God bless Audika for their loving treatment of Arthur's back catalogue, and thus the reason why we're now presented with another collection of hitherto unheard recordings from what seems like a near-endless library of genius. This time a co-repress with Rough Trade Records for 2021.
It's clear that if nothing else, Russell's life was one spent in constant creative motion. These 19 tracks are comprised of demos nearly-finished tracks, and collaborations, which Peter Broderick has helped complete some 40 years or so after their initial genesis. What, I think, makes Arthur such a compelling figure and his early death even more of a tragedy, is that his artistic restlessness means his music never stood in one single place. And that's why Iowa Dream extends beyond the tag of posthumous rarities collection - it’s a window of possibility, another room in Arthur’s infinite house where you kind of get to experience multiple versions of the man at once, a platter of introverted symphonies that move between his various experimentations with folk, jangle, downhome disco (and New York), soundart, even blue-eyed soul. If you ever needed further reminder, here it is - the man was a force of nature.
