It seems as if whenever a low run pressing of something or other is re-released, there’s such a fervor over the background of the thing that the person and his music are almost second tier curios: the search was the worth while part.

That’s not always the case – even as occasionally it should be that way. But also the vast amount of high falutin’ hippies that thought they were engaged in some transcendent rock or folk work out makes sifting through the ephemera a bit difficult.

Oregon native Bob Desper, though, had a singular difference imbued in him. He was and remains blind. It seems that in pretty much every notice on this album, New Sounds, and its reissue makes a tremendous stink about this particular aspect of Desper’s persona. Surely, it’s a part of him as much as the color of his hair or his lineage. But before there was a Bob Desper there were countless blind street preachers singing blues and warning passers by of the potential evils at every turn.

Not to take anything away from Desper – he apparently recorded New Sounds in a single take which is more than impressive – but between the lyrical ground that’s covered as well as the seemingly lone tone that he can evoke doesn’t really make this resurfaced disc more than a foot note. Of course, downer folk enthusiasts will decry that and figure this for the half way point between Nick Drake and Elliot Smith. The only problem with that is the elder gentleman possessed unmatched chops on the guitar where the latter was just a bore (which could account for his ultimate demise).

Desper, regardless of all that, did sport some guitar chops as displayed on “Lonely Man.” While the playing there is pretty much immaculate, the remaindered of the album isn’t as engaging – lyrically at least seeing as the tired loner vibe is reiterated here. The difficult guitar figure is rendered in relative ease from Desper as he whispers out query after query.

Certainly the sighted/blind dichotomy is an interesting one to mine. And seeing as Desper does so (again and again) here, there might not be any need to delve too far into what he’s getting at. The writer and singer was able to craft some decent sides, but that doesn’t mean that recasting them endlessly is gonna make for a decent long player. It didn’t.

And while those aforementioned street preachers were working to right the wrongs of the common man (in addition to sparing some change) it would appear that Desper was as interested in pointing out the faults of sinners as anything else. There aren’t solutions broached here, just a lot of questions and sadly plucked progressions. Again, though, since the reissue boom, it would appear that there’s a decent sized market for this second rate disc. And while there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with New Sounds – or its seemingly endless list of brethren – one’s money can probably be better spent elsewhere: just a warning.