The Yazoo Records icon
R. Crumb, the noted illustrational voice of the 1960’s, captured the humor and pathos of the times with deep portraits of America’s vast musical resources. In fact when viewed within one of the extant compendiums of his cartooning, the volume, quality and cultural critiquing are staggering. A vast array of commercial paraphernalia, like decks of cards preserving early jazz greats, heroes of the blues and pioneers of country music. The “Harmonica Blues” exemplifies the direct hits he made connecting with the spirit of the recordings within. I’ve gathered some examples at the end of the post.
Woebegone, weary, the washed up and worndown glory of our citizens, carrying around the warps of the ages. Crumb unwashed vats of his own personal, often perverse laundry in telling fashion! Then there are the iconic personas into whom he breathed life, like “Mr. Natural, “ the irritant monk. His comic disgust with the superficialities and banal trends of culture are indispensible. My favorite is below.
And so some brief snapshots of comic book truths.
And of course his not to be forgotten band