FAMOUS L. RENFROE AS THE FLYING SWEET ANGEL OF JOY - Children

An enigmatic release from an obscure artist named “Famous”? Well, the oddities don’t end there. Not much is known about Renfroe. We do know, though, that he recorded this record sometime around 1968 and that he self-produced this delicious slab of outsider R&B, playing most of the instruments himself except for drums. Not that this is a Numero-styled lo-fi soul release; no, this is highly esoteric soul, with just enough wrong to make Children a highly compelling listen without going off the deep end of weird and making the black American equivalent of a Shaggs album. Mind you, “His Love” rivals The Prodigals’ “Judy” as one of the most unintentionally out-of-tune basslines in soul history, but listen to that song with the bass turned down low and it’s hard to deny the pure passion in his performance. This is one for fans of late-'50s Specialty Records sides, boogie-woogie and rough guitar-led gospel.