Lind, Bob
Since There Were Circles
Singer-songwriter Bob Lind will forever be immortalized by his 1965 hit 'Elusive Butterfly,' but his career is so much more interesting than the fading wonder of that one hit. Once a hard-partying buddy of Charles Bukowski, Lind was the inspiration for the character Dinky Summers, a down-on-his-luck folk singer in Bukowski's 1978 novel 'Women.' Lind also doubled as a writer, penning a number of novels and plays as well as serving as a long-time staff writer at the lowbrow tabloid 'Weekly World News.' If that wasn't enough, Lind is also responsible for one of the greatest major-label "loner" albums of all time, 1971's 'Since There Were Circles.' After several years languishing without a second hit for the World Pacific label, Lind signed to Capitol and went into the studio with some of the biggest names in the LA country-rock scene including Doug Dillard, Gene Clark, Bernie Leadon and legendary session bassist Carol Kaye. While the record was well-received critically, it sold poorly and marked Lind's bitter departure from the music business for several decades. The intervening half-century has been incredibly kind to 'Since There Were Circles,' and it is now regarded as a cult masterpiece that pairs perfectly with Gene Clark's 'No Other,' Bobby Charles' self-titled Bearsville album and Lee Hazlewood's 'Cowboy In Sweden.' Lind's songwriting here is vastly darker and more self-reflective than anything from his folk-pop period, and the production is simultaneously loose and rootsy, yet lushly orchestrated and occasionally bombastic. Lind somehow manages to bring it all together with wry delivery and literate detail.