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!

Stop Everything And Download This Caitlin Rose Song! (Plus five more versions of the Stones' Dead Flowers.)

There is a brilliant young talent down in Nashville who goes by the name of Caitlin Rose. Her debut EP, Dead Flowers, will be released in the near future. It's not available yet, but check this space for more details about how to get this recording as soon as it goes on sale. Believe me, I'll be more than happy to do another post to tell you how to buy it. It's great. Until then, please listen to her cover of the Rolling Stones' song, Dead Flowers.

I think this may be my new favorite version of Dead Flowers. Better than the almightly Townes Van Zandt (this song only). Better than the Eels or Uncle Tupelo, and maybe even better than Steve Earle's great live version. Heck, I might even like it better than the Stones' version. And she's only 20 or 21 years old. This girl's a genuine talent... You heard it here first.

(Caveat: I've had a glass of Old Grand Dad on the rocks, but I don't think that's impaired my judgment too badly. Judge for yourself.)

Enjoy this killer track. You won't be sorry:

Caitlin Rose – Dead Flowers. (Check back later for buying info).

Listen to more Caitlin Rose here: Caitlin Rose MySpace

Just for comparison's sake, here are some other versions:

The Rolling Stones – Dead Flowers (buy album).
Townes Van Zandt – Dead Flowers (buy album).
Steve Earle – Dead Flowers (buy album).
Uncle Tupelo – Dead Flowers.
The Eels – Dead Flowers.

So what do you think?

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.

Writer's Block, Part 2 - Fred Rose

Today's post is about a true giant in the world of country music: Fred Rose. He was one of the first three men inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. (The other two were none other than Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams). He penned the classic song that provides the title to this website, along with many other tunes made famous by Hank Williams. And he was the first person in the music industry to "discover" Hank Williams' talent, athough he originally hired Hank for his songwriting talents not as a singer.

Beyond discovering Hank, Fred Rose was a key figure in molding Hank's recording career. With country star Roy Acuff, he formed the hugely successful music publishing company Acuff-Rose Music. Finally, as an A&R man for MGM records, Rose oversaw recording sessions by Williams and other iconic country artists such as Bob Wills and The Louvin Brothers.

Learn more about Fred Rose at All Music Guide, Country Music Hall of Fame, and Wikipedia. Read about the special relationship between Fred Rose and Hank Williams here.

Now enjoy some fine Fred Rose compositions...

(1) The title track to this website:

Hank Williams - Setting The Woods On Fire (buy album).

(2) A perfect country song:

Hank Williams - Mansion On A Hill (buy album).

(3) A song Hank made autobiographical:

Hank Williams - I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (buy album).

(4) A classic Bob Wills number about a boy who couldn't stop eating:

Bob Wills - Roly Poly (buy album).

(5) Another Bob Wills favorite:

Bob Wills - Deep Water (buy album).

(6) One of the greatest country songs of all-time:

Willie Nelson - Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain (buy album).

(7) Another interesting version of the same tune:

Zeitgeist/The Reivers - Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain (out of print).

(8) And, finally, here's one not by Fred Rose, but about him:

Uncle Tupelo - Acuff-Rose (buy album).

[See Writer's Block, Part 1 - Harlan Howard.]