24
Vintage Album Review – Workingman’s Dead
Those that have been around here for a while know that I like to come out of left field with my vintage album suggestions. You already have a big stack of records, no need for me to rehash through them. Still I know some of you are rolling up to this thinking, “What kind of hippy dippy Mickey Mouse Cali trash space jam bull honkey is The Triggerman try to peddle NOW?”
I have a theory: No matter what is happening in mainstream country, that uniquely country sound or “twang” that awakens something deep inside of us, usually driven home by a pedal steel guitar, will always be championed by someone. In the mid 70′s, when mainstream country was awash with “contemporary” string and chorus arrangements, it allowed The Outlaws to champion the twang sound and rise to power. Right now Music Row has gone in a pop/80′s hair direction, the “twang” has been picked up by people who cut their teeth listening to punk and metal.
But before the Outlaws and the current underground country crop, that “twang” sound was picked up by some of the psychedelic musicians in California, some of which were born and raised with that sound in the South like Gram Parsons and carried it with them West. Jerry Garcia, aka Captain Trips is best known for being the leader of The Grateful Dead, but while he was writing music to eat acid to, he was also working on the side as the West Coast’s most sought after pedal steel session player.
This might shock you, but Jerry Garcia might be in my top five pedal steel players of all time. His work was featured in the Crosby, Stills & Nash hit Teach Your Children. He worked solely as the pedal steel player for the country rock band New Riders of the Purple Sage. Jerry also played banjo, and in later years would be in bluegrass projects like Old & In The Way with country stalwarts John Hartford and Vassar Clements. But I digress.
The Grateful Dead’s first three studio albums were decidedly psychedelic projects, but their fourth, Workingman’s Dead, is a country music masterpiece. This isn’t an album with country influences, or some California interpretation of country, this is pure, true, REAL country at its finest.
Tight and exceptionally arranged harmonies, amazing and intelligent minimalist production by the legendary tapist Betty Cantor, and of course Jerry’s songwriting and pedal steel make this one for the ages. The Grateful Dead never got much radio play, but if this album had “hits” it was the harmonic-driven “Uncle Johns Band” and “Casey Jones” about a cocaine snorting train engineer. I like these songs, but I think “High Time” and “Dire Wolf” do a better job illustrating Jerry’s steel work and his uncanny mastery of rural themes.
Another good one is “Cumberland Blues,” which with the recent mine disasters, the release of the White Documentary and the recent flooding of the Cumberland River, is probably why this album has been on my mind. “Easy Wind” might be my favorite song. Dead member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, former lover of Janis Joplin who was already ailing from the alcohol abuse that would kill him 2 years later, belts out a hell of a blue collar anthem in this often overlooked track.
The “production” of this album really is its biggest strength. Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger is seen by most as the greatest country music album of all time, and the minimalist, dirty, rootsy production is given a lot of credit for that. Workingman’s Dead takes nearly that same approach, only half a decade before, and in my opinion, with better instrumentation.
The Dead’s next album American Beauty is the better known of their “country” projects, and though I like this album as well, it has more of a folky, mainstream feel to it. For my money, a good followup to Workingman’s Dead is their live Europe ’72 album which again features tight harmonies and amazing country songs.
You may hate hippies or California, or the sheer idea of The Grateful Dead, but if the blue collar tribute Workingman’s Dead is not in your collection, your prejudice has gone too far.
You can purchase and preview the tracks of Workingman’s Dead by CLICKING HERE.
5
Petiton for Milsap & Bleve/Gram Birthday
Category: Music
Region: United States of America
Target: Capitol Records Nashville
Background (Preamble): 09-21-2009 12:03 AM — Local independent label Bleve Records reported last week that it has stopped promotion of its debut single, ”My First Ride,” following a cease-and-desist order from Capitol Records Nashville.
The song by Bleve artist Ronnie Milsap features Capitol Records Nashville artist Trace Adkins and was the lead first single from a multi-artist compilation CD due out Nov. 1. A statement from Bleve says, “Capitol Records has threatened legal action if Bleve Records does not immediately halt any further publicity or sales of ‘My First Ride.’”
We, the undersigned, call on Capitol Records Nashville to allow continued promotion on BLEVE Record’s new single entitled…’My First Ride.’
I signed #67.
Also, today is the 63rd birthday of Gram Parsons. And in commemoration of his birthday, the Gram Parson’s Petition Project is asking you give Gram a birthday present of your John Hancock on his petition to induct Gram to the Country Music Hall of Fame.
And never let us forget . . .
30
Fans Want Gram Parsons in Hall of Fame
Say what you want about the man, or even his music, but it is hard to make the case that anybody has been a bigger ambassador for country music than Gram Parsons. Gram Parsons showed millions of non-country fans that country music could be cool. He turned The Rolling Stones into country fans. He discovered one of the most important women in country music history. He stood up to the flower pop scene of California, and showed them why country was something to be embraced, not defaced.
Since Gram died young in 1973, he never got a chance to be prolific, or to settle into his proper place in country music history. But Gram Parsons was way much more than “that guy who played in the Byrds.” And for all he has done, country music owes him a debt of gratitude.
I wrote a big article on him that you can read by clicking here, where I talk more about Gram’s influences and debunk some misconceptions about him (i.e. him being “country rock”). But the reason I’m bringing him up now is because there is a movement to put him into the Country Music Hall of Fame, complete with an online petition.
My long time readers know that the one last Nashville institution that I respect and admire is the Country Music Hall of Fame. I appreciate that the Hall is very careful about who it decides to add to its ranks, and the wise approach it takes to preserving the history of country music. Emmylou Harris, who was discovered by Gram, was inducted last year. Honestly I can understand why Gram would not be the most intuitive pick for the Hall, mainly because of the misconceptions behind his name and career. But that is why it is important for us fans and the grass roots of the REAL country movement to spread the word about Gram’s importance.
I signed the petition, #2616.
And while you’re at it, if you haven’t signed the petition to Reinstate Hank Williams to the Grand Ole Opry, we’ll roll over there and get that done as well (38,102 online signatures and counting). I’m not into peer pressure, so if you ain’t into it, so be it. We all do what we can, and what we’re willing to do.
Also on Sept. 19th 2009 there will be the Second Annual Gram Parsons Petition Party in Nashville at The 5 Spot. For more info, check them out on MySpace HERE.
18
Johnny Knoxville : Supporter of REAL Country Music
You might be surprised to learn that Jackass mastermind and actor Johnny Knoxville is a big fan of underground / outlaw country music. Not only that, at times he’s gone out of his way to lend his name to helping out specific artists and causes. When you start poking around a bit, it’s amazing where his name pops up in conjunction with different country music projects. Here’s a list of some of them:
Roger Allan Wade and Johnny Knoxville Records
Johnny Knoxville’s cousin is country singer/songwriter Roger Allan Wade. Far from being a distant cousin of Johnny who materialized out of thin air when Jackass got big to leach off of the fame, Roger Allan Wade has skins on the wall of his own, and actually Knoxville credits his cousin for getting him into acting when he gave him a copy of Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road.
To help support his cousin, Knoxville started “Johnny Knoxville Records,” an independent record label. At the moment Roger Allan Wade is the only artist on this label, but don’t be surprised if you hear this label mentioned with other artists in the future.
Dale Watson
Johnny Knoxville has also worked as a video and movie producer. Knoxville worked with country legend and anti-Nashville spitfire Dale Watson, putting together a video for his song “Hollywood Hillbilly:”
He also did a great interview with Dale on Jackass World world that you can watch in its entirety (and it’s worth it) HERE.
The Johnny Cash Cabin
Speaking of Dale Watson, his 2007 album From the Cradle to the Grave was recorded in an old cabin outside of Nashville that was once owned by none other than Johnny Cash. But who owns the cabin now? None other than Johnny Knoxville. He bought it from Cash a week before he died. Dale Watson talked about the experience:
“I got up there and basically wrote 10 songs in three days. At first, I was adamant about not writing anything even remotely reminiscent to Johnny Cash as I figured I’d be instantly dismissed for trying to cop his vibe, but his presence was so strong up there that I decided, ‘Why fight it? Let the chips fall where they may and go with the feeling.”
Jesco White Documentary
Johnny Knoxville is currently bankrolling and producing a documentary about Boone County, West Virgina’s Dancing Outlaw Jesco White called “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.” Not much is known about the project just yet, except that it is slated to be released on MTV, and has been called “the end of documentary filmmaking as we know it.”
Hank Williams Jr. and Hank III have some sort of relationship to this project, and of course Jesco appeared on III’s album Straight to Hell.
Grand Theft Parsons
Johnny Knoxville also played Gram Parson’s road manager Phil Kaufman, in the 2003 movie Grand Theft Parsons. It is based on the true story of Phil Kaufman stealing Gram Parson’s body to burn it in Joshua Tree as he’d promised Gram he would do.
Along with Dale Watson and Johnny Cash, Knoxville also confirms being a fan of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, Billy Joe Shaver, Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Hank Williams III.
20
2008 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees
Well, it’s been just over a week since I suffered through watching the whole CMA Pop Country Award Infomercial, and I am happy to report that I am finally able to keep solid foods down, and I finally achieved my first solid bowel movement since Kid Rock took the stage with “Lil Wayne,” making me stricken with violent diarrhea that stank worse than Brad Paisley’s canned jokes.
Nashville is killing country music, and I’m fighting mad about it.
But I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Out of all the country music institutions that have completely sold out of the almighty dollar, there is one that stands as a beacon on the hill.
While the CMA’s yoked Kenny Chesney with another “Entertainer of the Year” award, the Country Music Hall of Fame announced their 2008 inductees, and I have to say, I don’t know if I could’ve picked them better myself.
Tom T. Hall
He was an Outlaw by anyone’s measure, writing songs for Johnny Cash, George Jones, Waylon Watashin Jennings, and the original outlaw Bobby Bare. He also performed at Willie Nelson’s Dripping Springs Reunion where the Texas Outlaw movement was born. But he was a songwriter before he was a performer, specializing in storytelling songs, and while most songwriters are forgotten by Nashville, the Hall goes out of its way to recognize this vital element of country music.
Faster Horses
Younger Women
Older Whiskey
More Money
Emmylou Harris
I wrote about her in my Gram Parsons Blog and all I have to say is that she is one of my favorite female country singers ever, behind only maybe Dolly and Loretta.
Singing Townes:
My top 3 Emmylou Albums:
Wrecking Ball
Pieces of the Sky
Roses in the Snow
And along with these greats, the 2008 Hall class also includes the great Statler Brothers, and country-bluegrass music pioneer Ernest “Pop” Stoneman.
And as if you needed any more reasons to be miffed at the CMA’s, this was THE FIRST YEAR EVER that the Hall of Fame inductees were NOT formally recognized on the show. EVER!
Yet they had plenty of time to run out rap and reggae artists, and to let Brad Paisley and Keith Urban make out for 5 minutes, wanking each other’s guitars off.
But I have to say, every time I see Nashville cross the line and try to make country as pop as they can, they are slowly digging their own graves. More and more people are seeing through this stuff. And soon we will rise up and take our music back.
Mark my words.
PS: For those of you reading these blogs on savingcountrymusic.com, don’t be afraid to leave a comment, positive or negative. It’s very easy, you just sign up once with a name and email and after that you can comment at will. On the MySpace blog we get tons of comments and would love to see that happen here as well.
18
Gram Parsons
This is a dude I probably would not write about under normal circumstances. I think he did have a huge influence on the Outlaw Country movement, but it would be a stretch to call him an Outlaw. But I’ve had numerous requests for a Gram Parsons blog, so here we go.
This isn’t gonna be a biography, so if you want to totally geek out you can click here. What I’m concerned about is setting the record straight about this dude, explaining his impact on country music, and hopefully introducing people to one of the greats out there.
A lot of people typecast Gram Parsons as the one responsible for ‘California Country’ or ‘Country Rock’ acts like the Eagles, which some of you might like, but others will see as the popifying of country. It is probably a true statement that without Gram there would be no Eagles, but there would also be no Emmylou Harris, or the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers
.Gram misconceptions:
—-Gram is not a Californian, which even though I hate Cali’s influence on our culture in some ways, Dwight Yoakum, Buck Owens, and Merle Haggard are all Cali’s. But Gram was born in FLA, raised in Georgia, and buried in Louisiana. He did rise to fame in Cali, but was a southern boy by birth.
–Gram never was an official member of ‘The Byrds.’ He was hired on as a salaried concert keyboardist.
–Gram might have inspired ‘The Eagles’ but he publicly disdained their music. In fact as the 60′s turned to the 70′s, Gram was chided in the ‘California Country’ scene for being “too authentic and traditional.” Sounds like my kinda guy.
Gram Bands:
–His first major band was not the Byrds, but the ‘International Submarine Band’ that was formed in Boston around 1966. This in my opinion was when Gram did some of his best stuff. Luxury Liner is one of my favorite Gram songs:
–Though he was never an official member of The Byrds, he asserted great influence on their Sweetheart of the Rodeo
album, really trying to push them in the country direction, and insisting the album be recorded in Nashville instead of LA.–The ‘Flying Burrito Brothers’ with Chris Hillman came next. This is probably my least favorite Gram project because it was a little too hippie dippy for me, but what Gram was doing was steering all of these psychedelic 60′s musicians into the direction of country music, showing them that it could be ‘cool and hip’ and that there was a lot of soul and truth to the music. ‘The Burritos’ are also referenced in David Allan Coe’s ‘Willie, Waylon, & Me’ song. Check out the nudie suits on these dudes:
–Gram might’ve thought The Burritos were too hippy dippy too because the project was short lived. Gram moved on after that to do two solo albums which were some of his best work: G.P./Grievous Angel
. On GP Gram covered Outlaw Tompall Glaser’s ‘Streets of Baltimore’ song and introduced the world to Emmylou Harris.Gram’s Influence:
Gram Parsons may have not been the most amazing or prolific songwriter, or a superb musician, but his influence on rock and country cannot be overstated. He literally introduced country music directly and indirectly to millions of people, and I’m not kidding. He set the table for The Outlaws of country music, by showing many people who were not traditional country music fans how great country music could be. He was the Outlaw of the California Country scene. It would be tough to list all of the people Gram influenced, but here are two big ones:
Emmylou Harris:
She is being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year, and if it wasn’t for Gram Parsons, we likely would’ve never heard of her. And if you haven’t heard of her, well then you need to get that situation corrected. She demands a whole blog herself. Gram and Emmylou singing Tompall:
The Rolling Stones:
Gram’s influence on the Rolling Stones is massive. He was friends with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards especially, and is said to have influenced songs on Let It Bleed [DSD]
,Exile on Main St.
, and one of my favorite albums of all time, Sticky Fingers. There is a version of ‘Honky Tonk Women’ on Let It Bleed called Country Honk
that is more than rumored to have been written at least partially by Gram. (That in my opinion is the BEST version of that song BTW) And Gram actually covered ‘Wild Horses’ from Sticky Fingers before the album was even released.That era of the Rolling Stones produced some of the best music of the day, and it had to do in large part with Gram’s influence.
Death:
Gram Parsons liked his drugs and booze, and died from overdose on a mix of alcohol and morphine in Joshua Tree, CA in 1973. There is a crazy story behind his death, and there a lot of branches that come off the Gram Parson’s tree. I could write forever about this guy.
Even if you do not like the man Gram Parsons, or his music, it is hard to think of a bigger ambassador for country music. He was someone who really went out and tried to show people all that country music could be. And he didn’t do it by mistake. He really believed in country music, and wanted everyone to see its simple beauty, honesty, and that it could rock. There might not be someone who was not a prolific songwriter or a superb musician, but had such a wide impact on REAL country music.
And for that, Gram parsons will always be tits in my book.
Make a donation using Paypal
Support SCM and start
your Amazon shopping here
