Country Rock

[Ducatista47]

Given the average age of the membership here, I think I am not alone in my fondness for Country Rock. I think it needs its own thread.

So who do you like? This list from Wiki is a good place to start. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_country_rock_albums

I think this is some of the best popular music ever recorded. I will give a call out to Chris Hillman and his bands, Gene Clark, Poco and Pure Prairie League to start. But that list all sounds pretty good to me from top to bottom, from Dylan to Neko Case.

Clark

[1audiohack]

I think Steve Earl is THE MAN.

[Ducatista47]

I think Steve Earl is THE MAN.
I was lucky enough to see him open for Bob Dylan at the Peoria Civic Center once. I understand he has had a lot of problems since then, I hope he is alright.

[1audiohack]

He has put himself through a lot it's true. All those problems fueled some great music. I believe he has been doing well for about the last decade. The scope of my music appreciation is pretty wide but Steve has been my desert island artist for 25 years.

[opimax]

a relatively recent Pandora find, he has his own station now :)

Does Southern rock fit in this catogory?

Mark

[hjames]

a relatively recent Pandora find, he has his own statin now :)

Does Southern rock fit in this catogory?

Mark

I dunno, once you open the door to them, swamp rock is next ...
then Leon Russell shows up, and its all gone to the weeds after that!

[SEAWOLF97]

I dunno, once you open the door to them, swamp rock is next ...
then Leon Russell shows up, and its all gone to the weeds after that!

Oh No !!! :eek:

I DO like some of Leon's offerings* .... as well as Linda's and The Eagles and CCR and Fogerty. (even The Soggy Bottom Boys)

*esp: Back to the Island

[Ducatista47]

a relatively recent Pandora find, he has his own station now :)

Does Southern rock fit in this catogory?

Mark
Well, not to my ears. The Wiki list is pretty good, but not inclusive. I would put Desert Rose Band squarely in there, but they are not on the list. Some would consider them Country Pop, but what Country artists besides Willie Nelson, or Ricky Skaggs and Alison Krause (ie Bluegrass artists), and a few others are not Country Pop these days? There may be some bands who are considered Country Rock just because they employed a pedal steel; that ain't necessarily so.

Compare The Outlaws and 38 Special to the first Eagles album, and the gulf between Southern Rock and Country Rock becomes obvious. I can see how Neil Young's Tonight's The Night is and Zuma is not. Not all this is as obvious as his Harvest and Comes A Time, but a pattern does emerge. Pure Prairie League does sometimes remind one of Bread, but the latter has no Country and is 100% Pop. America (the group) is an example of probably not, but I wouldn't argue either way. I think the problem arises when one is not quite familiar with pure Country - if there is such a thing. Country has been so Pop for so long that most listeners confuse the two.

Another good example would be The Grateful Dead. Workingman's Dead and American Beauty are very different from the rest of their canon, and the difference is lots of Country influence.

Hope this helps.

[4313B]

I dunno, once you open the door to them, swamp rock is next ...
then Leon Russell shows up, and its all gone to the weeds after that!:rotfl:

I knew there was a reason I still visited this website. That's just plain hillarious.

I do like a few Leon tunes though. :D




Poco... I listen to the Legend album probably once a month. I just like that stuff! Never cared for Dylan or CCR. I grew up loathing Neil Young's work but have done a complete one eighty with respect to him. The Eagles are rediculously overtalented. No band deserves to be loaded with that much skill.

I think the problem arises when one is not quite familiar with pure Country - if there is such a thing. Country has been so Pop for so long that most listeners confuse the two.I grew up with the real deal. I stopped listening to it all when I discovered that there were other stations on the radio besides country once I got my own transistor radio that I could tune myself. :p

[SEAWOLF97]

The Eagles are rediculously overtalented. No band deserves to be loaded with that much skill.

:yes::yes:

The band began to form when Linda Ronstadt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ronstadt) and then-manager John Boylan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boylan_%28record_producer%29) recruited session musicians Glenn Frey and Don Henley in the spring of 1971.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_eagles#cite_note-billboard1-2) Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon would join her group of performers by the summer tour.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_eagles#cite_note-billboard1-2) The original Eagles would play only once together as a live unit backing Ronstadt (for a July concert at Disneyland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland)),[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_eagles#cite_note-billboard1-2) but all four appeared on her eponymous 1971 album (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Ronstadt_%28album%29).[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_eagles#cite_note-3) After their tenure with Ronstadt and with her encouragement, they decided to form their own band, signing with Asylum Records (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asylum_Records)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_eagles

I watched the concert DVD - Live from Melbourne ....and their song "Hole in the World" (re:911) was very touching.

[JeffW]

I grew up with the real deal. I stopped listening to it all when I discovered that there were other stations on the radio besides country once I got my own transistor radio that I could tune myself

My story to a "T", except there were not any other stations but more country.... we got BOTH kinds of music-country AND western! One AM pop station until 1976 when Amarillo College started FM90. Let there be rock...at least through high school.

[Ducatista47]

The Eagles are rediculously overtalented. No band deserves to be loaded with that much skill.
:p
Oh, like Buffalo Springfield? Any time Young and Stills share a band they out talent almost anybody else. Add Furray (founder & leader of Poco of course) and it gets into beyond.

I like the first Eagles lineup the best, and their album. A desert island pick for sure.

[SEAWOLF97]

Oh, like Buffalo Springfield? Any time Young and Stills share a band they out talent almost anybody else. Add Furray (founder & leader of Poco of course) and it gets into beyond.

I like the first Eagles lineup the best, and their album. A desert island pick for sure.

Agreed ... have been on a Stills collecting binge ...especially like it when he lets go and gets out of the mold (Spanish Suite) ....tho he and Neil are better sampled in short sessions.

I've heard most Eagles recordings (including the excellent "Live from Melborne") and just can't hear the personnel changes , tho Timothy is distinctive.

[SpeakerLabFan]

great thread, and not off in the weeds yet.

Buffalo Springfield was the first band that came to mind for me but I wonder about that wiki list starting with 1966. That is about the time that the folkies and traditional influences were transitioning into electric and rock ....but... there was a guy in Texas named Charles Hardin Holly who had country influences and he definitely rocked. Rave On!

[BMWCCA]

Oh, like Buffalo Springfield? Any time Young and Stills share a band they out talent almost anybody else.

Buffalo Springfield was one of my favorites growing up. As Seawolf knows, I'm a huge Steve Stills fan. I've taken my one-daughter-of-three that shares my taste in music to see CSN live. But our nickname for Young around here is "The Whiner". Now Crosby, who still has his voice, unlike Stills, is (IMHO) far more talented than Young. Go to early Byrds and Jeff Airplane to confirm his songwriting skill. An all-time favorite album of mine (as well as many critics) is Crosby's "If Only I Could Remember My Name" which is really a snapshot of everyone active in the music biz in the Bay Area back then. A great album, for anyone not familiar with it already and way ahead of its time.

[Wornears]

Gram Parsons

'nuff said

[SEAWOLF97]

An all-time favorite album of mine (as well as many critics) is Crosby's "If Only I Could Remember My Name" which is really a snapshot of everyone active in the music biz in the Bay Area back then. A great album, for anyone not familiar with it already and way ahead of its time.

that is the beauty of these type of threads ....I saw a copy last week and passed as the title seemed lame , but Phil & my appreciations of Stills makes it a good recommendation to pick up next time I see it.

[hjames]

Now Crosby, who still has his voice, unlike Stills, is (IMHO) far more talented than Young. Go to early Byrds and Jeff Airplane to confirm his songwriting skill. An all-time favorite album of mine (as well as many critics) is Crosby's "If Only I Could Remember My Name" which is really a snapshot of everyone active in the music biz in the Bay Area back then. A great album, for anyone not familiar with it already and way ahead of its time.

Yeah, its like all that stuff from Wally Heider's studio back in the day ... a kind of
Crosby/Dead/Starship (original)/Jorma/Cassady/Joni/blend -
everybody's on a really good groove and the tape just kept running on and on, on and on ...

I've got a couple boots from that era - David and the Dorks live at the Matrix - Dec 15-17, 1970,
and, of course, the original PERRO recordings (Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra) -
see - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Earth_Rock_and_Roll_Orchestra

The music can be heard here:
http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2009/01/05/david-crosby-1970-outtakes-aka-perro-tapes/


Lots of detail on the Dead Archives site-
http://www.deaddisc.com/disc/If_Only_I_Could.htm#r

" In December 1970 Crosby, Garcia, Leash and Hart played together as a group. Garcia later spoke about this group in an interview;
We had a little band called David and the Dorks. He was the star, and it was his trip that we were doing. It was right around the time he was in the Bay Area a lot ... we did maybe two or three shows ... they weren't announced or anything; we just went in there on a Monday night and had a lot of fun, and the sound was cool. In fact, that was the core of the band that played on David's album."All that stuff has some really nice moments ...
All that stuff has some endless SF - jam moments that can just go off into space and drift ...
be warned - its very interesting in smaller doses but its not for everybody!

http://www.philzone.com/philbase/perro.html

[BMWCCA]

that is the beauty of these type of threads ....I saw a copy last week and passed as the title seemed lame , but Phil & my appreciations of Stills makes it a good recommendation to pick up next time I see it.

I never thought of it this way but I did spend quite a lot of time listening to it with headphones (Superex ST-Pro VB) back when it was a new release: http://blog.bowers-wilkins.com/speakers/headphones/the-best-headphone-albums-ever/comment-page-3/ (http://blog.bowers-wilkins.com/speakers/headphones/the-best-headphone-albums-ever/comment-page-3/)

And Larry Archibald writing for the Sterophile 1991 article "Records to Die For" wrote (excerpted):

Having had an active career in rock music before jumping tracks to become a hi-fi writer, I perhaps have a slightly different perspective from many audiophiles on what makes a rock recording stand out from the crowd. Musically, such recordings must have evidence of the artist having a unique voice---no "me too" music please. Philosophically I have no aversion to signal processing of any kind (though I find sampled and sequenced drums to resemble shaped and textured noise), but I do like unexaggerated vocal textures, with all the dynamics of live rock preserved intact. Personally, my tastes run toward the big sound rather than the intimately balanced---Phil Spector was, not surprisingly, the producer who lured me away from my classical upbringing---which is why, most of all, I want the mind behind a rock record's production to have intelligently, tastefully, and cleverly created a tangible sense of space between, behind, and beyond the loudspeakers, enveloping the listener in sound and feeling.(Footnote 3) Many albums achieve this goal with one or two tracks, but only a few sustain the sense of invention for a whole two sides. After much headscratching, my finalists in this category are: Joan Armatrading's Show Some Emotion, A&M LP AMLH 68433 (1977) and Joan Armatrading, A&M LP AMLH 64588 (1976); the Beach Boys' Surf's Up, Brother Records LP RS 6453 (1971); Clannad's Magical Ring, RCA LP ALP6072 and CD ND71473 (1983); David Crosby's If Only I Could Remember My Name, Atlantic LP SD-7203 (1971); Dire Straits' Love Over Gold, Vertigo UK CD 800 088-2 (1982), and Brothers in Arms, Vertigo UK CD 824 499-2 (1985); Donny Hathaway's Donny Hathaway Live, Atlantic LP K40369 (1971); Pink Floyd's The Wall, EMI Harvest UK LP SHDW 411 (1980), and Wish You Were Here, EMI Harvest UK LP SHVL 814 (1975); and Steely Dan's Aja, MCA LP MCA-1688 and CD MCAD-37214, and Mobile Fidelity LP MFSL 033 (1977) (XII-10), and Gaucho, MCA LP 6102 and CD MCAD-37220 (1980). That's pretty good company!

[Ducatista47]

How I forgot her I will never know; I guess female vocalists do not spring to my mind when I think of Country Rock. Seawolf touched on her, but it got by me. No doubt, however, that the finest voice of the genre probably belongs to Linda Ronstadt. Her friend Emmylou Harris is a strong second, perhaps an equal. When Emmylou is with Neil Young, it is hard to beat the combination. Well, the Trio sessions might, but Country Rock they are probably not.
52972

[SEAWOLF97]

How I forgot her I will never know; I guess female vocalists do not spring to my mind when I think of Country Rock. Seawolf touched on her, but it got by me. No doubt, however, that the finest voice of the genre probably belongs to Linda Ronstadt.

Ah yes, but which Linda are we talking about ? (as in which Fleetwood Mac ??) ...she started out as "country'ish rock" but has done pop, opera, duets, big band ...etc. it all seemed "more honest" on the first couple of albums tho.

I did catch her cajun-french duet album >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adieu_False_Heart
and she still has THE VOICE , despite having ballooned up ....
it has a cover of the Left Banke's "Walk away Renee" that is truly outstanding

As for country rock, when you say that term .....I immediately picture either Buffalo Springfield (or one of its incarnations/spinoffs) or The Eagles.

[Ducatista47]

I am not fit to comment on how honest or appropriate Ronstadt's efforts have been through the years; I am not that knowledgeable about some of the genres she has participated in.

She seems to be, however, due to all those efforts, one of the most accomplished popular singers in history. As in Bach being the most accomplished Western musician of all time.

In any case, I care far more about her unbelievable voice and the use she put it to in the service of music I do know and love. I have never heard a singer that could do a better job on a no backup singer, hanging out in front of God and everybody performance like she did on "Long, Long Time" (for instance - not saying it is Country Rock).

Thanks for the heads up on the Cajun record.