Robert Lester Folsom :: If You Wanna Laugh, You Gotta Cry Sometimes: Archives Vol. 3 - 1972-1975
Photo: Maren McGuire
Adel, Georgia-born, Jacksonville, Florida-based singer-songwriter and veteran musician Robert Lester Folsom is a fundamental force in the contemporary community of “archival artists” who have been celebrated later in their creative careers. There are countless stories and tonal tales out there of artists transcending time and space by being signed to an independent label later in life, radical reissues of their private press treasures, and world tours, but for Folsom, not only did he never stop making music, he’s become a poetic phenomenon over the last decade, and he’s only getting started. With the infamous reissue of his 1976 cult classic “Music and Dreams”, it was off to the revolutionary races with the archive series that features the titles “Ode To A Rainy Day: Archives 1972-1975,” and “Sunshine Only Sometimes: Archives Vol. 2, 1972–1975” on the New York-based label Mexican Summer/Anthology Recordings. These bodies of work are part of a critical collection of songs and romantic ramblings that might otherwise have been forgotten during the revolutionary reign of "Neil Youngism" and the 1970s folk explosion, which featured key figures like Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, Jimmy Buffett, and countless others. Folsom’s music has surged through the sonic senses of multiple generations, and no one can plan for something like that. Sometimes it happens when musicians have already passed on, other times when they’re very much alive and well.
“I want to specifically dedicate this album to all of my fans who have sincerely enabled me to live out my music and dreams. I encourage each and everyone to pursue their own dreams and to spread the gospel of love, peace, and kindness to each and every living thing.”
Folsom’s lyrical legacy has only expanded as a brand new addition to the series is set for release in mid-March titled “If You Wanna Laugh, You Gotta Cry Sometimes: Archives Vol. 3, 1972-1975.” For three years, the veteran songstress leaned into his cosmic craft, while simultaneously cracking a nearby window located in the backroom of a southern gothic tale, while the boyish breeze filled the harmonious house with that sweet summer air. Subtle glimpses and poetic particles of his spiritual songbook spread across the peach-infested prairies and historical hills of the “Empire State of the South” as more ears and eyes began to latch onto his harmonies, cherished choruses, and delightful dynamics on and off stage. Across the album’s thirteen tracks, it captures that old familiar ode to the summer and its radiating reaction to youth, love, and the universal unity of togetherness in music. Carefully conjured on his Sears 3440 reel-to-reel during heroic hitchhiking and late-night dwellings, Folsom manifests the melodic magic that he’s become so well known for, as we travel back to a simpler time, where never-ending notes flow across the roaring river of Reed Bingham State Park, and the sonic smoke peacefully sits above the scene like a silver snake suspended in mid-air.
