In the late 1940s, a young woman named Connie Converse moved to New York City with aspirations to become a professional singer-songwriter. When that didn't work out as she'd hoped, she moved to Ann Arbor, MI and took up a job as managing editor of an academic journal. Burned out and deeply unfulfilled, Converse disappeared from Ann Arbor in August 1974, leaving very little traces behind: A note to her loved ones asking them not to look for her, and a handful of home recordings she'd sent to her friend and her younger brother years prior. Those recordings would eventually lead to How Sad, How Lovely, a compilation album of Converse's sad and lovely songs, first released in 2009.
Bittersweetly, Converse has garnered a long overdue cult following. Captured Tracks reissued How Sad, How Lovely in 2015, and she's since been the subject of multiple documentaries, a tribute album, a one-woman cabaret show, and a Pitchfork Sunday review. Now, Third Man Records — which, it feels worth noting, is headquartered not far from where Converse disappeared — is giving the album an expanded, remastered reissue this March. Along with the original tracklist, the reissue includes a bonus 7" featuring a remix of “Playboy Of The Western World” and a previously unreleased song called "House." The latter track is out today, and it's a great example of the sort of plainspoken yet profound lyricism Converse has become known for: "It's more than just a thing that's bought and sold/ A shelter from the cold/ A house is home." Hear it below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Talkin’ Like You (Two Tall Mountains)"
02 "Johnny’s Brother"
03 "Roving Woman"
04 "Down This Road"
05 "The Clover Saloon"
06 "John Brady"
07 "We Lived Alone"
08 "Playboy Of The Western World"
09 "Unknown (A Little Louder, Love)"
10 "One By One"
11 "Father Neptune"
12 "Man In The Sky"
13 "Empty Pocket Waltz"
14 "Honeybee"
15 "There Is A Vine"
16 "How Sad, How Lovely"
17 "Trouble"
"18 I Have Considered The Lilies"
BONUS 7":
"Playboy Of The Western World (The Online Parades Mix)
"House"
Third Man's How Sad, How Lovely reissue is out 3/27. Pre-order it here.
