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Topic: The BEST country rock band... no one ever heard of!.. |
Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 10:18 am |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DxEJTPFetw&feature=related
One of my favorite bands of all time... I was shocked to find this on youtube.. These guys were major label[RCA] but just never went anywhere.. These guys were up there with Poco, New Riders, Burritos when it came to songwriting, musicianship and vocals... VERY nice steel work by a player named Dan Daley,,, They always had the steel UP in the mix too... Sweet glassy tone this cat has as well... I have the vinyl of this album , worn out and destroyed from playing it...
Its available on Itunes I think, but I could be wrong... Enjoy, and let me know what you think... They also had a KILLER band name!!! bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 10:30 am
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Never heard of them before now but they sound great.  Love that steel. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 10:37 am
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| Andy Sandoval wrote: |
| Never heard of them before now but they sound great. Love that steel. |
This is a slower tune I remember they did back then.. They had several up tempo tunes with some REALLY cool steel work.
The steel guy is kinda Buddy Cage/west coast style...
They remind me of a more refined New Riders sort of band.
bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Larry Robbins
From:
Fort Edward, New York
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 11:41 am
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Loved it!
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Twang to the bone! |
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Ken Mizell
From:
Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 11:58 am
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Man! That's some great music. I'm a fan now. I must find more of their stuff to listen to. I agree with Bob's comparison to the other bands of the time. I wonder why they didn't make it?
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Steeless. |
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Ken Mizell
From:
Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 12:07 pm
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Not to get too off topic, but I happened to check out this one while on YouTube listening to the one that was originally posted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNdyqaccXxE&feature=related
I really like that one. Never heard of the group either. Nice steel playing on this one. Reckon who it is? It has hints of Al Perkins and Red Rhodes, but I'm not sure.
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Steeless. |
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Theresa Galbraith
From:
Goodlettsville,Tn. USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 1:17 pm
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| I'd need to hear more to make that kind of statement. |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 1:25 pm
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Some pretty cool but obscure stuff, Bob.
The story of Free Beer is here - http://www.freebeermusic.com/node/1
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/pawtrait/folkville/biographies/FreeBeer.html
http://www.irismusicgroup.com/MICHAELPACKER.html
NYC band, never heard of them before, the first site suggests they were cut from RCA after Elvis' death so they could focus on repackaging the Elvis catalog. They were yet another Alan Lorber project. For those of you who aren't familiar, Lorber was a pop arranger and the creator of the so-called "Boss-town" (yeah, Boston, you're my home) sound of bands like Orpheus, The Beacon Street Union, and Ultimate Spinach. Seems to me like Lorber tended to glom onto 'concepts' after they had already run their course elsewhere. By the mid-late 70s, the country-rock thing had pretty much run its course and had moved on to Hotel California. This interview with Ian Bruce-Douglas, leader of Ultimate Spinach - http://www.terrascope.co.uk/MyBackPages/Ultimate_Spinach.htm - pretty well sums up my view of Lorber and why the stuff he touched tended to not work in the original music scene.
On the other hand, I had heard of Morning
http://www.myspace.com/morningfromthe70s
On steel is apparently James Donnellan - http://www.myspace.com/jamesdonnellan
aka Jay Donnellan, lead guitarist for a late-60s early 70s incarnation of Arthur Lee's band Love
aka Jay Levin for production projects, and apparently, the band Morning.
I used to have vinyl copy of the LP, it's probably in a pile somewhere. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 1:26 pm
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Can't find anything about the band "Morning". except that they were around in 1970, early in the country rock movement... I LOVE that song on youtube!!!!! Thanks for sharing!
Another great early band is called Hog Heaven... They had a hot young steel player named Buddy Cage, but he left to take Jerry Garcia's steel chair in the New Riders of the Purple Sage,, Hog Heaven 1 is drenched with Buddy Cage's playing and IMHO he plays better with them than he did with the New Riders... Really great stuff.
Hog Heaven even has a website, and that first album may still be available.. I had it several decades ago, and I loaned it to another steel player. Never saw it again... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Ken Mizell
From:
Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 1:49 pm
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Over the years there was some really great, smokin' hot steel playing in some of these country rock bands. Great stuff. Some of the hotest steel playing I've ever heard in person, was Tom Brumley (RIP) with Rick Nelson (also RIP) not long after Garden Party hit the scene. I saw them at a county fair venue, and I was close to the stage, in front of the steel. Brumley did some boiling hot picking that night. A friend of mine and I got to see Poco at a small venue in St. Petersburg one time, and we got to sit in the front row directly in front of Rusty Young, like 8 feet away. More super country rock steel.
Have y'all heard the group Rancho Deluxe with Jay Dee Maness playing? Amazing.
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Steeless. |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 3:48 pm
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They[Free Beer] came to Texas in the mid 70's and I became friends with Dan Daley who went on to be a writer for Musician Magazine and one of those recording magazines,Did a few festivals with them and they were top notch,I think Dan might be in Nashville writing? not sure haven't seen him in about 30 years.
http://www.dandaley.net/
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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Ken Mizell
From:
Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA
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Posted 16 Jan 2011 4:02 pm
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I guess Daley gave up the PSG. Looks like he's doing OK for himself these days, with residences in NY, Miami, and Nasvhille. He has a place for every season of the year.
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Steeless. |
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Jonathan Shacklock
From:
London, UK
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Posted 17 Jan 2011 7:38 am
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Discovering some cool stuff through this thread - thanks! I was in a second hand record shop yesterday (picked up some Nesmith/First National Band LPs and Red Rhodes' Velvet Hammer in a Cowboy Band - all recommended). While I was there the guy behind the counter played Euphoria - the album (A Gift From Euphoria - 1969) had about four tracks of straight up country rock in the NRPS vein with excellent pedal steel (by...?) - the rest is out there psychedelia like the example on youtube or luscious symphonic pop. Anyway, they may qualify for contenders in the thread title. Certainly most musically ambitious country rock band you never heard of.
Also anyone heard of the band Cowboy? They did some stuff with Duane Allman but I don't know if they had a steel guitarist. |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 17 Jan 2011 7:56 am
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| Quote: |
| I guess Daley gave up the PSG. Looks like he's doing OK for himself these days, with residences in NY, Miami, and Nasvhille. He has a place for every season of the year. |
It would appear that writing about music is much more lucrative than playing it. Just sayin'.  |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 17 Jan 2011 11:41 am
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| Jonathan Shacklock wrote: |
| - the album (A Gift From Euphoria - 1969) had about four tracks of straight up country rock in the NRPS vein with excellent pedal steel (by...?) |
I have the album (CD- release). There are no credits of the musicians listed. I listened to it again, there are actualy three tracks with PSG. Sounds a lot like Russ Hicks. |
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Brian Straub
From:
Connecticut, USA
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Posted 17 Jan 2011 1:21 pm Free Beer
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Great Post...I currently play steel guitar with Sandy Allen who was a member of Free Beer. We play occasionally and he is one fine writer, player and singer. We play locally in the southeastern CT area..He also has 2 CDs which are great. CD baby has them.......check out Sandys site here.
http://www.sandmanmusic.net/
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Justice D-10, Evans Amp, Sarno V-8, Gibson Lap Steel BR-9, Telonics Pedal. |
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Dennis Olearchik
From:
Newtown, PA
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Posted 19 Jan 2011 6:50 pm
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| Anyone ever hear of "Roby, Falk & Bod"? |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 19 Jan 2011 7:04 pm
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Free Beer has 3 albums listed on iTunes:
Free Beer - released 1975
Highway Robbery - released 1976
Nouveau Chapeau - released 1977
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 21 Jan 2011 6:44 pm
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| Ken Mizell wrote: |
Not to get too off topic, but I happened to check out this one while on YouTube listening to the one that was originally posted:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNdyqaccXxE&feature=related
I really like that one. Never heard of the group either. Nice steel playing on this one. Reckon who it is? It has hints of Al Perkins and Red Rhodes, but I'm not sure. |
This is a nice one...I agree with hints of Red and Al. I don't think it is Red, though, since there are parts of it that are not typical of his playing. Could be Al, but quite honestly...I think Al is a bit more "technically proficient" at the instrument than the playing on this track seems to indicate. Wonder who it is???? |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 21 Jan 2011 8:45 pm
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I was overseas, but I remember Rolling Stone ads for Free Beer."FREE BEER--IT'LL give you a good head!" I always thought that'd look good in front of a club---
TONIGHT ONLY-----FREE BEER
Have to draw a crowd  |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 21 Jan 2011 8:48 pm
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| Jonathan Shacklock wrote: |
| Also anyone heard of the band Cowboy? They did some stuff with Duane Allman but I don't know if they had a steel guitarist. |
Cowboy was primarily Scott Boyer and Tommy Talton, a couple of real good Georgia pickers and writers. One played slide, but I don't think they ever used a pedal steel. |
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Ken Mizell
From:
Lakeland, Florida, 33809, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2011 9:01 pm
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Thanks Joe. Whoever that is playing with the group called Morning on that cut, I like it. I really like that style of playing. More pedal steel on that song that the overwhelming majority of (so-called) country tunes these days. The pedal steel that appeared during the country rock era was really tasty stuff.
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Steeless. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2011 10:30 pm
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There was also a Haight-Ashbury band in 1966-67 named Free Beer. I remember seeing flyers for them. They weren't ever real big, just a local band of diggers I think.
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David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
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Posted 22 Jan 2011 3:34 am
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In the early '90's, "Free Beer's" Sandy Allen and Bob Potter were living in Rhode Island and formed the group, "HillWilliams" which I assume was a play on the term hillbillies (Sandy went under the name Sandy Hill and Bob under R.C. Williams). This was my first gig on steel and definitely helped to improve my chops. The group disbanded in 1993 but fortunately I still have a cassette recording of our last performance and listen to it occasionally. Sandy took up pedal steel a few years back and is currently a member of this Forum
Last edited by David Nugent on 14 Mar 2011 4:16 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Dennis Ellerbee
From:
Jackson, Georgia US
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Posted 22 Jan 2011 6:42 am Country Rock Bands
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| One band most people never heard of was Fools Gold. This was Dan Fogelburg's back up band for several years. They put out two albums. Some good steel work, but I am not sure who played on the albums. Great vocals. |
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