The Gobblers Knob

Strangers no longer, oh ye of the concept album….

I recently realized that I have been spending a ton of cash on books that I could most likely be simply checking out at the local library.  After a visit to my local book hide-away, I found that there was far more than books alone, there were CD’s available to check out as well.  You may have known this for some time now, but I haven’t, and now I am hooked.  Libraries may just be here to stay, huh??  My local branches are filling a specific role for me as I look to check out various tunes.  I am mainly looking to educate myself, just as if I were checking a book out and then studying from it.  Maybe I spot an album from an act that I have heard good things about, yet have never immersed myself in their sound, perhaps I stumble upon a CD that I no longer have in my collection, due to fire, hurricane, relocation, disorganization, etc… I pop in the CD’s and take notes, maybe I realize that I haven’t heard much of a band for good reason after a listen, or perhaps I anger myself for losing or forgetting about a certain band or album.  My most recent batch proved to be a 3 for 3 success.  I picked up Time Warp – The Very best of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Nashville from Solomon Burke and Red Headed Stranger by the Red Headed Stranger himself.  The OMDD disc made me feel right about my decision to start looking for more southern-rock-meets-country-meets-funk-meets-soul music.  Songs like “If You Want to Get to Heaven,” “Country Girl,” “Chicken Train” and “Spaceship Orion” span the rainbow of genres, making it impossible to simply call them a “country band from the 70′s.“  Come to think of it though, the best country bands of the 60′s & 70′s were able to blend many musical elements together to create a soulful, warm, harmony-lovin’ vibe (see Eagles, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Poco, Byrds, Flying Burrito Bros, etc…).  With the Daredevils being based firmly in the middle of the country, they seemed to be able to effortlessly combine the California-cool vibe of Richie Furay and Chris Hillman with the magical carpet rides and ramblin’ jingles of the Allman’s from the deep south.  The Solomon Burke “find” (not that he was lost, I was) was more of a deal where I had heard a cut or two (his version of “That’s How I got to Memphis” was played a bit on 95.3 KHYI in Dallas), but hadn’t yet pulled the trigger on a purchase.  After 1 spin, I regretted that decision to pass.  With help from Buddy Miller and other Nashville All-Stars, Nashville shows that Country music can be as soulful as anything to come from Stax or Motown.  Finally, the concept album from the king of concept albums (check out Phases & Stages too),  Red Headed Stranger showcases Willies rich, too-nasal-for-Nashville-behind-the-beat singin’.  This album introduced the world to “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain” along with tales of preachers, strangers and a story that just had to be told.  Even the album cover (at the top of the post) is one of the greats, especially in the original LP format.  This was a reunion for me and the stranger, seeing as how I have owned this collection of stories in 8-track, LP, cassette and CD, only to be left alone (as a red head myself, I won’t go with the obvious point that I was a red headed stranger, more of an album-less red head).  I doubt this posting taught many of you anything musical, the greatness of the afforementioned acts has been widely reported.  What you have surely learned is that I am a bit of a dork.

Ozark Mountain Daredevils - Chicken Train