Entertainment For Lively Minds
Country / rock / southern / boogie etc
Posted by Twangothan on 13 August 2009 - 10:20am.
Perm any two - but we're talking Steve Earle, the Allman Bros, Little Feat, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eagles, Poco, Gram Parsons, Flying Burritos, Neil Young, not to forget Peel favourite Grinderswitch, etc etc.
What's your favourite track(s)??
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Southbound
Allman Brothers - is just sensational
And I think sufficient evidence exists that Little Feat between say '72 and 74 may have been the greatest band of all time
I'm with you
on that one Sheev
Me too re Little Feat
They were huge in New Zealand (OK, laugh) but no-one in Australia knows then (OK seriously laugh). Why is this?
little feat pretty well known
by all my mates and those who saw their scorching shows in Melbourne in the lowell george era
favourites
rock n roll doctor and fat man in the bathtub
Been an Allmans fan for a long time
They've had their ups and downs but "Brothers & Sisters" and "Eat A Peach" are great albums, and some of the recent stuff has been pretty good. Via the Allmans I found Gov't Mule, who are probably the closest thing I have to a favourite band - their early albums make me think of what Free might have sounded like if they'd been recording 20 years later.
The Mule
As a result of your post I bought their compilation and I agree, they are indeed a good descendent of Free and the bluesier end of the Allmans/Skynyrd. What's not to like?
I'm really pleased to hear that
Been listening to their new album "By A Thread" this morning, which is really grwoing on me.
It's nice to know there's another Mule fan in the massive!
Pure Prairie League
First few albums, and the 1st album especially. Check out the track You're Between Me - a magnificent piece of country rock that's actually both country AND rock.
I grew up with country
My mum was a huge fan of it, especially the big hair and rhinestones that I always associate with the 70s country (and western).
But it wasn't until the mid to late 80s that I got into anything resembling my mum's music, and that was Lone Justice, the first album. My mum said Maria McKee had a voice like a bell, which I've never forgotten. I also fell in love with the Americana of Costello's King Of America album, which is one of his best in my opinion. And finally The Cowboy Junkies, Trinity Sessions, one of my top ten albums of all time.
A trio of albums that might not satisfy the purists out there, but continue to move me to this day...
Lone Justice
"Don't Toss Us Away" off their first album is just fantastic.
I asked Maria McKee to go for a drink with me once, she refused of course, but fair play to her, she was very polite about it.
I bought Ways To Be Wicked...
... on 45 when it first came out but have only just made the effort to go and find the two Lone Justice albums on vinyl.
I find myself in the middle of a sudden retrospective Southern/Country Rock purchasing spree. This was exacerbated by the discovery, whilst on holiday, of a stonking record shop in King's Lynn. Only the rest of the family standing outside the plate glass shuffling feet and ostentatiously looking at watches prevented my spending all day buying The Band, Steve Earle etc. etc.
Cowboy Junkies
If you are into that "southern" sound, they delved into that most of all on the "Black Eyed Man" album, as with "Southern Rain":
Mike Timmins, the most underrated songwriter in the world.
Little Feat - 'Long Distance Love'...
just beautiful.
And there's
The Outlaws - great first album - Hughie Thomasson's fiery guitar combined with crystal clear vocal harmonies - a great blues/country crossover.
Blackfoot - Rickey Medlocke's band when not playing either drums or guitar for Skynyrd
Georgia Satellites - Dan Baird still tours, puts on great shows. If "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" doesn't make you want to dance, nothing will
...... wanders off into the distance whistling "Dixie"
Great
I don't know the Outlaws (...sctuttles off to Amazon) but the Satellites is a great call. "Open all night" - terrific!
The early stuff is the best
This is the first album. You can also get it as a 2 for 1 combined with "Lady In Waiting"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Outlaws/dp/B000056NN8/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi
Too hard!
That's too hard, Twang. But since I happen to be wearing my Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels T-shirt today, I'll go with one of my earliest Gram loves from the Burritos.
ZZTOP
Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings from Fandango. Unfortunately this is the only version I could find but it'll do
Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt
Memphis in the meantime
containing, if I remember correctly (am at work - can't listen to the clip), the lyric
"hey I like country music, yes I like mandolin
But right now I need a Telecaster through a Vibrolux turned up to ten"
Sheer poetry.
Excellent call.
Paul Butterfield
Fellow Wordista NickW pointed me in the direction of this chap - and jolly good he is too. If you like The Allmans/Little Feat this should hit the spot quite nicely
Two Steves......Forbert and Earle
Leon Russell AND JJ Cale
This kinda cooks
Brinsley Schwartz
Country Girl and Nervous On The Road
Joanne-Micheal Nesmith
Mike Nesmith's albums "Nevada Fighter" and "Loose Salute" are pretty damn good too.
Michael Nesmith!
I too share the love for Little Feat but Michael Nesmith ought to be mentioned in the same breath as Gram Parsons et al. It's part of the musical establishment snobbishness (a criticism I am NOT levelling at members of the Massive) that because he was in The Monkees he never gets the credit he deserves.
Plus he has a beard, and would make a fascinating interviewee for the Word.
Mike Nesmith
So glad to see the man has not gone unappreciated here. My own personal fave is "Magnetic South".What a fantastic outfit The First National Band were,and seemingly largely forgotten.
On the subject of Dan Baird,have to confess to having heard little of The Georgia Satellites but adore Dan's solo effort "Love Songs For The Hearing Impaired". It seriously rawks and is gloriously un-PC.
All good stuff
but do check out Drive By Truckers, Gayson Capps, Hayes Carll, Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider & my favourites Chris Knight & James McMurty if you dont know them. This really is my sort of music.
Me too pedro
I could hang about here all day!
All fab
I love "Southern rock opera" - what a brilliant concept. I met Hayes Carll at a tiny Buddy Miller gig in Buckingham in an old church - he signed his CD for Twang Jr who was 1 at the time - his first CD! A real gent.
I agree, looking at the developing list, that this the genre I love above all others.
Country Rock?.....Who Cares
Rickenbacker Heaven....
Guy Clark
Emmylou with Ryan Adams making a good fist of Gram's "Return of The Greivous Angel", in my opinion one of the greatest songs ever written.
Third Rate Romance
Always loved this song. Have the album it's from but don't have anything else by the Amazing Rhythm Aces.
PS another shout here for Mike Nesmith.
Another Clark
This time the genius Gene:
Of those that you namecheck
I love all things Steve Earle and particularly Someday and the Guitar Town album which is possibly one of the all time best debut albums. Little Feats Willin is a timeless classic. Neil Young is indispensable in my collection but a particular favourite of his is the Ian Tyson cover Four Strong Winds which appears on Comes a Time. It has the most beautiful haunting melody and Neils voice is perfect for it. Up there with any of his own great songs.
Those not namechecked? Grand Drive are a rare example of British Country. Also Green on Red, Drive by Truckers, Whiskeytown and Buddy and Julie Miller. Oh, and of course Lucinda and Dave Alvin. It is probably my favourite genre and I am sure many of us could provide endless lists of artists to recommend.
Grand Drive
They were very good, but there are a fair few other notable British country acts around - including the great Alan Tyler (ex Rockingbirds, of course)
Sorry but I forgot
The Tom Petty and the heartbreakers debut album - American Girl!!! What a great song.
Will the wolf survive?
- not the biggest fan of Los Lobos - but I do love this - it came on perfectly once on the car radio on a long drive on Interstate 80. Headed south.
High desert plains
A bit more off the beaten track
Robert Earl Keen is a great Texan, pretty big over there but means little here:
Delbert McClinton taught John Lennon a famous harmonica riff. He's still performing:
Chris Knight comes from Arkansas and is terrific:
Chris Knight is most definitely terrific......
....but he's from Kentucky.
Fred Eaglesmith told me so.
You're right
I could have just reached up and checked the notes on The Trailer Tapes, but I knew it was one of those states that bordered Tennessee. Just misremembered which one.
Lynyrd Skynyrd Knebworth 1976
I was there!
You've not seen anything till you've seen 250,000 people playing air guitar to the end of "Freebird". I pitied the final acts (10CC, The Stones).
Me too...
though I left before the Stones came on - it was very very late when I went. God knows what time they started, let alone finished.
Keeping the flame alive
Drive By Truckers
As Southern as they come
No one has mentioned The Dixie Chicks. They be fairly mainstream but I love them:
I like the Dixie Chicks…
… and that's a great song. Not Ready To Make Nice is a corker too.
Makin'nice
From the same session as above:
That's ace!
I always had the Dixies in my 'gash' book but now I am a true believer. Cracking tune.
The hair, the flares, the falsetto...
Surprised this lady has not been mentioned yet
as I remember her being very 'popular' on previous threads.
The Outlaws: Green Grass and High Tides - a real southern anthem
The south - by way of the south of France
Torn and Frayed - The Rolling Stones
Hot Dang!
I got to this party late, buddies, sorry 'bout that. Some great suggestions here, and most of the must-haves are covered, but here's one guy y'all missed out.
Here's my con-tree-boo-shun, I give you Jimmy LaFave:
This is a pretty low key song for Jimmy; he does equal measures of belters and ballads. I couldn't find video links for "Glorious Day" or "On The Road To Rock 'n' Roll", which are my favourites from the album 'Texoma', one that's well worth checking out.
and not forgetting
The Jayhawks
No shouldn't - damn Yankees mind...
Poco: "Rose of Cimarron"
The original (with Timothy B. Schmidt, now an Eagle):
And a slightly different version from the veterans:
Gin Blossoms
Steve Earle's "Johnny Come Lately" always makes me cry. Anything featuring Maria McKee is splendid.
Could we class much of by the Steve Gibbons Band and Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in this category?
My favourite Southern Rock, though, would have to be that made by Arizona's Gin Blossoms. For the archetypal mix of country sentimentality and rock sensibilities I'd recommend a song called "Cheatin'":
"You can't call it cheatin' cos she reminds me of you."
Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
Pick Me Up On Your Way Down - The Flying Burrito Brothers
Lonesome LA Cowbody - New Riders of the Purple Sage
Train Leaves Here This Morning - Dillard and Clark
Two Lane Highway - Pure Prairie League
Pickin' Up The Pieces - Poco
Blue Eyes - International Submarine Band
Colorado - Stephen Stills
High Fashion - Steve Earle / Chris Hillman
Ooh I'd forgotten New Riders of the Purple Sage
Me too!
Panama Red
Henry
.....I should've mentioned these songs in the "songs about drugs" thread.
Green On Red - Time Ain't Nothin
Don't forget..
Hill Country Revue
Conor Oberst - Outer South
Dusty Rhodes
Jason & The Scorchers
The Rainmakers
Catfish Haven
Guaranteed to get your feet moving.
southern rock / country music
I love Lucinda Williams and Levon Helm. Two amazing performers.
The Long Ryders
Yeeeeeee Hawwwwwww
Thread revived!
I'm rereading this thread to pick up on more the splendid recommendations and more occurs to me, notably this masterpiece which will be familiar to anyone who listened to John Peel.......
I discover from the You Tube comments that they were the band in Almost Famous - "Stillwater".
Skynyrd........
Just awesome. That first album - 'Pronounced' - what a record...
Free Bird, I Ain't The One, Tuesday's Gone - all quite brilliant.
The live "One More From the Road" album (esp the Legacy edition) is possibly the best live album ever. Local show for local people!
Loads of My favourites above.
Thanks, Massive, it's nice to know that I'm not alone in my tastes. If we stretch this a little, I would include Western Swing-influenced acts like Asleep At The Wheel and Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen, also ex-cody guitarist Bill Kirchen.
Oh and guitar virtuoso Junior Brown!
Awesome !
Also gotta mention New Riders Of The Purple Sage, Mckendree Spring.
There are some very good modern country acts like Kevin Montgomery, Ryan Adams and The Cardinals and Richmond Fontaine, not to mention the gorgeous Laura Cantrell!
Junior brown
who is excellent, is frequently name checked by Word fave Nick Lowe. (** runs off to listen to "My baby don't dance to nothing but Ernest Tubb"**)
Crazy Love Poco
Fantastic song that actually got quite a lot of airplay on the radio.
Good to see Texas so well represented
but please don't overlook The Gourds
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
are well overdue a huge dollop of praise. They probably veered more to the country end of country rock than many here might feel comfortable with, but they were both pioneers and keepers of the flame. Listen to "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" for a fabulous joining of old and new musicians and songs. Or try "Uncle Charlie and his dog Teddy" for one of the absolute best (country rock) albums of all time.
Re-discover
Kindling, by Gene Parsons - includes a great version of 'Willing', also Jesse Winchester wrote some great songs, And also the the late great Steve Goodman.