Cold Fact was released in 1970 to little acclaim – ignored by radio and failing to chart, the record was considered a flop. The record was a far cry from the explosive proto-punk of Rodriguez’ contemporaries in the Detroit scene such as the MC5 and the Stooges and likewise was worlds apart from the urbane glam rock of David Bowie and T-Rex that had begun to dominate the pop market. Replete with its Dylanesque lyrics and psychedelic orchestral arrangements, Cold Fact quickly slipped into obscurity with The songwriter releasing one more record to a similarly muted reception before calling it a day and returning to his day gig as a labourer in order to support his growing family. Unbeknownst to Rodriguez however, bootlegs of Cold Fact had begun to circulate in South Africa and Australia, reaching cult status and becoming heralded as a rock classic, often mentioned in the same breath as Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The lack of information about Rodriguez only added to his mystique and his legend grew by word of mouth for decades, the most popular of which was that Rodriguez had blown his brains out and that was why he’d only released two records. As documented in the Academy Award-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, a bewildered Rodriguez, very much alive, learned of his fame decades later and returned to the stage to much fanfare and critical acclaim, continuing a successful touring career to this day. The spark that started Rodriguez’ legend, Cold Fact, deserves every ounce of the acclaim it has received. The opening track Sugar Man is anthemic, a lilting ode to a drug dealer gently crooned through a fog of reverb. Establishment blues laments social inequality with machine-gun street poetry and I Wonder captures the excitement and awkwardness of adolescent love with its bouncing melody. Cold Fact is one of the truly great lost records and Rodriguez unique journey out of obscurity only makes it more compelling. A classic.
Pete Whelan 