An orange circle was added to the CD cover, containing the words "featuring the hits: I Wonder, Sugar Man, Inner City Blues". It was in one of those city edges (Northern Phoenix), that I spent the final couple months of my 2nd grade year. Coming into a new school at that point would've been a disorienting experience for any seven-year-old, and I was no different. This song was not actually written by Rodriguez, but sure sounds like it could have been. It was written by Gary Harvey, Mike Theodore ('Cold Fact' producer) and Dennis Coffey (guitarist on 'Cold Fact'). "Hate Street" actually refers to the famous "Haight/Ashbury" area of San Francisco, the famous Hippie hang-out during the late '60s "Summer Of Love".

In the same way that Sesame Street did, this text -- which organized itself into 'streets' rather than chapters -- presented the stories of the people, places, occupations, businesses, routines, and landmarks that make a city a living, breathing organism. The main takeaway was that there was both an independence and an interconnectedness to each component of it. top 10 albums of all-time. This album has been a friend through many ups and downs in my life and I always felt that "at least Rodriguez understands".

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For many, this album is one magnificent trip, lost in the haze of hippiness, and indeed the album is laced with narcotic references, but as far as talent goes, Cold Fact is a remarkable album perfect for idealists and dreamers. The obsessive In July 2005, Keith Forsyth of Digisol Masters remastered 'Cold Fact' and it was released by PT Music in South Africa. Confusingly the cover and catalogue number are the same as the 2002 re-issue.

The recent re-issue of the timeless classic 'Cold Fact' by Rodriguez is a dream-come-true for me. Let me explain; I first heard this album in the early 70s and it crept into my heart and soul and is still one of my The absolute form of expression through notes. I am a deep believer in the idea that a music album is nothing more than a complete idea that conveys a certain mood, thought, feeling, and sometimes location. And in my opinion, this album is one of the best examples of this approach. And this has several reasons. She gave me a copy of a book called The Nitty Gritty Rather Pretty City. It wasn't a novel, but an elementary school 'reader' -- designed to provide a somewhat cohesive, year-long language arts curriculum to a range of young readers. To its credit, it was not only well-designed enough to hold the attention of a kid with documented-but-undiagnosed issues in that area, but also enough to be remembered by that same person thirty-some years later.

Side guide

COME GET IT I GOT IT Rodriguez's strange and beguiling 'Sugarman' is an out-and-out paean to a broad smorgasbord of controlled substances and the ache experienced whilst, ahem, waiting for the man. It is imbued with such a post-Vietnam atmosphere of lost innocence that it brings new heights to a certain brand of Californian wistful alienation. Rodriguez, what a dude you were/are!

There were no musicians credited on the original album sleeve, but Rodriguez & Mike Theodore have filled in the gaps... I definitely recommend the "Cold Fact" CD. It is the one that I have on tape and seems to me to be timeless and perfect for a Western market that is adamant about finding the next "cool" retro-something-or-other. "Cold Fact" delights you with his forms of blues, soul and vibe. Sweet guitars mix with a horn section and topped off with Rodriguez's sweet-sweet voice. Buy it!In August 2008, Cold Fact was re-issued on CD in the USA for the first time! Sugarman.org was involved in providing information for this release. Francois Bredenkamp was very surprised and pleased to receive my mail and promised to send me a copy of their album. Unfortunately his band doesn't exist anymore! With this 2002 re-issue I was asked for my input, and Terry Fairweather from PT Music and Bill Robb from Robb Graphics allowed me the freedom to fix all the mistakes, as well as including one of my personal concert photographs from the 2001 tour. 'Cold Fact' album producer, Mike Theodore, provided some valuable info, as did Gary Harvey, co-composer of 2 songs on the album. Nils van der Linden let us use a shortened version of the biography he wrote for the special Rodriguez 60th birthday edition of the Digest ( read Nils' sleeve notes). And Rodriguez, the original Sugar Man, supplied a quote or 2 and a signature. Sometime in the late '80s, RPM in South Africa released a limited edition CD with catalogue number ICSXBS7000. Not sure if any cassettes were released. Summer of 1997. Unusual; I had never heard it before. Incredible; Dylanesque yet more of a soulful/fusion vibe to the sound. Eloquent, groundbreaking lyrics.

It turned out that my Dad also wrote the lyrics from the song "Gommorah". He really was amazed that I could find the stuff we talked about two years ago and as I forwarded the links to him, so he could surf through by himself! The original full title was 'Sugar Man On Prentis'. Prentis is a street in Detroit and the guy referenced in the song was known as Volkswagen Frank. NasCopies of Cold Fact and At His Best are readily available through any good music store in Australia. Copies of his albums are available on vinyl through second hand dealers. Cold Fact and At His Best are the most common, although it is possible to find Coming From Reality. Altogether now: "silver magic ships, jumpers, coke, sweet mary-jane". And a bag of doughnuts to the first person who can tell us what exactly is a "silver magic ship"? Published in 1979, the book definitely bore the marks of its time -- namely a sanitized, white-washed picture of urban America -- but it planted a lasting image in my mind of the collective character that a city can possess. I finished the reader in short time, and was then given a copy of its second volume to round out the last few weeks of the year. Sussex Records operated from Hollywood, and was first distributed by Buddah Records. The first album from Sussex was Cold Fact with catalogue number SXBS 7000. 400 copies were also imported into Australia in 1970 by Festival Records. Jane S. Piddy" was written as ‘Jane’s Pity’ on the original promo release of ‘Cold Fact’, so it’s not a big leap to ‘Janis Pity’. Possibly a sort-of tribute to Janis Joplin? Rodriguez has denied this, but listen to the words and hear the similarity to Joplin’s lifestyle. The song is filled with phrases like "now you sit there thinking, feeling insecure..." and "...don't bother to buy insurance, coz you've already died...". Great imagery and biting prose which could be applied to any excessive lifestyle.