Ask any queer person, and they will tell you that we are virtually everywhere. Next door, across the street, holding political office, on the pulpit, on stage, in movies, in books, and on TV, falling in love in hockey rinks. Even performing with The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as is illuminated in gay director Paris Barclay’s documentary “Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It,” about the titular, late, gay, singer/songwriter and keyboard player.
Take “World’s Gone Wrong” (Highway 20), the blistering new album by longtime ally Lucinda Williams, for example. The song “Low Life” was co-written by queer singer/songwriter Adrianne Lenker (along with other members of her band Big Thief). Despite its title, the song is one of the lighter-hearted tunes on the album. Williams addresses the dreadful state of the country on songs including “Punchline,” “Something’s Gotta Give,” “We’ve Come Too Far To Turn Around,” “Freedom Speaks,” as well as the title track and “How Much Did You Get For Your Soul?”. A true highlight is Williams’ cover of Bob Marley’s “So Much Trouble in the World,” on which she is joined by Mavis Staples.
Throughout most of her recording career, as a member of Buckingham Nicks and Fleetwood Mac, and in addition to her solo work, Stevie Nicks has written or co-written a number of the most unforgettable and still popular songs. She also recorded her fair share of cover tunes, including “Some Become Strangers,” which can be found on the Super Audio CD reissue of her 1985 album "Rock A Little” (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab). Co-written by The Williams Brothers (aka twins Andrew and David Williams, nephews of crooner Andy Williams), the song also appears on the duo’s 1987 album "Two Stories.” David Williams came out as gay in the mid-1990s. Of course, Stevie and her queer fans have had an ongoing love affair for years (see “Night of 1000 Stevies” or queer filmmaker Todd Stephens’ “Gypsy 83”). On “Rock A Little,” Nicks takes the club energy of “Edge of Seventeen” and blows it up to become a dance diva on full-fledged bangers “I Can’t Wait,” “If I Were You,” and “Sister Honey.” The album also includes the massive hit single “Talk To Me.”
Gay, gender-queer, Canadian musician Owen Pallett first came to our attention when they recorded under the moniker Final Fantasy (listen to “He Poos Clouds”). Pallett joins Nick & June (Nick Wolf and Suzie-Lou Kraft), a former romantic partnership that has remained a creative one, on the lushly orchestrated and dramatic “Husband & Wife,” the closing track on the duo’s new album “New Year’s Face” (nickandjune.com). Pallett isn’t the only guest artist on the album. The Antlers join Nick & June on two tracks: “2017” and the exquisite “Pinker Moon.”
Occasionally, the queer presence on an album is visual, not audio. Previously unreleased until now, “Who You Been Talking To” (High Moon), the long-shelved second album by blue-eyed soul-folk singer/songwriter David Forman features photography by the late gay photographer Peter Hujar, a majority of which are featured in the 23-page booklet that accompanies the vinyl reissue. Recorded nearly 50 years ago, the distinctive songs (most of which were co-written by David M. Levine) are so timeless they somehow sound ahead of their time. Standout cuts include “Painted In A Corner,” “Losing,” “A-Train Lady,” “We Both Talk Too Much,” Let It Go Now,” “Little Asia,” and “Thirty Dollars.” It would be remiss not to mention that Forman’s first album, an eponymous effort, was released on Arista Records, a label run by queer music exec Clive Davis.
