Archive for the ‘ Country Rock ’ Category

Nashville West “Nashville West”

| Americana,Country Rock

Sierra-Briar Records released the original Nashville West vinyl LP in 1978.  Initially panned by rock critic Noel Coppage in ‘Stereo Review‘ magazine, the Nashville West album has since been proclaimed one of the “20 Essential Country Guitar Albums” (Guitar Player magazine) and has seen subsequent releases in Italy, Holland, and England.

Nashville West is indeed a solid record that features the talents of Gib Guilbeau (vocals), Wayne Moore (bass), Gene Parsons (drums), and of course Clarence White (guitar).  These recordings were laid down live at the Nashville West Club in El Monte, California (1967).  The four musicians traveled back and forth from Bakersfield to LA in a beat up 1954 Mercury station wagon, playing all the local dive bars and clubs along the way.  These songs were recorded before Guilbeau formed Swampwater and also before Parsons and White would become full-time members of the Byrds.  The group’s name was actually the Reasons and these recordings were laid down before the invention of the B-Bender – Clarence White played it straight, with just a tele.

The song selection is eclectic (blues, cajun, rock, country, and instros) and the sound quality a bit rough in spots but this gives the Nashville West album its intimate feel and unique character.  No bullshit here, just hard hitting drum work via Gene Parsons and dazzling Clarence White guitar solos.  The early version of “Nashville West” kicks things off nicely.  Many of the performances are low key but forceful, give a good listen to “Sweet Mental Revenge” and “CC Rider”  for an example of this.  My favorite number is the instrumental “Ode To Billy Joe.”  This cut features outstanding, slightly spacey guitar work that sounds pretty fresh 40+ years after the fact.  Other worthy cuts are “By The Time I Get To Pheonix,” a sturdy rendition of “Love Of The Common People,” “Greensleeves,” and “Mom & Dad’s Waltz.”  The band’s sound here is bar-band tight and Gib’s vocals are appealingly world weary.

Nashville West was really the beginnings of country-rock.  The performances are fun, honest and the guitar playing is absolutely top notch.  A very good disc.  The Sierra Records CD is the best version to get, as it features a handful of bonus tracks and nice liner notes.

“Ode To Billy Joe”

:D CD Reissue | 2001 | Sierra | buy at sierra | at amazon ]

The Sir Douglas Band “Texas Tornado”

| Americana,Country Rock

I recently finished reading Jan Reid’s (cowritten with Shawn Sahm) new Doug Sahm biography, Texas Tornado: The Times & Music of Doug Sahm out now from The University of Texas Press. This post isn’t so much a review of the album above, but more of a short audio compendium to the book, highlighting some of Doug’s favorites, standards, where he came from and what he inspired.

Read our book review at Aquarium Drunkard.

Doug Sahm – Sometimes You’ve Got To Stop Chasing Rainbows

“Why can’t you just groove!”

:D Texas Tornado | 2006 | Collectors Choice | at amazon ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

John Stewart “California Bloodlines”

| Americana,Country Rock,Folk

This may be John Stewart’s finest achievement although some fans might argue in favor of the great Willard from 1970.  California Bloodlines was John Stewart’s first true solo disc.  Recorded and released in 1969, Stewart used many of the same musicians as Dylan did for Nashville Skyline.  As expected this disc is much more rustic and country influenced than his work with either Buffy Ford or the Kingston Trio.  Regardless, this is a “must own” for fans of authentic American music.

It took me several spins and a few hours in deep thought to finally come to terms with this classic. John Stewart’s quivering, thin Johnny Cash-like vocals threw me off at first but now I see why many rate California Bloodlines as one of the premier Americana albums.  It’s stacked from top to bottom with great songs and intelligent songwriting.  The opener is one of Stewart’s classics, and while the studio side is excellent in it’s own way,  I prefer the full, live arrangement from October of 69 (Chris Darrow plays fiddle/mandolin on the live version).  Stewart’s songwriting is best heard on gems “Lonesome Picker,” “Missouri Birds,” and “The Pirates of Stone Country Road.”   These cuts are loaded with images of people and places from a bygone era.  He occasionally takes the historical viewpoint a la Robbie Robertson but his songwriting is certainly one of the album’s strengths.  If you’re a fan of Gene Clark or Mickey Newbury I’m sure you’ll be able to appreciate the awesome “Lonesome Picker.”  This track is a spellbinding masterpiece with haunting imagery and lyrics that still cut deep today. My favorite song from the album, “Never Goin’ Back,”  is another standout track that features plenty of buzzing fuzz guitar similar to the Burritos’ classic “Devil In Disguise.”  The rest of California Bloodlines is fleshed out with accomplished country-rockers and pretty country-folk ballads that have great melodies and tight arrangements.

If you can get a hold of an original or the BGO twofer (with Willard) by all means do so!

“Lonesome Picker”

:D 2fer w/ Willard | 2001 | BGO | at amzn ]
:) Orig Vinyl | 1969 | Capitol | at ebay ]

Kaleidoscope (US) “A Beacon From Mars”

| Americana,Country Rock,Psych

beaconfrommars

As good as Kaleidoscope’s debut was (1967’s Side Trips), A Beacon From Mars expanded on the group’s sound greatly, as it includes two excellent “long” tracks: the Eastern instrumental jam “Taxim” and the ghostly blues-rocking title cut, which is full of feedback and excellent harp work.  These two tracks were cut live in the studio with no overdubs or studio interference.  Chris Darrow explains, “We needed an album that really sounded like us live, not a stacked, layered sound that was so prevalent. We decided to record the way only jazz musicians were recording, live” (taken from the Edsel reissue liner notes). Needless to say, this conscious effort to capture the group in true form is a success, as both cuts are amazing, showing off Kaleidoscope’s legendary eclecticism and peerless musicianship. “Taxim” is an astonishing Eastern folk instrumental that builds into an exciting crescendo unlike anything you’ve heard before. Incredible stuff.

Kaleidoscope were some of the most accomplished musicians of their day – up there with the best San Fran had to offer (ie. Grateful Dead, Quicksilver, Moby Grape and so on).  Chris Darrow, principal songwriter, is one of LA’s most underrated musicians, he penned fine 3 minute pop songs while David Lindley and Solomon Feldthouse mastered a variety of strange, stringed instruments.  Remaining cuts like “I Found Out,” “Greenwood Sidee” and “Life Will Pass You By” are exciting roots excursions that mix folk, country and psychedelia into something that’s genuine and authentic.   Other than being a standout acid folk-rocker, “I Found Out” is also notable for a cool dobro solo and what sounds like primitive synthesizer.  Another great track is the excellent Smokestack Lightning rewrite “You Don’t Love Me.”  This track features incredible graffiti-like lead guitar (with lots of bluesy fuzz) while the aforementioned “Life Will Pass You By” is a beautiful Byrds-like folk-rocker with accomplished finger picking (think Byrds crossed with early Nitty Gritty Dirt Band).  The only misstep here is a rather lame attempt at good time/jugband music titled “Baldheaded End Of A Broom.”  My pick of the bunch is “Greenwood Sidee.”  This track is actually an Irish murder ballad, a tremendous one at that, with stoneface vocals and an eerie acidic vibe -no doubt aided by effective fiddle work.   This is one of my favorite lps.

This would be Chris Darrow’s last LP with Kaleidoscope.  After Beacon he would join the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and also release a few solo discs.  David Lindley and co. soldiered on releasing the fine Incredible! from 1969 and the disappointing Bernice.  Edsel reissues are pretty hard to come by these days but the recent box set Pulsating Dream is highly recommended as it features all their classic albums and rare non-lp singles.

“Life Will Pass You By”

:D CD Reissue | Box Set | 2004 | Acadia | at amazon ]
:) Vinyl Reissue | 2008 | Sundazed | buy at sundazed ]

uReview: Townes Van Zandt

| Americana,Country Rock,Folk,uReview

For The Sake Of The Song

[ratings]

Sometimes when I listen to Townes, it makes me feel like nothing else could ever reach his level.
But does the production on this debut truly take the steam out of the songs?
And if this isn’t his best record, which one is?

:) Vinyl Search | ebay ]
:D CD Reissue | 2007 | Fat Possum | amazon ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Skip Battin “Skip”

| Country Rock

Skip

Byrds historians would have you believe that Cecil Ingram Parsons III was the squarest peg ever to occupy one of the legendary band’s round holes. Not a bit of it: that honour has to go to Clyde Skip Battin, who held down the bass chair from 1969 till the breakup of the band in 1972. Progeny of Italian immigrant parents, Battin was born in 1934, which makes him a hoary 35 years old when he joined McGuinn & Co. In fact he was the oldest Byrd ever, by eight years. Further, whilst all previous Byrds had cut their teeth on Greenwich Village folk or Nashville bluegrass in the early sixties, Skip’s musical genesis came in the novelty music era which followed the initial surge of rock’n’roll in the fifties. With his heroes being Fats Domino and Tom Lehrer, it’s no surprise that his forte turned out to be witty narrative songs with a piano spine, mostly written with assistance from maverick lyricist Kim Fowley. If you’re familiar with the moderately successful single America’s Great National Pastime taken from Farther Along, you’ll get the essence. Surprisingly, in the latter days when all but McGuinn were merely salaried Byrds members, the Leader allowed a handful of Battin’s distinctly oddball songs on to the final three albums.

Even before the breakup, Skip obtained a contract with Signpost Records of LA on the strength of Pastime, and his first solo album, Skip, emerged rapidly. Battin handles piano duties as well as bass, and his voice is warm and husky. All the Byrds’ final lineup contributed, including McGuinn in amusing circumstances: the track Captain Video is a delightful pastiche of the Byrds singing Dylan, and McGuinn guests on 12-string Rickenbacker whilst Skip himself sings the lyrics dedicated to Roger, who allegedly never realised that they were about him. Clarence White is everywhere, including some of his best-ever B-Bender wailing on The Ballad Of Dick Clark, more of the same plus amazing mandolin on Four Legs Are Better Than Two and what sounds like Fender electric mandolin on Valentino, providing an appropriately Italian flavour. In fact much of the record combines Bakersfield country licks with typically Italian polka two-step rhythms, as Skip wears his two cultural hearts on his sleeve. Towards the end the pace slackens for the wistful, witty paean to a 1940s baseball team, St Louis Browns, on which Clarence flatpicks superb dobro licks, and the closing, gentle My Secret Life in which Battin artfully lays his own soul bare.

The late ’72 timing of the album was not good; Skip’s touring commitments with the ailing Byrds meant that it was barely promoted, and sales were poor. Nonetheless, a second album was mooted by Signpost, by now part of Atlantic, to be entitled Topanga Skyline, but Clarence White was killed the day before recording was due to begin. It went ahead assisted by members of Country Gazette plus Al Perkins, but the heart had gone out of the project and the completed tapes were shelved. Skip went on to serve with New Riders Of The Purple Sage and the reformed Burritos, but his two other solo albums were released in the 1980s solely in Italy, to which he made frequent visits; these featured some songs sung in Italian, and remain rare collectors’ items. In Sept 2009 Skip’s son Brent financed the belated release of Topanga Skyline on Sierra Records as a fortieth anniversary commemoration of Skip’s first appearance with the Byrds. For an affectionate Skip Battin tribute website, go to http://www.skipbattin.com.

“Four Legs Are Better Than Two”

:D CD Reissue | 2003 | Collectors Choice | at amazon ]
:) Vinyl | 1972 | Signpost | ebay ]

Morning “Morning”

| Americana,Country Rock,Psych

Morning

Morning’s debut was released by Vault in 1970.  Thankfully, Wounded Bird Records has reissued this long lost album for the first time on cd.   Morning is full of dazzling performances, making it one of the mandatory LPs in the rural-rock/American roots/country-rock field.  While CSNY, Poco, and Band influences are unavoidable, this record is by no means derivative.  The band had its roots in several interesting 60s pop/garage bands, Wind and Moorpark Intersection being the most notable. These two groups would release a few decent 45’s in the late 60’s that are well worth tracking down.  The debut lineup looks something like this:  Barry Brown (guitar/drums/vocals), Jim Hobson (piano/organ/vocals), Jay Lewis (guitars/banjo/vocals), Jim Kehn (drums/guitar/vocals), Bruce Wallace (electric bass/string bass), and Terry Johnson (guitar).

Morning opens with “Angelena,” a rural rocker with heartfelt vocals, gospel tinged keyboards, and an appealing wide open, outdoor sound.  “Time,” another great track, is similar in feel and style, augmented by rich keyboards and moody vocals.  Both tracks are vaguely reminiscent of the Band’s early work – definitely a good thing here.  While country-rock/rural-rock may be the group’s main forte, Morning managed to record a few good psych tracks for their debut.  “Sleepy Eyes” stands out as their best piece of pure psychedelia.   Dreamy, with excellent dive bomb fuzz guitar work and lazy harmonies, this cut is great listening.  It’s amazing these guys never found any sort of success, whether it be underground or top 40.  Other winners are the beautiful CSNY-like country weeper “Dirt Roads” and the superb country-rocker “Roll ‘Em Down,” which sounds like it could have easily been a top 40 radio hit.  Every track on Morning has something to offer, whether it beautiful harmonies or fluid West Coast-style guitar leads, it all sounds terrific – including the group’s sharp, professional songwriting.  Also, while many of these tracks are quiet and tranquil, the band were definitely skilled musicians as heard on the tight group jam “And I’m Gone.”  If you’ve worn out copies of Pickin’ Up The Pieces or Deja Vu be sure to snatch up Morning, it’s a near lost classic with plenty of great songs to spare.

With a little effort and some luck, good original copies of Morning can be found cheap.  I spent $15 on a NM original copy of this LP (to my knowledge they never made another vinyl repress) – it sounds great on the turntable!  Morning would release an accomplished sophmore effort, Struck Like Silver that is also highly recommended.  For more information please check out Nick Warburton’s excellent essay on the band.

“Sleepy Eyes”

Early band Moorpark Intersection included future Morning members Jay Lewis, Jim Kehn and Terry Johnson.   Below is their 1968 Davide Axelrod produced single “I Think I’ll Just Go And Find Me A Flower.” This track can be found on Soft Sounds For Gentle People Volume 1.

:D CD Reissue | 2009 | Wounded Bird | amazon ]
:) Vinyl | 1970 | Vault | ebay ]

Jericho “Jericho”

| Americana,Classic Rock,Country Rock

Jericho

Has classic rock radio made a bad name for itself because the music doesn’t wear well with age, or is it because they keep playing the same old shit? In a perfect world, classic rock gems like Jericho would no longer be neglected by the airwaves and listeners would abound in new sounds from a previous era. Just imagine your local classic rock station slipped in one cut off this record, in place of the usual barrage of Zep and Skynyrd repeats; there could easily be a demand for this sweet sounding, authentic-as-it-gets, yet unissued and unplayed recording.

Jericho members Frank DiFelice, Denny Gerrard, Fred Keeler, Gordon Fleming hailed from Canada and recorded this one-off at the famous Bearsville studio in Woodstock, with engineering and production by Todd Rundgren. These guys were a part of the same scene as Jesse Winchester and The Band, sharing Rundgren as producer and art director Bob Cato between this and Stage Fright, and the music falls right in line, albeit with a harder edge.

They bust down the door with “True Fine Girl,” sounding like the Band on steroids with overdriven organ and screeching guitars notching a next-level sound. “SS #4” even sounds a little like hard rock “Cripple Creek,” but the key here isn’t loud guitar rippin but a loose knit down-home groove. There are nasty prog moves and killer Clavinet shredding on “Cheater Man;” Gordon Fleming really steals the show on keys, often overshadowing the guitar leads (a rare feat for keyboardists). “Baby’s Gone Again” is a blues that shuffles harder than Cream and “Backtrack” is a killer Edgar Winter style instrumental with gnarly parts played thru Garth Hudson’s own Leslie speaker and Clav. I’m a sucker for “Goin’ To The Country,” a goofy, stoned country groover with wowy Moog bass replacing the “jug” line. The vocalist shines on this little number (vocals are really great all the way through, actually) that definitely stands out from the rest.

One track, “Make It Better,” would score a minor hit, but Jericho would be largely forgotten, unissued since its original release. I do find that this record tends to push a little too hard; it’s kind of relentlessly hard-rockin. But it deserved much more than it got.

“Backtrack”

:) Original Vinyl | 1971 | Bearsville / Ampex | search ebay ]

Gene Parsons “Kindling”

| Americana,Country Rock,Folk

Kindling

Sometimes it’s the less visible members of a great band who turn out to be the most interesting. Gene Parsons was the drummer with the Byrds from 1968 to 1972. If you’ve ever even heard his name, there’s a fair chance that you’ll confuse him with his near namesake who was with the same band less than a year and achieved a disproportionate notoriety. It’s indicative of Gene’s character that when Chris Hillman quit the Byrds to form the Flying Burrito Brothers with Gram, Gene refused the invitation to accompany him, choosing to stay with the seemingly over-the-hill outfit out of loyalty, particularly to close friend Clarence White, rather than take a giant leap with the hotly-fancied new boys.

Gene’s career continued to be defined by his unassuming, sensitive personality. When Roger McGuinn finally fired Gene and Clarence before the ill-fated reunion of the original band, Gene went into Warner Brothers to record an album of the songs he’d been unable to persuade McGuinn to perform with the Byrds. The project had support from Clarence throughout, with guest appearances from legendary bluegrass artists Vassar Clements on fiddle and Ralph Stanley on vocal. But the biggest surprise was the appearance of Gene Parsons, lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, who beside thumping the tubs proved to be a butt-kicking five-string banjoist and also contributed acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, harmonica and bass. Gene’s earnest vocals front seven originals plus covers by Lowell George, old partner Gib Guilbeau, Stanley and Skip Battin. The feel of the album is as refreshingly homespun as might be expected, with an air of bluegrass that predates the genre’s eighties traditionalist revival and compares with the slick commercial country rock then being produced by the various other Byrds alumni and their contemporaries. The sparse, bright production by Russ Titelman is exemplary.

The album garnered strong reviews from Rolling Stone and other music press biggies and might have prefigured a profitable, if appropriately low-key, solo career for Gene, but shortly after its issue Clarence White was killed and, in despair at the loss of his friend and collaborator, Gene withdrew from his Warners contract and retired to his California farm to concentrate on developing the Parsons-White String Bender. It would be three years before he ventured on a stage again, joining the reformed Burritos for a three-year tenure during which Gene finally found peer acceptance in a group milieu as composer and vocalist. Since then he’s continued to make public music at intervals whilst devoting his main effort to production and further development of the String Bender. He still has the trademark soup strainer moustache and professes contentment with life in a style typical of the man.

Kindling has been reissued by Sierra Records as The Kindling Collection, which bookends the whole album with seven neglected Parsons originals from the Byrds’ albums and four more from the later Burritos era. Clarence White features heavily on the former cuts and Sneaky Pete Kleinow on the latter, and the whole package is an excellent chronicle of Gene’s first-division career.

“Monument”

:) Vinyl | 1973 | Warner Bros | search ebay ]
:D CD Reissue | 1995 | Sierra | buy from sierra ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

はっぴいえんど 風街ろまん (Happy End “Kazemachi Roman”)

| Classic Rock,Country Rock,Folk

Kazemachi Roman

From 1971 Japan comes this gleaming gem of classic rock, encompassing a myriad of American styles from rural rock and country to raw garage, blues, experimental, and blazing west coast rock – but contrary to prevailing trends of the time, the lyrics are not sung in English. If this poses a problem for your ears it is a great shame, for Kazemachi Roman (Wind City Romance) is a must-listen record, and #1 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums.

Kazemachi Roman owes its sound to many influences, but the band maintains an unmistakable originality while flawlessly running the gamut of American popular music. “Haikara Hakuchi” drives with the ferocity of a Moby Grape track, “Haru Ranman” combines byrdsian folk with a roaming west coast feel, while “Sorairo no Crayon” dabbles with country & western, replete with pedal steel and a yodeled outro.  “Natsu Nandesu” and “Kaze wo Atsumete” have a soulful, bucolic charm, the latter finally getting its due via 2003’s Lost In Translation soundtrack. “Dakishimetai” sounds like a classic 70s rock anthem and “Hanaichimonme” grooves like a freight train, prodded along by rolling guitar licks and driving piano. “Ashita Tenki ni Naare” gets to funky rhythm and blues featuring a fantastic Beegees multi-falsetto vocal part. And then there’s “Taifuu” (typhoon), the clear alpha dog of the set. On this authorative rocker the singer lets it all out with gnarly, gutteral yelps and grunts.

Even the slightest investment in this record should prove the attraction goes way beyond novelty.  The sound is instantly recognizable feel-good rock and easily transcends the language barrier. Had these gentlemen hailed from California and sang in English, Happy End would have been a household name.

The lead man, Haroumi Hosono, would later form the sensational Yellow Magic Orchestra (titans of the pre-midi synth age) and continues to make music with his electronica duo, Sketch_Show.

“花いちもんめ (Hanaichimonme)”

:D CD Reissue | search ebay ]