Home Taping: Country Rock

At the time of his death, Gram Parsons was in grave danger of being taken for granted.  Although it was accepted that he had 'invented' the musical style known as Country Rock, this was simply being overlooked in a mass outbreak of droopy-moustached yee-hawism.  Today it is called New Country and has become the fastest growing market in American popular music.  The roots of Country Rock lie in the 1960s recordings of West Coast artists Buck Owens and His Buckaroos, Merle Haggard and The Strangers and the sublime pop-country songwriting of the (late) great Harlan Howard.  This was known as the Bakersfield sound, where true-to-life songs and fast shuffle rhythms, often performed by musicians attired in flashy Western duds, caught the creative imagination of approximately one person: the young Gram Parsons.  When Parsons founded The International Submarine Band in 1966, rock and roll was entering its progressive phase and the Nashville hit machine was at the peak of its powers - a diabolical climate in which to attempt a revolution.  28 years later we see Gram Parsons in his true light: a man alone with no precedent, no road map, just a vision that has at last begun to register with the record buying public.  Today Gram Parsons’s spirit lives on in the music of Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill.  And twenty-something years ago, awestruck by the imports in the windows of London's One Stop or Musicland, a small throng of fans were also travelling without a road map.  All of the record sleeves were groovy and desirable; foot square promises, bold and inviting.  Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks!  Hungry Chuck!  Mason Profit!  A month's disposable income would secure but two.

Originally recorded between 1967 and 1973, all of the music on this tape was 'dubbed from disc'.  Digging out the LPs, I came across long lost artefacts from a golden era of American rock; when LP sleeves were constructed from thick card, often textured or grainy; a tactile delight.  Graphics were strong and bold, straight out of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Annual.  Sure, there was the facial hair, sheriff's outfits and much posing around the campfire, but still one's imagination was captured in true frontier spirit.  This was also the time of 'the vinyl shortage'!  Panic!  Invent thin records!  Dynaflex - "it is thinner than any record you have ever owned" - was RCA's contribution to stemming the crisis; a miniature wobbleboard of a disc that you could bend in two.  Still sounds good though, so with a copy of Pete Frame's Flying Burrito Brothers family tree handy: break out the No.6, crack open a Party Seven and crank up the stereo!

Side One

International Submarine Band
Blue Eyes (2.44)
LP: Safe At Home (LHI) 1968

Is this man nuts?  It's 1966 and powerful aromas foul the limited air in boutiques worldwide; sitars and subversive lyrics rule, and rock musicians are 'stretching out'.  A bunch of upstarts in Wyatt Earp outfits are singing shit-kicking country for the Beatles generation.  Talk about uphill!  True, The Fabs have dabbled, e.g. Act Naturally, but here is Gram Parsons, a young rocker, showing maximum commitment to country.  It will be a quarter century before the full reverberations are felt.

Bob Dylan
I'll Be You Baby Tonight (2.23)
LP: John Wesley Harding (CBS) 1968

An endorsement of sorts; opening the influential 1968 CBS sampler The Rock Machine Turns You On, it is for many, an introduction to the sound of the pedal steel guitar.  It is ludicrous to suggest that this is Bob Dylan's first foray into the genre, but coming when and where it does, (closing the plaintive John Wesley Harding and laying a foundation for the country sound of Nashville Skyline), the song sends out unmistakable signals to the rock community.

The Byrds
You Ain't Going Nowhere (2.25) and Hickory Wind (3.27)
 LP: Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (CBS) 1968

First to feel the effect, are The Byrds.  Conveniently, they have just recruited Gram Parsons to provide keyboard noises for Roger McGuinn's 'space music'.  In a "yes yes yes, we'll get to that" delaying tactic, the ambitious Parsons wastes no time in hustling his new colleagues to Nashville to cut country with seasoned studio pickers, resulting in the seminal Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.  Bob Dylan's You Ain't Going Nowhere mixes down-homespun philosophy ("strap yourself to a tree with roots..."), with just enough rock mysticism ("Ghengis Khan he could not keep..."), to tickle the fans and baffle the natives.  Hickory Wind, cut the same day as Going Nowhere is a sterling Parsons composition and the only track on the LP where his lead vocal survives the mix.  It won't be long before Gram Parsons quits The Byrds.

Beau Brummels
The Loneliest Man In Town (1.49)
LP: Bradley's Barn (Warner Bros) 1968

In the wake of 'Sweetheart', the pilgrimage starts.  Californian hipsters The Beau Brummels go directly to Nashville to record at (Owen) Bradley's Barn.  A bold move, a minor triumph.

Poco
Pickin' Up The Pieces (3.14)
LP: Pickin' Up The Pieces (Epic) 1969

"There's just a little bit of magic in the country..."  They came from the smouldering ashes of the great Buffalo Springfield.  Relieved of Stephen Stills' Latin fixation and Neil Young's dark brooding, Richie Furay and Jim Messina form Poco, a bright and bouncy country harmony group.  Recorded contemporaneously with the Flying Burrito Brothers' debut, Poco's sparkling sound is innocence personified.

Flying Burrito Brothers
Christine's Tune (3.02) and Sin City (4.09)
LP: Gilded Palace Of Sin (A&M) 1969

First there are the outfits, cue fanfare: "And now on the rock and roll catwalk - Nudie bolero suit with marijuana motif from a hot young designer, Mr Gram Parsons!"  However attuned to image, Parsons' masterstroke is a musical one: he manages to spirit Chris Hillman away from the Byrds.  It thickens up the vocals and launches a prodigious songwriting partnership that produces the apocalyptic vision that is Sin City, where even "a gold plated door won't keep out the Lord's burning rain".

Dillard & Clark
She Darked The Sun (3.09)
LP: The Fantastic Expedition Of Dillard & Clark (A&M) 1969

The massively underrated Gene Clark has left The Byrds for the second time and is quietly making country records away from the limelight.  His partnership with Doug Dillard results in two fine LPs and this song, (co-written with Burrito Brother and future Eagle Bernie Leadon), is Gene Clark at his post-Byrds best.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Some Of Shelley's Blues (3.07)
LP: Uncle Charlie And His Dog Teddy (Liberty) 1970

The Dirt Band's inestimable contribution to country music will be the triple record set Will The Circle Be Unbroken? From 1973, on which they will record with and introduce to a wider audience such country legends as Maybelle Carter and Doc Watson.  One of the earliest Country Rock groups (founded 1965, with Jackson Browne an early participant), the NGDB's version of this Mike Nesmith song opens the vibrant Uncle Charlie And His Dog Teddy album.

Paul Siebel
She Made Me Lose My Blues (2.36)
LP: Woodsmoke And Oranges (Elektra) 1970

The folk-based Siebel's nasal twang roars out of Woodstock NY, second coming-like, during the era of 'new Dylans'.  This fabulous track opens with the heart-stopping pedal steel of Weldon Myrick and closes with Siebel's "yep-that's-a-keeper" yodelling.

Grateful Dead
Dire Wolf (3.12)
LP: Workingman's Dead (Warner Bros) 1970

By now they've all got the message.  Even the Grateful Dead find time to break off from an epic performance of Dark Star to record two classic country rock LPs: Workingman's Dead and the immortal American Beauty.  Workingman's Dead, from whence this song emerges, is also notable for its sleeve art, for it heralds the sighting of ears.  In fact, the Phil Lesh barnet as portrayed here (only a drawing mind you)opens up new possibilities for jaded rockers.

Shiloh
Same Old Story (2.39)
LP: Shiloh (Amos/Bell) 1970

Far from the Perfect Beast, this obscure LP marks the recording debut of Eagle-to-be Don Henley, whose vocal chops are already in fine shape. 

Linda Ronstadt
Silver Threads And Golden Needles (2.20)
LP: Hand Sown Home Grown (Capitol) 1969

Linda Ronstadt gives impeccable A&R.  Subsequent Ronstadt recordings will suffer from slick production, despite multi-platinum status, but Hand Sown contains some of her best vocal performances and astutely selected material.

Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band
This Train (2.34)
LP: Rudy The Fifth (MCA) 1971

Tired of his hits and package tours, the Teenage Idol had been cutting country records since the mid-sixties.  Ever the hip dude, he has checked out early Poco club dates and is quietly amused by the emergence of Country Rock.  Stealing bassist and imminent Eagle Randy Meisner from the embryonic Poco, he forms Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band.  Sadly, Rick's records from this era are erratic and a little disappointing, but this collection will be incomplete without him.

Laramie
Blue Eyed Black Haired Woman (2.12)
LP: Laramie (Mercury) 1971

A telling example of just how sordid a bandwagon can become, this truly dreadful record must be heard to be believed.  It will become understandably rare, (i.e. not that many are pressed) and interestingly, in the credits, nobody owns up to vocals.

Side Two

Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
Seeds And Stems (Again) 3.45
LP: Lost In The Ozone (Paramount) 1971

Apparently, this is a drug song (seeds and stems being the residue of a diminished bag of 'grass').  Cody's combo introduces the stoned hippie angle to Country Rock and widens its horizons considerably.  Sung by co-author Bill Kirchen, (taking over here from regular frontman Billy C 'Unplugged' Farlowe), it's a mournful tale of break-up and despair.  Dogs die and repo men call.  Amazingly, the tribulations of Cody & Co will be recorded in an entire book: Star Making Machinery by Geoffrey Stokes (1976).  Observed at close range, it will detail their signing to Warners; the arduous making of their fifth (flop) LP and the inner workings of the mid-seventies music industry.  It is a must-read.

New Riders of the Purple Sage
Henry (2.35)
LP: New Riders Of The Purple Sage (Columbia) 1971

Management stable mates of Cody, The New Riders are, it seems, also partial to the odd Jazz Woodbine.  Several of their lyrics mention 'the man' or 'kilos', (hardly references to a career in freight forwarding).  Augmented here by the pedal steel of Jerry Garcia, NRPS will go on to release a string of light-hearted cosmic cowboy opuses.

Poco
Bad Weather (5.00)
LP: From The Inside (Epic) 1971

When Poco enlists the services of former Illinois Speed Press guitarist Paul Cotton, events take a rockier turn.  This strong Cotton ballad is one of Poco's best cuts, enlivening their Steve Cropper-produced fourth LP.  Originally named Pogo (!), their career will span twenty years, but these pioneers will forever be denied a place in rock's premier league.

Flying Burrito Brothers
Colorado (4.50)
LP: Flying Burrito Brothers (A&M) 1971

Parsons quits the Burritos and Hillman recruits the golden throat of Rick Roberts.  The group's eponymous third LP is choc full o' great songs and lilting vocal performances, the best of which is the Roberts original, Colorado.

Manassas
Colorado (2.50)
LP: Manassas (Atlantic) 1972

Happening place.  Chris Hillman has yet to play in a loser group or on a duff record.  His stock is high as he hooks up with Stephen Stills in Manassas and this double record set is recorded whilst Stills, one of rock's most awesome voices, is at the peak of his powers.

The Eagles
Take It Easy (3.28)
LP: The Eagles (Asylum) 1972

A simply great intro.  One instinctively knows that a major act is on the blocks.  The Eagles will often get a bad press, but consider the facts.  The original quartet covers all the important bases: several cracking singers, one of whom bears the stamp of vocal greatness; a stripped down rhythm section; an inspired guitarist; plus the vital ingredients (in no particular order): songs and ambition.  The Eagles don't dick around with half-baked productions and crappy arrangements.  They go straight to the heart of the matter, hiring Glyn Johns to produce their debut and its follow-up, the truly brilliant Desperado.  For all of this and the excesses that are to follow, they will be constantly rubbished.

John David Souther
The Fast One (3.05)
LP: John David Souther (Asylum) 1972

Former partner of Eagle Glen Frey in the lightweight Longbranch Pennywhistle, Souther (who opens for The Eagles at their 1972 London debut) will soon got his leg over Asylum style.

Pure Prairie League
Tears (2.43) and Take It Before You Go (4.05)
LP: Pure Prairie League (RCA) 1972

For an import-hungry vinyl casualty with a cold nose pressed up against Musicland's crowded window, this is the ultimate graphic: the Norman Rockwell illustration of an old timer clinging to a ten inch chunk of shellac labelled 'Dreams Of Long Ago', adorned with the legend 'Pure Prairie League'.  Now are you, or are you not, going to part with the three quid?  Fortunately, this time the music lives up to the packaging.

Rick Roberts
In My Own Small Way (2.57)
LP: Windmills (A&M) 1972

After the demise of the Burritos, Roberts hangs on to his A&M contract and delivers a brace of beauties.  This is from the first.

Chilli Willi And The Red Hot Peppers
I'll Be Home (2.12)
LP: Kings Of The Robot Rhythm (Revelation) 1972

Englishmen sing with American accents.  Protagonists: Martin Stone (ex Savoy Brown/The Action/Mighty Baby) and the late Phil 'Snakefinger' Lithman, aided and abetted by 'the Brinsleys'.  The UK's first pub/country rock combo cut a charming LP's worth of tunes, presented in a artful Barney Bubbles package.

Michael Nesmith
Winonah (3.56)
LP: Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash (RCA) 1973

"Winonah, the whiskey owns her..."  The defecting Monkee's country trilogy: Magnetic South/Loose Salute/Nevada Fighter, defines the territory.  Tantamount To Treason and And The Hits Just Keep On Comin' consolidate matters.  By the time of 'Ranch Stash', (a Frank Zappa kind of title), Nesmith is exasperated, as revealed in the LP's sleeve notes.  ("I was sure this would be the album that would catapult me right up there with Dylan and Cole Porter...").  Even the desperate 'Buy This Record' ploy next to his portrait doesn't work.  He was a Monkee for Christ's sake!   Nesmith's great songs from this era will one day reach an appreciative audience.

Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris
We'll Sweep Out The Ashes In The Morning (3.13)
LP: GP (Reprise)1973

And so we return, full circle, to the man who had the vision and the nerve.  From the moment the ethereal voice of Emmylou Harris enters the picture, a career is born.  In the classic tradition of the great heartbreak duos: George Jones & Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn, Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris rewrite the rodeo rules and lay traps for future riders. 

Special thanks to Keith Smith, Paul Bradshaw (Mod Lang), Rhett Davies (Hello Goodbye), and Mike at Harlequin, circa 72.

Will Birch © willbirch.com
First published in Mojo, November 1994

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