Originally released in 2008, Love Is Overtaking Me is a collection of home recordings and demos from the extraordinary vaults of Arthur Russell.

We’ll do a very quick catch up in case you’ve not encountered Arthur Russell before, as you’re about to fall in love. Born in Iowa in the early fifties, he first became immersed in poet Allen Ginsberg’s late sixties San Fransican scene, before moving to New York in 1973 and working as a booker at the seminal (and still running) experimental venue, the Kitchen. He remained in NYC working prolifically across experimental music, jazz-influenced proto-disco and other compositions until his tragic death from AIDS-related illnesses in 1992 at the age of 40.

He was a total visionary and his short life was astonishing. Richard King recently wrote a book called Travels Over Feeling that celebrates the life and work of Arthur Russell. It is very good and we recommend looking that out for a deeper dive.
But this Sunday Classic is about one tiny thread of his vast recordings. Compiled from over eight hours of material, Love Is Overtaking Me focuses on unreleased pop, folk and country songs that he recorded mostly at home. Famously a cellist, Russell is best-known as an experimental music maker and celebrated as an outlier for more progressive electronic music. But, Love Is Overtaking Me articulates beautifully that he really could turn his craft to relatively conventional singer-songwriter material. Released on Rough Trade Records, the album is curated in partnership with Audika Records who are the exclusive label and custodian for Russell’s work. Overseen by New York-based visual artist and Russell’s longtime partner, Tom Lee, there are extensive liner notes that offer such an intimate perspective on Russell’s diverse catalogue.

Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear contributed mixing, restoration and editing to the album, with the Audika’s Steve Knutson and Ernie Brooks alongside Tom Lee curating the tracks.
Most of the album’s wonderful tracks clock in at under three minutes. Ephemeral country-hued ballads and acoustic guitar-based pop songs, with his irrepressible knack for something off-kilter. Although they do - for the very best part - fall into a fairly conventional framework or song-structure, there is so much magic on the tape. For one, his voice is totally captivating. Earnest and unfussy, but so melodic and full of character. Plus, the way he wears his heart on his sleeve is beautiful and disarming. There are a few bits of ethereal double tracking, but so much of the mix is focused directly on his voice. Raw and emotive, he was a prodigious talent and this is powerful stuff.

You could pretty much have a Sunday Classic listening experience with any point of his discography, but Love Is Overtaking Me is a beautiful way to spend an hour at your turntable.