Nikki Sudden is dressed for his long-awaited success

Ross Raihala

Originally published Friday, April 5, 2002

If all it took to be a rock star was a great look, Nikki Sudden would be world-famous. (So would half the kids in downtown Olympia, but that's another story.)

Imagine a "Gimme Shelter"-era Keith Richards wrapped in a few dozen Steven Tyler scarves with hair and makeup by the New York Dolls and you'll get something approximating Sudden's visage.

Seriously, it looks like this guy doesn't leave the house without donning crushed velvet in at least three different places.

Sudden, however, has never sold nearly the number of records his outsized fashions might suggest, and he's spent most of his 20-year solo career toiling away in relative obscurity.

A stellar new reissue program by Secretly Canadian (the Indiana-based label that handles manufacturing and distribution for Olympia's K Records) seeks to change that.

Clearly modeled after the lavish, thoughtful jobs Rykodisc did with the catalogs of David Bowie and Elvis Costello (whose old records are now being further enhanced by Rhino), Secretly Canadian has released expanded versions of several key Sudden releases of the '80s.

Three double-CD sets (priced at only $14 each) and one single CD are already out, with more set to follow this month. (See the Web site www.secretly canadian.com for ordering information.)

While a full-scale Sudden commercial breakthrough still seems far off, these new releases reveal a wealth of great material waiting to be discovered.

Sudden first surfaced in the mid-'70s as a member of the Swell Maps, a British art-punk quartet much loved by later-day acts such as Sonic Youth and Pavement.

After the Swell Maps broke up in 1980, Sudden embarked on two sometimes simultaneous careers, as a solo artist and, with Dave Kusworth, as a member of the Jacobites.

While his first album, 1982's "Waiting on Egypt," largely replicated the noisy clamor of the Swell Maps, the following year's lush, tuneful "The Bible Belt" proved to be more indicative of the stylistic path Sudden would follow.

That said, pinning down Sudden to any single genre would be nearly impossible, as he dabbles in rock, blues, folk, country, goth, funk and reggae.

But Sudden's larger-than-life persona and undeniable songwriting skills act as a clear guide through even his most self-indulgent work. This guy is an old-school romantic with the ability to express big, if ultimately simple, ideas in catchy, timeless pop songs.

Sudden never made it easy on himself, though, and has released his albums on upward of 20 different labels -- many of which no longer exist. It's a challenge, to say the least, to even track down much of his work.

Secretly Canadian is trying its hardest to make some sense of Sudden's discographical nightmare by pairing albums together as two-CD sets. The "Texas" and "Dead Men Tell No Tales" two-fer is probably the best starting point for newcomers.

With the full cooperation of Sudden, they've also fleshed out the albums with unreleased tracks, 24-page booklets filled with plenty of over-the-top Sudden outfits and newly written notes about each record.

The releases are a class act all around and I, for one, hope the label tackles similar projects in the future.

Lois live

Lois Maffeo (of K, Kill Rock Stars and, uh, general Olympia-oriented fame) and Greg Moore will perform live at 10 p.m. today in the mezzanine of the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia.

The Polar Bears open and tickets are $3 at the door.

Sleater-Kinney news

Earlier this week, Rolling Stone's Web site, www.rollingstone.com, posted a brief story about Sleater-Kinney's upcoming record, due for release this fall.

Super cool drummer Janet Weiss was quoted as saying: "We don't want to rest on our laurels. But it's tough, because we are a band who gets written about more than a lot of other bands who are sort of on the same level, and that can kind turn your criticism of yourself inward and create a more self-conscious dealing.

"We all really try to keep that self-consciousness away from the songwriting and from the newest record. I stopped reading press, so I feel totally liberated."

At least as of Wednesday afternoon, the piece claimed "the album will be issued on Portland, Oregon, indie Kill Rock Stars." (Last I checked, KRS was still here in Olympia, its home since its inception.)

In somewhat related news, Unwound fans should check out www.killrockstars.com for an ever-growing list of Unwound-related remembrances from KRS staff, friends and fans. It serves as a great memorial to the band that played its final live show at Thekla on April Fool's Day.

Ross Raihala covers music for The Olympian. Send items of interest for this column to: rraihala@olympia.gannett.com.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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