Jobriath is a legendary unheard figure, at least among those who scour the odd footnotes of rock and pop history. When he released his two albums in 1973 and 1974 (titled Jobriath and Creatures of the Street, respectively), the emerging rock press considered him little more than a novelty, a cut-rate David Bowie, only more flamboyant, alien, and openly gay. His two albums sank without a trace and soon so did he, staying at the far margins of pop culture and singing as a lounge singer until his death from AIDS in 1983. In the years since his death, a cult grew around his records, which were now very hard to find and all the more mysterious and alluring for their rarity. During the CD reissue boom of the late '80s and '90s, he was never treated to a reissue, even when his image and music were core inspirations for Todd Haynes' 1998 glam rock fantasia #Velvet Goldmine. Seven years after that controversial film, Jobriath's music finally saw the light of day on CD, thanks to Morrissey, who put out the Lonely Planet Boy compilation on his Sanctuary-distributed imprint Attack in November of 2004. It was a long, long wait, but it was worth it, since Jobriath's music has only grown stranger and stronger over time. Lonely Planet Boy selects 15 tracks from Jobriath and Creatures of the Street, assembling them in non-chronological order -- a move that may irritate some purists, but helps to lessen the distinctions between the albums and emphasize the common threads in his work. Musically, Jobriath does sound familiar (this is glam rock, after all); David Bowie is the clear touchstone, and there are elements of the New York Dolls, Brian Eno, and T. Rex scattered throughout as well.

1		Heartbeat
2		Morning Star Ship
3		Be Still
4		Space Clown
5		I'maman
6		Street Corner Love
7		I Love a Good Fight
8		What a Pretty
9		Blow Away
10		Ecubyan
11		Inside
12		Earthling
13		Scumbag
14		Movie Queen
15		Dietrich/Fondyke (A Brief History of Movie Music)