Nirosta Steel - Some Say (Produced by Arthur Russell)

Vital warehouse find for the Arthur Russell heads... Originally recorded in 1985, 'Some Say' is Steven Hall's collaboration with AR, who assumes prodution and mixing duties as well as adding some trademark cello. It was intended for release via Rough Trade but never saw the light of day until Wilde Calm issued it in 2013. It's an absolute beaut, too, redolent of Arthur's downhome disco stylings and textually not dissimilar to some of the ideas explored on World of Echo. The songwriting doesn't quite display the same experimental tendencies, and takes on a more earworm quality - I've found myself coming back to it again and again. It's a lowkey gem, subtle, wonky but still possessed of a pop spirit, which makes it very distinctly Arthur Russell, even if it is someone else's song. The man's a titan. We've got five.