Arthur Russell was a master musician with an
impressive ear for everything from mutant disco to boppy pop to solo cello
koans, but most devastating of his many devastating attributes was his voice.
It's devastating not only because he's gone—he died of AIDS-related
illness in 1992—but also because he always sounded so piercing and
intimate that he could make listeners shy and sheepish, no matter the context.
His voice sounds bare and unadorned on Love Is Overtaking Me, another terrific
offering to add to the Russell reissues and compilations that have piled up
over the past few years.