe it to be highly underappreciated. In my own humble opinion, this album does indeed define lo-fi acoustic bedroom folk/pop. AMG describes it fairly accurately but does not stress enough how GREAT these songs are. Every single one of 'em.



Bill Fox - Transit Byzantium (SpinArt 1998)

From AMG:
Bill Fox's second solo album pushes his music further away from pop toward a kind of lo-fi folk sound ? recorded primarily on acoustic guitar, with only the occasional touch of harmonica and the even less frequent hint of percussion, Transit Byzantine is rootsy and raw, with the uncluttered arrangements of tracks like "From a Dark Night," "Songs of a Drunken Nightingale" and "Burning Down a Snowflake" preserving the songs' intimacy and warmth.

From somewhere else:
Before I listened to this CD, I was pretty much ready to dismiss Bill Fox as a musical stalker of Bob Dylan. On the basis of a couple of tracks on compilations, it seemed that he'd be apt to change his name to Robert Zimmerman and claim to have been born in Hibbing, Minnesota.

Well, Mr. Zimmerman began with a serious case of Idol Envy as well, and his earliest music probably struck contemporary listeners as painfully Woody Guthrie-esque. What such dismissive listeners would have missed about the young Dylan is not only just how well he did Guthrie but the distinctive wit and verbal play he brought to his inspiration. Similarly, what Transit Byzantium reveals about Bill Fox is that while he may well have a faded LP copy of Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II framed on his wall (the one that puts a halo around St. Bob as its jacket wears out), he brings an impressive melodicism and a haunting spirituality to his homage.

Before you leap away from this review at that s-word, I should explain that Bill Fox is not in the least preachy, nor is he even very specific about his beliefs. It may well be that he uses religious themes more for their metaphorical resonance than as a matter of belief - but then, that metaphorical resonance is one of the primary reasons for religion's persistence. But it's that melodicism that makes Fox's lyrics work to their fullest strength. It's telling that Fox's earlier band, the Mice, is usually mentioned in the same breath with Guided by Voices, and that the next breath usually mentions the Beatles. "I'll Give it Away" audaciously begins with the same first two lines as "From Me to You," and even though the arrangements here are uncluttered and led by Fox's acoustic guitar and harmonica, some songs feature Beatle-esque vocal harmonies and chord changes. And "My Baby Crying" sounds kind of like the Everly Brothers covering Dylan, or vice versa.

But the strength of Fox's vision, along with sharp lyrics and melodies, make this disc transcend any notions of cheap revivalism. Neither slavishly retro nor fashionably contemporary, Bill Fox's music sounds timeless

I'd love a PM too. The only copy I can find is missing track 10.

This is kinda awesome Thanks!

I'd love to hear this as well. I liked their first a lot but Bohemia was worse than just a slump.

Am I the only one that things that Bohemia has at least some redeeming virtues? The first few songs are okay, and I still think "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" is a great song. Just everything from track 5 on just bottoms out entirely.

Yeah, I mean I don't think it's horrible but it lacked the catchy songs So Much for the City had and didn't really replace them with anything interesting. The Corey Haim song was sort of catchy but it just seemed so contrived to me in the midst of all the "retro/80's are hilarious" stuff going on at the time.

Charlie Christian- The Immortal Charlie Christian

The original electric Jazz guitarist, and the guy that influenced all the rest that followed him. These CD has ten of his best cuts, including three he wrote with Dizzy Gillespie. If you like Jazz then this CD is a must have, and if you are new to Jazz this is a good place to start. His songs tend to be comparatively short and melodic, great stuff!