The album pictured above is "More a Legend than a Band" by The Flatlanders. Much has been written about this amazing and indispensible album. It was recorded in the early seventies by three soon-to-be legends of Texas country music, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, & Jimmie Dale Gilmore. It has a sound and feel like no other country album and its easily one of my top 10 favorite albums of all time (right up there with Pet Sounds and Highway 61 Revisited). You can read about it here, here, here, here, and here.
In addition to the stellar tracks on "Legend," The Flatlanders produced four more songs during the same recording sessions. For awhile, these extra tracks were available on on a collection called One Road More and then later on another collection called the Complete Plantation Recordings. As far as I can tell, both of these releases are now discontinued and out of print. That's a shame because these "missing" tracks are just as good as the ones that made the cut.
Here, for your listening enjoyment, are two of the missing tracks. The first is a fun cover of one of Jimmie Rodgers' most famous songs. The second dips into the Carter Family catalog. It's good stuff!The Flatlanders – Waitin' For A TrainThe Flatlanders – Hello Stranger
If you don't have it already, make sure you buy yourself a copy of More A Legend Than A Band.
Of course, no masterpiece can please everyone. Check out what one 1-star Amazon reviewer had to say about "More a Legend than a Band":
"Didn't know what a musical saw was, but henceforth I will be on the lookout. Unless you like an eerie wail floating over most of the tunes, this album is nigh unlistenable."OK, you have been warned.
