20 Essential "Alt" Country Albums of the 1970s, Part 2 of 2

STWOF Mix #2:
01. Gene Clark – Silver Raven (0:00)
02. John Hartford - Back In The Goodle Days (4:44)
03. Paul Siebel – Pinto Pony (7:56)
04. Willis Alan Ramsey– Northeast Texas Women (10:14)
05. Tom T. Hall - Tulsa Telephone Book (14:58)
06. Steve Young – Lonesome On'ry And Mean (17:16)
07. Kris Kristofferson – The Best Of All Possible Worlds (20:50)
08. John Prine – Spanish Pipedream (23:27)
09. Townes Van Zandt – Tecumseh Valley (26:02)
10. Gram Parsons – Return Of The Grievous Angel (30:13)

This is the second part of a two-part series. Read about the series (and see part 1) here.

Without further ado, here are my picks for the remaining ten of the 20 essential "alt" country albums of the 1970s:

Gene Clark – No Other (1974)


I sense that appreciation for Gene Clark's excellent body of work is on the upswing, much like appreciation for Gram Parsons' work increased considerably in the 1990s. This founding member of the Byrds recorded a number of great albums in the 1960s and 1970s, both on his own and as half of Dillard & Clark.

AMG Review
Featured Song: Silver Raven
(buy album)

John Hartford – Aereo-Plain (1971)


Just listen to the featured song and you will understand.

Rising Storm Review
Stylus Magazine Review
AMG Review
Featured Song: Back In The Goodle Days
(out of print)

Paul Siebel – Jack-Knife Gypsy (1971)


This is the less celebrated of Paul Siebel's two stellar albums, but it is my favorite (probably because of Clarence White's contributions on guitar). Read about Siebel's other great album at The Rising Storm.

AMG Review
Featured Song: Pinto Pony
(buy albums)

Willis Alan Ramsey – Willis Alan Ramsey (1972)


Here is the one and only legendary album from this artist.

Rising Storm Review
AMG Review
Featured Song: Northeast Texas Women
(buy album)

Tom T. Hall – In Search Of A Song (1971)


Longtime readers of this blog know that Tom T. stands right up there with Hank, Merle and Gram in my pantheon of greats. This album is his best and most consistent.

AMG Review
Featured Song: Tulsa Telephone Book
(buy album)

Steve Young - Seven Bridges Road (1972)


Steve Young is an unsung musical genius with an uncanny knack for avoiding the spotlight.

AMG Review
Featured Song: Lonesome, On'ry & Mean
(out of print)

Kris Kristofferson – Kristofferson (1970)


Thanks in large part to the songs on this album, Kristofferson was a major player in country music scene in the 1970's. The featured song is an instant classic with several great lines: "Well, I woke up next mornin' feelin' like my head was gone, and like my thick old tongue was lickin' something sick and wrong." (Apparently, Kris was often inspired by hangovers--see also Sunday Morning Coming Down). My favorite line from Kristofferson is the refrain: "There's still alot of drinks that I ain't drunk, and lots of pretty thoughts that I ain't thunk. . . ."

AMG Review
Featured Song: The Best Of All Possible Worlds
(buy album)

John Prine – John Prine (1971)


Check out my review at The Rising Storm

AMG Review
Featured Song: Spanish Pipedream
(buy album)

Townes Van Zandt – Live At The Old Quarter (1973)


You couldn't go wrong with any of Townes' 1970s albums, but this live recording from 1973 (released in 1977) is probably the best place to start.

Rolling Stone Review
Featured Song: Tecumseh Valley
(buy album)

Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel (1974)


"Pick it for me James..."

AMG Review
Featured Song: Return Of The Grievous Angel
(buy albums)

Here is the full list in rough chronological order:

1970
Kris Kristofferson – Kristofferson

1971
John Prine – John Prine
John Hartford – Aereo-Plain
Paul Siebel – Jack-Knife Gypsy
Tom T. Hall – In Search Of A Song

1972
Steve Young - Seven Bridges Road
Willis Alan Ramsey – Willis Alan Ramsey
The Flatlanders – More A Legend Than A Band

1973
Billy Joe Shaver – Old Five And Dimers Like Me
Waylon Jennings – Honky Tonk Heroes
Doug Sahm – Doug Sahm and Band
Jerry Jeff Walker – Viva Terlingua
Willie Nelson – Shotgun Willie
Townes Van Zandt – Live At The Old Quarter

1974
Gram Parsons – Grievous Angel
Gene Clark – No Other

1975
Guy Clark – Old No. 1

1978
Butch Hancock - West Texas Waltzes & Dust-Blown Tractor Tunes
Joe Ely – Honky Tonk Masquerade

1979
Terry Allen – Lubbock (On Everything)I'm sorry if I left off your favorite (i.e., Emmylou, Ray Wylie, Commander Cody, Mickey Newbury, Kinky, Bob Martin) If I did, please let me know. This easily could have been a three-part series. Maybe it will be...

(Tip: This podcast together with Part 1 make a really nice CD when burned together on a disc.)

Found On You Tube: Christine's Tune

Pretty cool, huh?

The last piece of the Gram puzzle (and a case of honky tonkitis on the side).

Whoa, I’ve been away for quite awhile by STWOF standards. (Been busy listening to Bob Dylan’s entire catalog and trying to look important at work.) Anyway, here is the last song needed to complete your collection of the original versions of songs covered by Gram Parsons:

Carl & Pearl Butler – We’ll Sweep Out The Ashes (buy)

I just recently picked up this Carl & Pearl collection called A Family Affair. It's great. Pure honky tonky goodness. (The album also has a few tracks from Johnny & Jonie Mosby.) Check out this Carl & Pearl track, which is a re-recording of the “hit” version that I’m used to hearing. I think I like this version better than the original:

Carl & Pearl Butler – Honky Tonkitis (buy)

Boy, they sure don’t write ‘em like that in Nashville anymore. Just listening to it gives me a wicked case of honky tonkitis.

For more about Carl & Pearl Butler, see Geezer Music Club and AMG bio.

And for good measure, check out these guys:

Two Dollar Pistols – Honky Tonkitis (buy)

Hopefully I'll be back soon...

More Flying Burrito Brothers "Originals"

You may have noticed that I've been in the process of posting the original version of every song covered by Gram Parsons and his various bands (The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, and The Flying Burrito Brothers). Here are six songs covered by The Flying Burrito Brothers that I neglected to include in my first Flying Burrito Brothers post.

To my knowledge, the FBB cover versions of these songs were all studio outtakes first appearing on the Sleepless Nights compilation. While some of them may not be widely identified with the Flying Burrito Brothers, they are all absolutely killer songs.

1. George Jones – Your Angel Steps out of Heaven (out of print)
2. Ray Price - Crazy Arms (buy)
3. Buck Owens - Together Again (buy) (More at Sundazed Music).
4. The Rolling Stones - Honky Tonk Women (buy)
5. Porter Wagoner - Green, Green Grass of Home (buy)
6. Joe Maphis - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music) (out of print)

See also:
The Safe At Home Originals
The Original Sweetheart Of The Rodeo
The Flying Burrito Brothers Originals, Part I

(Note: Three originals covered by the FBB on the Sleepless Nights LP have already been posted in this series and three more--Gram Parsons solo outtakes--will be posted in the final installment.)

The Safe At Home "Originals" (Updated)

Before joining The Byrds for Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, Gram Parsons (and what was left of the International Submarine Band) recorded another album of country rock called Safe At Home.

The ten song LP included six covers and four new songs written by Parsons. Here are some earlier versions of the cover songs:

1. Merle Haggard – Somebody Else You've Known (buy)
2. Porter Wagoner - A Satisfied Mind (buy)
3. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (buy)
4. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - That's All Right (buy)
5. Bobby Bare - Miller's Cave (buy)
6. Johnny Cash - I Still Miss Someone (buy)

Bonus tracks:
Uncle Tupelo - Blue Eyes (buy) (Here's a great cover of a Parsons' original from Safe At Home.)

Hank Snow - Miller's Cave (buy) (You may prefer this over the Bobby Bare version. I don't, but it's still good. More importantly: Does anybody have the Dickey Lee version? It was the first one, but it's out of print and I've never heard it. Please send it over if you have it.)

Elvis Presley - That's All Right (Mama) (buy) (This is almost certainly the version that inspired the ISB's cover.)

Marty Robbins - Knee Deep In The Blues (buy) (The ISB's cover of this hit is included as a bonus track on the CD re-issue of Safe At Home.)

See also:
The Original Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

*** UPDATE!***
Thanks to loyal STWOF reader Dave, you can now hear Dickey Lee's version of Miller’s Cave (which I believe was the first recorded version).

Dickey Lee – Miller’s Cave (out of print).

Dickey Lee did not write Miller’s Cave (that was Jack Clement), but he did write one of the all-time great country songs, She Thinks I Still Care. He also sang one of the most bizarre pop hits of the 1960’s, Laurie (Strange Things Happen).

Thanks Dave!

The "Original" Sweetheart Of The Rodeo - UPDATED!

One of the things I like to do here at Setting The Woods On Fire is to compile what I call the "original" version of well-known cover albums.

It's no secret that The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo was an important album in the development of country rock. (Read about it here, here, and here.) But you might be surprised to learn that nine of the eleven songs were covers.

Listening to earlier versions of the songs covered by The Byrds, along with two originals written by then-member Gram Parsons, gives you a pretty good idea what the band was thinking when it created Sweetheart. It also shows how much of their own unique style The Byrds contributed to these songs.

1. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere - Bob Dylan (buy)
2. I Am A Pilgrim - Merle Travis (buy)
3. The Christian Life - The Louvin Brothers (buy)
4. You Don’t Miss Your Water - William Bell (buy)
5. You’re Still On My Mind – George Jones (buy)
6. Pretty Boy Floyd - Woody Guthrie (buy)
7. Hickory Wind - The Byrds (buy Sweetheart Of The Rodeo)
8. 100 Years From Now - The Byrds (buy alternate version)
9. Blue Canadian Rockies - Hank Snow (out of print?)
10. Life In Prison - Merle Haggard (buy)
11. Nothing Was Delivered - Bob Dylan & The Band (buy)

[Note: The alternate take of 100 Years From Now is the original take using Gram Parsons' vocals, as opposed to Roger McGuinn's, which appear on the official release. Also, the Merle Travis and Hank Snow songs here are not the first recorded versions, just ones I liked better.]

UPDATE!

Reader Eric points out that I should have used the Basement Tapes version of You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, which is the version The Byrds would have heard. Read his comment! Also on Eric's suggestion, I'm posting Otis Redding's excellent version of You Don't Miss Your Water:

Bob Dylan – You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (Basement Tapes version) (buy)
Otis Redding – You Don’t Miss Your Water (buy)

Favorite Country Artist Results, Nos. 10-6

Emmylou finished one spot ahead of her mentor, Gram.

Today's artists:

6. Waylon Jennings
7. Townes Van Zandt
8. Patsy Cline
9. Emmylou Harris
10. Gram Parsons

Today's songs:

Gram Parsons lived an even shorter life than Hank Williams, but he packed a lot of great music into those years (along with the drugs and alcohol). His precise talent is sometimes hard to pin down, so he's often labeled "overrated." I fall on the side who classify him more as charismatic visionary than punk-ass rich kid. Just consider all of the great songs he wrote. Here are two.

The Flying Burrito Brothers – Wheels (buy album)
Gram Parsons – Hickory Wind (buy album) (The fake “live” sounds effects are cheesy, but I like them for some reason.)

Y’all know I love Emmylou Harris. And what’s not to love about her?

Emmylou Harris – Boulder To Birmingham (Live) (buy album)
Emmylou Harris – Easy From Now On (buy album)

Twenty years ago Patsy Cline was, hands down, considered the greatest female country artist of all time. Her reputation has slipped a bit over the years as tastes have changed, but the quality is still there. I agree with your pick to put her number one among the gals, but I would've put Loretta second (sorry Emmylou).

Patsy Cline – Walkin’ After Midnight (Original Version)
Patsy Cline – Why Can’t He Be You?
(buy album)

Conversely, the general public knew very little about Townes Van Zandt twenty years ago, but his critical acclaim has really been on the rise over recent years thanks to his timeless songwriting. These two tracks show both sides of Townes Van Zandt.

Townes Van Zandt – Fraternity Blues (Live) (buy album)
Townes Van Zandt – Waiting Around To Die (Live) (buy album)

No question that Waylon Jennings is one of the true superstars of country music. He learned his first guitar licks from his mentor, Buddy Holly, and became the face of the outlaw country movement next to Willie Nelson (who you might see in this space tomorrow). The first track comes from what might be my favorite country album ever and the second is one of the songs that first made me love country music way back when…

Waylon Jennings – You Ask Me To (buy album)
Waylon Jennings – Luckenbach, Texas (Back To The Basics Of Love) (buy album) (You've got to like the fact that they've got a "four-car garage" and their "still building on." Very American...)

Give Me Your List, Please!

I'm taking a break.

I'll be back in a month or so. Until then I’ll still be posting a few tracks over at Star Maker Machine and occasionally updating the sidebar here.

While I'm gone, you can check here for some great stuff on other blogs.

Now for the real purpose of this post: I love lists. I made one (below) and I want to see yours.

Please submit a ranked list of your top 10 favorite country artists/bands of all time. (Feel free to include explanations of your choices if you wish, or even an mp3 link, but all that's required is a ranked list.)

When the lists start coming in, the Classic Country Research Department here at STWOF will begin crunching the numbers. Then, after a month or so, I'll return with a highly entertaining and informative post about the results. It should be fun! And the more submissions the better, so let’s set a new record for the number of comments here.

Who’s eligible? Any country artist or band. (If in doubt, check AMG to see if the artist or band in question fits into any of these style categories. Feel free to include bluegrass, country-folk, country-rock, and alt-country performers. Note, however, that if you pick a performer who only occasionally dabbled in country styles, like Bob Dylan for instance, your vote should be based only on that artist’s country material. No extra credit for Like A Rolling Stone.)

I’m looking forward to reading your lists. Here’s mine (for the moment):

1. Hank Williams. No explanation necessary. He set the rules for all who followed.

Hank Williams – Jambalaya (On The Bayou) (buy album).

2. Tom T. Hall. A little high you say? Maybe. But this project is not about an objective view of accomplishments. It’s about individual favorites. Tom T. Hall’s funny and insightful songs really get me.

Tom T. Hall – The Year That Clayton Delaney Died (buy album).

3. George Jones. That voice. Nobody can deliver a country song like the possum.

George Jones - A Girl I Used To Know (buy album)

4. Merle Haggard. George had the voice. Merle had the attitude and he wrote a ton of brilliant country songs.

Merle Haggard – I Can't Hold Myself In Line (buy album).

5. Johnny Cash. The Man in Black might be the most enduring of the 1950's pop artists (including Elvis Presley). Cash made his name and his best material in 1950’s, but his legacy was sealed by the great work he did in the 1990’s. A true giant.

Johnny Cash – Drive On (buy album).

6. Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys. No music makes me happier than western swing. Bob’s band wrote the book on that style.

Bob Wills – Bring It On Down To My House (buy album).

7. Gram Parsons. The kid with a big trust fund wasn’t the greatest live performer, but he was also an innovator and a great songwriter responsible for an impressive number of classic tunes in his short life.

Gram Parsons – Brass Buttons (buy album).

8. Townes Van Zandt. I’m a sucker for Texas-based songwriting geniuses.

Townes Van Zandt – To Live Is To Fly (buy album).

9. John Hartford. See here for the explanation.

John Hartford – Back In The Goodle Days (out of print)

10. Buck Owens. Love that Bakersfield sound.

Buck Owens – Act Naturally (buy album)

Some more contenders for my list: Patsy Cline, The Flatlanders, Lefty Frizzell, Jason & The Scorchers, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Monroe, Willie Nelson, Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Tubb

I'm looking forward to reading your top ten lists!

The Original Almost Blue

In 1981, British rocker Elvis Costello went to Nashville to record a country covers album called Almost Blue. I wrote about it in an earlier post.

I recently picked up a copy of George Jones' 1965 album Trouble In Mind, which contains the original version of Brown To Blue that Elvis later covered on Almost Blue. This gave me the idea to put together all of the other "original" versions of the songs that inspired Costello. In some cases, the versions below are not truly the "original" versions (example Emmylou Harris, Johnny Burnette), but I think these are the versions that most influenced Elvis.

It turns out to be a pretty good collection of country tunes. Right now I'm really enjoying Sittin' And Thinkin' by Charlie Rich.

1. Hank Williams - Why Don't You Love Me (Like You Used To Do)? (buy album)
2. Patsy Cline - Sweet Dreams (buy album)
3. Loretta Lynn - Success (buy album)
4. The Flying Burrito Brothers - I'm Your Toy (Hot Burrito No. 1) (buy album)
5. Merle Haggard - Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down (buy album)
6. George Jones - Brown To Blue (out of print)
7. George Jones - Good Year For The Roses (buy album)
8. Charlie Rich - Sittin' And Thinkin' (buy album)
9. George Jones - Colour Of The Blues (buy album)
10. Emmylou Harris - Too Far Gone (buy album)
11. Johnny Burnette Rock'n'Roll Trio - Honey Hush (buy album)
12. Gram Parsons – How Much I Lied (buy album)

Scandal, Controversy & Romance

Here in Motown our mayor is in a bit of hot water for allegedly doing some bad things. The mayor claims that he will be fully vindicated and that the process is flawed. Here's a report about the whole mess. The jury will have to sort it out. Until then, here's some scandal-appropriate music:

The Prissteens - Scandal, Controversy & Romance (buy album). This one says it all!

The Vipers - Cheated And Lied (buy album). So does this one...

XTC - Mayor Of Simpleton (buy album). My favorite "mayor" song. The "hip hop" mayor was my favorite mayor until the recent scandal...

Candye Kayne - Tell Me A Lie (buy album). Here's an early alt-country tune from a great collection of Los Angeles artists.

Gram Parsons - How Much I've Lied (buy album). Gram is the man. How much Kwame lied is the question.

Shorty Long - Here Comes The Judge (buy album). If I were a judge, this would be my theme song. Great song!

Sufjan Stevens - Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!) (buy album). My city really needs some restoring now.

The Avett Brothers - The Weight Of Lies (buy album). These guys are great live and they are touring now. Try to get to a show.

Steve Goodman - Wonderful World Of Sex (buy album). Goodman was a natural entertainer, as this amusing live track demonstrates.

Billie Holiday - It's A Sin To Tell A Lie (buy album). Billie tells it like it is.

Who invented country rock?

This post is inspired by an e-mail from reader Tom who took issue with my off-the-cuff comment in an earlier post that Gram Parsons “wrote the book” on country rock. I had been referring to Parsons' work with The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, & as a solo act, and wrongly implied that Parsons invented country rock. Tom, who knows his stuff, pointed out that several country rock songs were released before The Byrds put country-rock on the map in the Summer of 1968 with Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

This got me thinking about who did invent country rock? Let's look back at the period between 1954 (when rock and roll was first popularized) through 1968 (Sweetheart) to see if we can find an answer to that burning question.

Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968)

Sweetheart of the Rodeo, released in the Summer of 1968, was the Byrds first and only LP made with country-rock icon Gram Parsons. While Sweetheart may not have been the first instance of country rock, its released marked the arrival of country-rock as a full-fledged "style."

Here is Gram Parsons' vocal and songwriting highlight from Sweetheart:

The Byrds - Hickory Wind (buy album) (1968).

Hickory Wind played a key role in the The Byrd’s legendary March 15, 1968 visit to the Grand Ole Opry. Read about it here.

Here's a video of The Byrds (sans Parsons) performing another song from the same album. On this cover of Bob Dylan’s You Ain’t Going Nowhere, The Byrds are joined by bluegrass great Earl Scruggs:



Now let's turn back the years...

Rock and Roll’s Origins (Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, & Jerry Lee Lewis)

All music styles are combinations of earlier styles. Rock and roll is a mixture of country, blues and R&B. Country's influence can be heard in Elvis Presley's cover of this Bill Monroe classic:

Elvis Presley - Blue Moon Of Kentucky (buy album) (1954).

The Everly Brothers were another early rock group with a strong country element, and they also served as a key influence on The Beatles and Gram Parsons.

The Everly Brothers - When Will I Be Loved (buy album) (1960).

After the peak of their popularity in the early 1960’s, the Everly Brothers re-located to California and, in 1968, released a great "lost" country-rock LP called Roots

Another early rock and roll great heavily inspired by country music was Jerry Lee Lewis. Check out this Hank Williams cover from Jerry Lee's incredible Live at the Star Club.

Jerry Lee Lewis – Your Cheating Heart (Hank Williams cover) (buy album) (1964).

Here's another Sun Record star, Johnny Cash, playing one of his greatest country/rock hits: VIDEO - Folsum Prison Blues (Live).

With country-influenced artists like Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Buddy Holly (who learned to sing copying Hank Williams' Lovesick Blues) present at the birth of "rock," it's easy to see why rock was such a fertile ground for the development "country rock" as a distinct style.

The Beatles

Beatles fanatics claim that the Fab Four invented pretty much every recent style of popular music from folk-rock to psychedelic to heavy metal. When it comes to country rock (another claimed Beatles innovation) they might have something of a point. Steve Earle called Beatles For Sale the “hillbilly Beatles record.” It's no question that The Beatles were fans of country music and incorporated some country sounds into their music. Their record contract apparently included a provision calling for them to receive advance copies of all Buck Owens’ releases. You can hear some Beatles' twang in this track from the Hard Day’s Night soundtrack:

The Beatles – I’ll Cry Instead (buy album) (1964).

More twangy Beatles' songs from 1964-1966 include I’m A Loser, Baby’s In Black, Honey Don’t (Carl Perkins cover), I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party, Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (Rex Griffin cover), Act Naturally (Buck Owens cover), I’ve Just Seen a Face, Run For Your Life, and What Goes On.

Here's a video of Ringo doing his best Buck Owens: VIDEO - Act Naturally (Live).

The pre-Sweetheart Byrds

Interestingly enough, one of the most proficient country-rock acts before Sweetheart was The Byrds themselves. They exhibited a country influence from the very start of their recording career, primarily due to the influence of Chris Hillman, who later left the band with Gram Parsons to form the Flying Burrito Brothers. Here are three country-rock songs from three albums released before Sweetheart.

The Byrds – Mr. Spaceman (buy album) (1966).
The Byrds – Time Between (buy album) (1967).
The Byrds – Wasn't Born To Follow (buy album) (1968).

The Byrds also covered the country standard Satisfied Mind on their second album, Turn! Turn! Turn! in 1965.

While Gram Parsons may have pushed The Byrds into making an entire album of country music, it probably took only a slight nudge, especially with Hillman's help.

Gene Clark & The Gosdin Brothers

Gene Clark left the Byrds in 1966 to pursue a solo career. His first effort was an excellent, but unappreciated, country-rock album called Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers. The Gosdin Brothers were a bluegrass duo who went on to record an important country rock album of their own in 1968 called Sounds of Goodbye. Also featured on Gene Clark's first solo album were Chris Hillman, brilliant country guitarist Clarence White, and Doug Dillard of The Dillards (later a collaborator with Gene Clark on The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark)

Gene Clark – Tried So Hard (buy album)(1967).

The Gosdin Brothers later recorded this killer country-rock track (which went unreleased until 2006):

The Gosdin Brothers – Georgia (buy album) (1969).

The International Submarine Band

Gram Parsons first release came as the leader of the International Submarine Band. ISB formed on the East coast as The Like and were coaxed by Parsons to move west where they eventually broke up. Shortly after they broke up, Parsons and guitarist John Nuese obtained a recording contract from Lee Hazlewood's LHI label and, with new member Chris Ethridge, recorded the country-rock album Safe At Home under the International Submarine Band name. Shortly after the album was released Parsons joined The Byrds, dooming Safe At Home to obscurity for years.

The music on Safe At Home is great country-rock. There are some great Parsons originals, such as Blue Eyes and Luxury Liner, as well as a number of well-played country covers, like Miller's Cave and Do You Know How It Feels To Be Lonesome?

International Submarine Band – Luxury Liner (1968)
International Submarine Band – Miller's Cave (1968)
(buy album).

There is a good article about the International Submarine Band in Oxford American.

Ray Charles

Ian Dunlop, an original member of the International Submarine Band is quoted in Ben Fong-Torres' book Hickory Wind saying that Ray Charles 1965 album Country and Western meets Rhythm and Blues was "key" in breaking the barriers between the band members and getting them "into this amalgram of truer country music, but with a rock or a slight rhythm-and-blues treatment."

Ray Charles – I've Got A Tiger By The Tail (Buck Owens cover) (buy album) (1965).

From the Country Side (Buck Owens & The Dillards)

Country-rock did not only develop on the rock side. Country music also changed in the 1960's as a reaction to the popularity of rock music. A number of acts added drums and became more electricfied. The leader of this movement on the country side was Bakersfield California's Buck Owens.

Buck Owens – My Heart Skips A Beat (buy album) (1964).

Here's a video of Buck Owens and Don Rich from 1966: VIDEO - Love's Gonna Live Here (Live).

In the meantime, The Dillards were experimenting with a combination of blue grass and folk/pop/rock. Here's one from their masterpiece Wheatstraw Suite:

The Dillards – Reason To Believe (Tim Hardin cover) (buy album) (1968).

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan was heavily influenced by Hank Williams and famously recorded a number of songs with Johnny Cash. He was also a major innovator during the Sixties. So it’s not surprising that he was involved in the birth of country rock when he released the LP John Wesley Harding in late 1967:

Bob Dylan – I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (buy album) (1967).

Here's a gum-chewing (?) Bob Dylan with Johnny Cash: VIDEO - One Too Many Mornings.

Pioneering Sixties Rock Bands

The Byrds and The Beatles were not the only major 1960s rock bands to dabble in country sounds. Here are four more bands from the same era:

The Lovin' Spoonful - Nashville Cats (buy album) (1966).

I just love this tune. It's a grower, but a quick one. After a few listens I was completely hooked. I especially like the line: "Well there's 1,352 guitar pickers in Nashville, and they can pick more notes than the number of ants on a Tennessee anthill. Yea, there's 1,352 guitar cases in Nashville, and anyone that unpacks his guitar can play twice as better than I will...."

Buffalo Springfield – Go And Say Goodbye (buy album) (1966).

Neil Young's, Steven Still's, and Richie Furay's first band is probably second only to The Byrds as a driving force behind country rock.

Moby Grape – Ain't No Use (buy album) (1967). (The extended remastered version is out of print as a CD, but still can be downloaded from Amazon.)

For more about this great album see here.

The Band - Long Black Veil (buy album) (1968).

The Band had been mining American roots music for years while working as The Hawks and backing Bob Dylan. Their first album, Music From Big Pink, released within days of The Byrds' release of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, included this cover of a Lefty Frizzell song.

Conclusion

No single person "invented" country rock. It's creation was the natural result of a rock musicians being open to the influence of country music, and vice versa. But I would still call Gram Parsons the face of country rock, if nothing else. Here's one of his best songs:

The Flying Burrito Brothers – Sin City (buy album) (1969).

Special thanks to The Rising Storm for having so much great material to link to in this post.

What now?

Setting the Woods on Fire is now entering its third phase of life as a blog. First I had to figure out how to work everything (i.e., html, hosting, feeds). Then I had to get noticed (i.e., elbows, hype machine, links). Now that I can work the controls and have a fair amount of readers, it's time to figure out what I really want to do with this blog.

My plate is pretty full these days. Like the man said, I've got chores to keep me busy (house), a clock to keep my time (work), and a pretty girl to love me with the same last name as mine (family). So what's the point of adding a time-consuming blog to the mix? Well, it’s a lot of fun. I’m learning more about music, and I’m getting in touch with great music fans and musicians. Maybe a few of you have even discovered some new music in the process. [Please let me know if you have. It would make my day.]

But I don’t want to feel obligated to feed the blog every day or two. This project will stop being fun when it becomes just another chore hanging over my head. So my new plan is to do fewer, but slightly better, posts. I want to spend more time digging deeper into things so that I can provide more thoughtful information along with the music. For example, I've been studying the work of Clarence White over the last few weeks, in preparation for a post about his career. It's an interesting story that I'm learning more about myself. But I can't just slap it together.

Don't worry, I’m not going to get thoughtful on every post—especially if I’ve had a few glasses of wine. (Or whiskey.) But I am going to try to step it up a notch.* So please be patient if you see a chunk of days go by without a post.

Now for some music:

The International Submarine Band – Blue Eyes (buy album).
Guy Clark – Come From The Heart (buy album).

*Disclaimer: Actual improvements to the quality of this site may not be readily observable to the untrained eye. But they will be there. Just take my word for it.

The Flying Burrito Brothers Live At The Avalon

One of the great things about having a music blog is that they send you free records. Sometimes you even like them! Case in point, the good folks at Amoeba Music sent over a copy of the new Flying Burrito Brothers' live release. For marketing reasons its being billed as "Gram Parsons with The Flying Burrito Brothers - Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969."

Gram Parsons gets special billing today because of his historical stature. His work is to country rock what Bill Monroe's is to bluegrass and Bob Wills' is to western swing: It defines the style. Through his work with the International Submarine Band, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and his solo albums (featuring Emmylou Harris), Gram wrote the book on country rock.

If you're already a fan of the genre, you'll like the new Avalon Ballrom set. It's rock musicians playing country music to hippies. The sound quality is good and the set list leans to the country side. The highlight for me was the FBB's cover of "You Win Again," which is one of the greatest Hank Williams songs. Also on the album is an outtake of Gram working through his classic tune Thousand Dollar Wedding. It's interesting to hear an early rendition of what later would become a signature song. (Buy the album to hear that one).

It's also worth noting that the packaging is nice with liner notes by, of all people, noted rock groupie Pamela Des Barres. Hey, she was there, so she should know...

Check out a few choice cuts from the Avalon concert:

The Flying Burrito Brothers – You Win Again (Live) (buy album).

The Flying Burrito Brothers – Train Song (Live) (buy album).

As enjoyable as the live set may be, its not the place to start if you are new to Parsons/Country-Rock. I would recommend starting with the two-for-one CD with his solo albums G.P. and Grievous Angel. Two other seminal country-rock albums that every country and rock fan should own are the Flying Burrito Brothers' Gilded Palace of Sin and The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, both of which feature Gram prominently (or at least his influence).

Gram Parsons – She (buy album).

The Flying Burrito Brothers – Sin City (buy album).

The Byrds – The Christian Life (Rehearsal Take) (buy album). This bonus-track version features Gram on vocals.

Just for fun, here's the original version of The Christian Life, by The Louvin Brothers:

The Louvin Brothers – The Christian Life (buy album).

Check the sidebar area for more mp3s

Setting The Woods On Fire Hype Mix!

This week my blog was added to The Hype Machine. I knew traffic would go up, but I was surprised by how much.

So, to welcome all my new readers (and give you an idea about what's going on here), I present the Setting the Woods On Fire Hype Mix!

SIDE A - Country/Folk
Gram Parsons – Return Of The Grievous Angel (buy album)
Johnny Paycheck - Georgia In A Jug (buy mp3 album)
Townes Van Zandt - To Live Is To Fly (buy album)
The Country Gentlemen - Fox On The Run (buy album)
Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys - Basin Street Blues (buy album)

SIDE B - Rock/Jazz
Thelonious Monk - In Walked Bud (buy album)
The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset (buy album)
Big Star - The Ballad Of El Goodo (buy album)
The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait (Tim Version) (buy album)
Uncle Tupelo - Whiskey Bottle (buy album)

CD Only Bonus Tracks (from the patron saints of this blog)
Hank Williams – I Can't Help It (buy album)
Tom T. Hall - Don't Forget The Coffee Billy Joe (buy album)

Liner Notes: STWOF is currently in the middle of a series called "Those Jangly Eighties." (See the bottom of the sidebar for links to these posts). Once that wraps up, I'm going to start the search for the next Tom T. Hall. Also in the works is an Introduction to Jazz series, but that's a ways off.

Thanks for checking in!

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P.S. If you're looking for music, don't forget to check Elbows too. They've had STWOF on board from the start.

A Stranger In The House - Elvis Costello Goes Country

Elvis Costello series, Part 3 of 3.

In 1981, Elvis Costello was coming off an incredible string of legendary rock albums (My Aim Is True, This Year's Model, Armed Forces, & Get Happy) when he decided to release an album of country covers called Almost Blue. Talk about a potential career killer! There are a ton of music fans whose favorite kind of music is "anything but country." So, for a lot of Costello fans and rock fans, this was one to skip.

Apparently, the reaction of the country music world was even more negative. In the book Written in My Soul (by Bill Flanagan, 1986), Elvis explained:

"I made the country record, Almost Blue, to get away from songwriting. I didn't anticipate the violent reaction some people would have to it. It became sort of a joke. We put a sticker on it saying, 'This record may bring out a violent reaction in narrow-minded people.' I'd completely underestimated the false and hypocritcal way some people in America assume ownership of this music. People who couldn't give a damn about it, actually, who couldn't name five country songs. It annoyed me because I probably cared more about the songs I was singing than the bloody hacks in Nashville. Billy Sherrill, the guy who produced it, turns out yards of music every week. He's a complete and utter hack. Hasn't got an ounce of feeling in him."

I guess Elvis isn't one to mince words.

By the way, Billy Sherrill was the guy who co-wrote Stand By Your Man, so he can't really be "a complete and utter hack," right?

All controversy aside, and 26+ years later, I think Almost Blue is a good album. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. Here's one from the album alongside the original from George Jones:

Elvis Costello - Good Year For The Roses (buy album).

George Jones - Good Year For The Roses (buy album).

The Rhino double CD version includes lots of interesting bonus material. Can you imagine Elvis Costello and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing a Flying Burrito Brothers song? While it may sound kind of scary, it's actually really good. The dramatic arrangement lends itself perfectly to the drama of Gram Parsons' lyrics:

Elvis Costello - I'm Your Toy (Live) (buy album).

Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burrito No. 1 (I'm Your Toy) (buy album).

Costello dabbled in country even before Almost Blue. One of my favorite Costello compositions is a song called Stranger In The House about a relationship gradually falling apart. It first appeared on the 1980 compilation of Costello's "odds and sods" called Taking Liberties. I'm impressed by the songwriting on this one.

The first stanza sets it up nicely:

This never was one of the great romances,
But I thought you'd always have those young girl's eyes.
But now they look in tired and bitter glances,
At the ghost of a man who walks 'round in my disguise.

The real payoff comes in the chorus:

There's a stranger in the house no one will ever see,
But everybody says he looks like me.

Elvis Costello - Stranger In The House (buy album).

If you buy the Rhino double CD version of Almost Blue you can hear Elvis perform this one as a duet with George Jones.

And now for a bit of personal history. The first song that I remember turning me on to country music was Elvis Costello's version of George Jones' tune Brown to Blue, which I heard sometime in the early 1980's when I was still just a kid. It features this great line: You changed your name from Brown to Jones and mine from Brown to blue.

Elvis Costello - Brown To Blue (buy album).

Well that's it for the EC series. Hope you liked it.

It Was A $1,000 Wedding ...

Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris Sing $1000 Wedding

One of my biggest musical heroes is Gram Parsons. Like Hank Williams before him, Parsons made a ton of incredible music before dying tragically young. Read AMG bio here. I’m not going to get into his life story or his musical feats here. Someday I’ll do a bigger post about Gram Parsons, the artist. Right now I just want to focus on my all-time favorite Gram Parsons song: $1000 Wedding (buy album).

I’m not exactly sure what the song is about. Seems to be about a groom jilted at the alter followed by a drinking spree, a betrayal, and then some mysterious religious stuff. (See here for some theories). Whatever it’s about, it became an obsession of mine in the early 1990’s. I played it over and over again on the guitar but never to my complete satisfaction. Gram’s version was just too perfect. (Plus, I didn’t have the amazing Emmylou Harris singing over my shoulder.) It’s been fifteen years since I fell in love with this song, but it still moves me. The coolest part is how it builds from verse to verse. Check it out and let me know what you think.

In case you are new to Gram (and your lucky day has finally arrived) here is one more song to enjoy. It’s a version of The New Soft Shoe - Live (buy album) recorded March 13, 1973 at WLIR in New York, six months before his death. There is some interesting banter afterwards, particularly the bus story. Take special note of Emmylou’s “yeah” at the 7:44 mark. (You’ll know why when you hear the story).

One of the better cover versions of $1000 wedding comes from a Detroit-born songwriter known as Paul K. Check out: Thousand Dollar Wedding - Paul K. AMG reports about Paul K: “Unlike the overwhelming majority of songwriters, who get next to the darker side of life but never quite break the door down, Paul Kopasz has lived as part of the fringe element, and his career has evoked comparisons to Townes Van Zandt, Lou Reed and Merle Haggard, three artists known for drawing from their own shady experiences for song material.” Read the rest of his bio here.

The Paul K track comes from the album, “The Big Nowhere,” which I believe is out of print. Here’s another pretty good one from that album: Nashville, Tennessee.

Gram Parsons At Joshua Tree