Stone Poneys - Vol 3

Volume 3

When the group the Stone Ponies first hit the charts, it was as a trio that featured the captivating voice of a teenage Linda Ronstadt singing lead vocals for this Arizona-based folk-rock trio. And with a voice blazing like Pecos Pete on methadrine, her incredible melodic shout of a singing style led her and the group to quick fortune and early success. The fact that she was such an incredible talent quickly doomed the trio as an act, however, and by the time this third and final album was released, the group went by the name of "Linda Ronstadt and The Stone Ponies". But they left behind this very interesting and eclectic collection of songs to remember them by, songs both worth listening to and worth having in your CD library. Included here is quite a collection of songs and styles, ranging from the ethereal "Fragments" to a more traditional folk effort, "By The Fruits Of Their Labors", from Tim Buckley's ironic "Hobo" (and only Linda could make it the soaring showcase she does here) to a cover of the wonderful "Let's Get Together". She tears out all the stops with another Tim Buckley song, "Wings", and walks all over Laura Nyro's hit "The Stoney End". Also included here is the groups final top ten hit, "Some Of Shelly's Blues", written by one-time Monkee's singer Mike Neismith. This is a very easy album to get to like, and several of the numbers you may finding yourself singing to yourself on the way to work. In my opinion, this is an essential album for anyone claiming to be a real Linda Ronstadt fan. Enjoy!



Emmylou Harris- Ballad of Sally Rose

Ballad of Sally Rose

This is an interesting album from Emmylou Harris. Released in 1985, it stands as one of her best. Avid fans will want to get their hands on this cd, it's pretty rare to find but worth the search! This is the first album in her career where she wrote or co-wrote all of the songs, something she is more inclined to do on her newer albums. She is an excellent songwriter in my opinion. The album works as a concept album, telling a story of a girl from a small town who gets taken under the wing of singer that takes her (and her angelic voice) out on the road. Which is sort of like what happened with her and Gram Parsons. To get the story of the album though you need to read the liner notes. She truly shines on the slower ballads such as "Diamond in My Crown" and the closer "Sweet Chariot." Not an essential album for casual fans, but the hardcore Harris fans will either already have this, or be looking for it.



Brewer & Shipley- Weeds & Tarkio

Weeds and Tarkio

Like several other one-hit wonders, Brewer & Shipley were a bona fide music act before (and after) their brief intersection with Top-40 fame. The native Oklahoman and Ohioan (respective to their billing) had been kicking around the Los Angeles folk scene for a couple of years when they recorded their 1968 debut ("Down in L.A.") for A&M. By the time they waxed this pair of albums for Kama Sutra in '69 and '70, they'd settled back in the Midwest.
Both albums were recorded in San Francisco with Nick Gravenites producing and assembling the who's-who bands. "Weeds" features Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Mark Naftalin on piano and organ, Richard Greene on fiddle, and Red Rhodes on pedal steel. "Tarkio" retains several of the players (most notably Naftalin), and adds a guest spot for Jerry Garcia on his then newly learned pedal steel. Across the two LPs' 20 tracks, Brewer & Shipley forge a perfectly balanced blend of folk harmony, country twang and rock power.
"Weeds" features a number of standout originals and covers, including the easy ballad "Lady Like You," the slumberous "Indian Summer," and a truly sublime cover of Jim Pepper's ancestral peyote chant, "Witchi-Tai-To." "Tarkio" moves its hippie vibe into the '70s, with strong echoes of the Nixon Years' creeping paranoia. In addition to the rousing hit "One Toke Over the Line," and poetic, philosophical folk songs like "The Light" and "Ruby on the Morning," the album is filled with personal travelogues that match external miles with internal turbulence. "Song From Platte River" and "Tarkio Road" essay the repressed experience of the counterculture, and "Don't Want to Die in Georgia" voices the anxiety of many freaks' travel in the South.
Both albums are vastly under-known 5-star folk-rock classics.