All hail the vaunted reissue label Light in the Attic for bringing yet another precious rare groove back into the light. Rodriguez’s Cold Fact was one of the oddest records of the ’60s, a document of inner-city bitterness delivered by an urban folkie with some of the baroque flair of Love and the stoned psychoanalytics of Skip Spence. Add in a mysterious disappearance by its artist (despite massive adulation by unlikely heroes in South Africa) and you’ve got yourself a great story.

What little is known about Sixto Rodriguez is that he was born in Detroit in 1942 and recorded two albums during the early ’70s. Those who remember him from that time say he did little to promote the records, performing with his back to the audience at an industry showcase and choosing only the seediest venues to play. He disappeared soon after, but fans continued to keep the flame alive, especially in some unlikely places (Australia, South Africa, and Rhodesia, to name a few). It’s easy to see where the adulation came from: Cold Fact was a record unlike virtually any other in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Rodriguez’s delivery and folkie backgrounds made him sound like José Feliciano, but his existential wordplay and cynical musings on love and life made him sound like Dylan reborn in southwestern Detroit. Mike Theodore’s eerie production made the record a fascinating nugget, and Detroit guitar legend Dennis Coffey was also involved.

Rodriguez did manage to tour Australia twice (in 1979 and 1981), but he again disappeared for over a decade. Rumors floated that he had died of a heroin overdose or burned to death while performing. When he was found again, however, in 1996, he had simply been working at a gas station and as a construction worker. He toured South Africa to great acclaim, and even prompted the filming of a documentary (Dead Men Don’t Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa 1998).

Rodriguez also became a rare-groove superstar several years later, when veteran crate-digger David Holmes unearthed Cold Fact and included one track, “Sugar Man,” on his Come Get It, I Got It compilation in 2002. (He then went one step farther, locating Rodriguez and recruiting him to re-record the song for another Holmes record.)

Now, Light in the Attic is reissuing the entire Cold Fact record with the obligatory bonus tracks and remastering, making this the best time to pick up a buried treasure worth its weight in gold.

• “Sugar Man”
• “Inner City Blues”
• “Crucify Your Mind”