New Riders of the Purple Sage 1976

New Riders of the Purple Sage 1976

One of the best all around works by the kings of Country Rock, this CD is the New Riders of the Purple Sage at their musical pinnacle. Early bassist David Torbert had left the band to form Kingfish with Bob Weir and Matthew Kelly, and former Byrd and soon to be Flying Burrito Brother Skip Battin had taken his place. Most of the songs on this CD are covers and they are done wonderfully. David Nelson does a rousing job on Jack Tempchin's "15 Days Under the Hood" and his cover of the Rolling Stones' "Dead Flowers" remained the NRPS' signature encore throughout their long history. Buddy Cage's screaming pedal steel made their rendition much better than the Stones's. Nelson also shines on Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle",and again his guitar interplay with Cage's steal lines are fascinating. John Dawson does a nice job with the songs he sings on this disc, including "Annie Mae" and Louden Wainwright lll's humorous "Swimming Song". And who can ever forget Skip Battin's classic "She's Looking Better Every Beer"? You'll never get bored listening to this CD.

Stephen Stills- 1st Solo

Stephen Stills

Although if compared to his feuding amigos I would not rate Stephen Still first solo recording the best of all four, there's nothing here that could not be considered absolutely impeccable.
Furthermore, as musical breadth goes, this album show unequivocally Stills' capacity and deep understanding of what Rock was becoming and practically every well it drunk from.
And everything it's realized perfectly, the soaring chorus and sweeping organ of "Love The One You're With;" the Gospel beauty of "Church" and "To A Flame;" "Old Times Good Times," where Stills trades licks with Hendrix himself; the horns launching "Cherokee" into its own outer space, the sensuous cadence of "Sit Yourself Down;" the tequila-soaked blues of "Black Queen;" the quiet folk of wisdom of "We Are Not Helpless" ...
Well, you definitely get the picture. This is Stills' solo masterpiece, a work of such greatness that made his follow-up solo recordings -very good albums indeed- impossible to match it. Perhaps Manassas' debut is the only other album Stills put out -then as a band leader again- that can be compared to this one.
This is an album that belongs in any serious Rock worshipper's CD collection, not because of its possible historical significance nor any prior sentimental attachment to those times, but exclusively on the strength of its musical content, as relevant and soulful today as thirty-odd years ago.

Marshall Tucker Band -Tenth

Tenth

The ten tracks compiled on the 1980 release entitled "Tenth" compare favorably with any offering in the MTB catalog. My initial impression upon hearing "Tenth" was similar to what I felt after my first listen to the band's final Capricorn release "Together Forever" in 1978: Is this real or am I dreaming? Every track is so well written and is performed in that inimitable Marshall Tucker style that one can't help but be reminded of what a special and unique group of musicians the original Marshall Tucker Band was.

For fans of Toy Caldwell's tasty guitar licks, there are plenty of fine examples spread across the ten tracks in this collection. Toy even collaborates with George McCorkle on a short instrumental tribute to Jimi Hendrix appropriately entitled "Jimi" that is tastefully done. Yet, for me, the stand out artist on "Tenth" is Paul Riddle. Never one to go over the top to draw attention to his performance, Mr. Riddle's drumming truly shines through here. The steady intensity he displays on the standout cooker "Cattle Drive" is most impressive.

Randy Meisner 1978

Randy Meisner 1978

This is Randy Meisner's first recordings after leaving the Eagles in 1978. Previously, it was only released in Japan and available in the USA by bidding... For some reason, this release was overlooked, but now it is available here ... at a reasonable price and is well worth checking out if you are a fan of Randy's. It was the first time he was the lead vocalist on all of the tracks and his first experience at picking all the material to record. He did a new rendition of "Take It To The Limit" with guitar, piano and vocals and another song that was in the Eagle's vein, "Every Other Day". "Bad Man", written by J.D. Souther and Glen Frey, is a real rocker. There are some great players - John Hobbs, Victor Feldman, Ernie Watts, Byron Berline, Steve Edwards and background singers like David Cassidy and J.D. Souther. This is the best version of "Lonesome Cowgirl" I've heard and it really cooks. There are a couple of nice ballads and his versions of a few oldies. This cd shows Randy in transition to becoming a hit artist on his own. The production is good and I recommend it. 

Poco-Seven

Seven

This band could've faltered when founding member Ritchie Furay followed co-founder Jim Messina out the door in 1973, right on the heels of one of Poco's best albums, CRAZY EYES. And some Poco fans were also disappointed with this album because the shift away from the "pickin' and grinnin' music that made you smile" style of their first few albums is pretty well complete by this one. But the group clearly shows that it was always much more than just it's founders. SEVEN has it all; chugging rockers ("Drivin' Wheel," "Skatin'"), bluegrass ("Rocky Mountain Breakdown"), ballads ("Krikkit's Song") and even a "Crazy Eyes" type of epic ("You've Got Your Reasons"). Everyone here does a top-notch job, with Rusty Young particularly shining on pedal steel. All in all, SEVEN boasts an energy and power that is damn near majestic at times; it's definetely one of the best albums in the "country-rock" catagory and certainly one of the best albums, period, from the Seventies.

Poco-Cantamos

Cantamos

 Canatamos means "We Sing".

In terms of the Country Rock genre, you simply need this album. The singing and playing on Cantamos makes all of Poco's previous albums, and future, pale into comparison, except perhaps "Seven." The major highlight is Rusty Young`s emergence as a song writer. His efforts are some of the strongest, on what is a very even, high quality album. "Sagebrush Serenade" which effectively marries, Bluegrass, High Harmonies and Country Rock together and High and Dry which is straight Country Rock, sung by Tim Schmit will leave you wanting more. Paul Cotton has major highlights, "Western Waterloo", Another Time Around, are lyrical improvements and really rock out. Tim Schmit has Bitter Blue which continues his growth as a songwriter and has the more commercial singalong "Whatever Happened to your smile?" The strongest song on the album is "All the Ways" which is quite simply a classic. Realistically this is as strong an album as Poco ever did and one which I would strongly recommend to all Eagles, JD Souther, James Taylor fans as an example of how good Country Rock did get in the early mid `70`s.

Good Feeling to Know- Poco

Good feeling to Know

On this 1972 release of eight originals and one cover tune (an arguably superior version of the Buffalo Springfield's "Go and Say Goodye" written by Stephen Stills), Poco put together one of its best albums. Band members Richie Furay, Paul Cotton and Timothy B Schmit each contribute excellent songs. Highlights include Cotton's lovely "Ride the Country" and Schmit's achingly beautiful "I Can See Everything." But it's still Furay who steals the show with the rollicking "And Settlin' Down," the gorgeous "Sweet Lovin'" and what should have been a monster hit, "A Good Feelin' to Know." Why Poco never had the kind of commercial success of the Eagles (whose debut was released just months before A Good Feelin' to Know) is a mystery. Fans of country-rock will want to add this to their collection. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED