Artist:     Steve Goodman

Album:     It Sure Looked Good On Paper

Label:     Omnivore

Release Date:     05/14/21

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I recall in July of ’72, at a Carnegie Hall benefit to save the Newport Folk Festival, Arlo Guthrie used up about a third of his set on an intro and demo of a song. It seemed that Arlo was really jazzed about this new tune and told us it would be out as single in a few days. It seemed that for as much as he liked the song, finding the right groove to it had caused a myriad of problems for him and his band. And so we were treated to a recreation of all the musical missteps they made in the studio, before we finally heard it all the way through. The applause was terrific. I came away with the feeling that it was a very catchy song and would probably do well on the radio. It certainly did, as it became Arlo’s only top 40 hit. The writer of it used to introduce it in a far shorter way. “Funny thing about this next song, after I wrote it, it began to pay my rent.”

That song, “The City of New Orleans,” kicks off this set of demos by the much-missed Steve Goodman. It’s one of the few full band demos on this 20 song CD, but his band too, missed hooking it on this early stab at it. It feels somewhat rushed and you will hear some different melodic phrases and a few missing chord changes that would wind up in the many covers that were to come. That said, it is an honest look at a diamond in the rough. I prefer the straight guitar / vocal demos that make up the bulk of this CD. They not only let you appreciate how good a songwriter he was, but also let him really shine on playing hot guitar as he does on “Turnpike Tom.”

Besides the Goodman staple songs like “Yellow Coat,” “Would You Like To Learn To Dance,” and “You Never Even Call Me By My Name,” there are some less familiar gems like “Ballad Of Paul Powell,” a true story about a real crooked politician. Then there’s the real hoot, unfinished title track, complete with an audio note to Shel Silverstein to please help him finish it. I would think any true Goodman fan would like to have this collection.

— Ken Spooner