Gary Wilson's
You Think You Really Know Me may be the weirdest album released in 1977; it's also one of the most influential. The impact of this quirky lo-fi record can never be truly measured. Not many people are aware of it; however, it inspired
Beck's sonic collages and showed college radio stations that home tapings shouldn't be ignored.
Wilson recorded
You Think You Really Know Me in his parents' basement, and it certainly has an intimate feel. On "6.4 = Make Out,"
Wilson sounds like he's whispering in your ear. With a voice reminiscent of
Lou Reed's,
Wilson aches like a sexually frustrated
Barry White. Porno-movie synthesizers create a sleazy atmosphere as
Wilson reaches new heights of emotional intensity when he bellows, "She's real/She's so real," at the track's end. A person is left wondering if the girl actually exists or if he's just trying to convince himself that she does. Even more unsettling is "Loneliness," wherein
Wilson confesses in a distorted, psychotic voice, "Sometimes I wish I were dead," followed by samples of running water and a telephone operator. But this isn't a gloomy LP. "You Keep on Looking" and "And Then I Kissed Your Lips" utilize chirpy new wave keyboards years before they became fashionable.
Wilson is having fun on
You Think You Really Know Me, and his enjoyment is infectious, especially when his lunatic personality hogs the spotlight. ~ Michael Sutton