The title is a little misleading because this is not a column about Country music per se but more about a period where artists leaned into a country sound.
I have wanted to write this column for a very long time and I had fits and starts because I just really didn’t know how to express what I was trying to do. Here it goes anyway:
First, let me start with the fact that I love country music. It’s really the most American form of music there is and the stories these songs tell are true Americana but in actuality, they could be about people from pretty much anywhere. That is why Country music is so transferable. You might not like the twang but you gotta love the story.
Knowing that I have a fondness for Country music may help explain why I love the period when artists wanted to sound Country-ish and melded rock with country. I know it has a name but I just have no clue what it is called so I will just dive into it and hopefully someone will give me the specific type of music this is. I am going to call it Americana Rock.
I am not going to do it chronologically but that probably would help to understand the genesis of this type of music.
Generally, I try to single out particular songs to explore and hopefully, if the album is worthy, the reader can listen to the whole record and enjoy. Today, there are a couple of albums that personify what I am talking about.
First one is Tumbleweed Connection. Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote this masterpiece after really diving into some of The Band’s Music From Big Pink. This album is one of those rare pieces of music where it is stylistically coherent throughout. The sound is Americana and the lyrics are old school stories that tell the tales of the good and the bad in the old time West. There is not a bad song on this album and this album from beginning to end is near perfect in almost every way.
The second album is a grouping of three albums released by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969. Bayou Country, Green River and Willie And The Poor Boys all have a similar Americana Country vein to them and it’s hard to pull a song out of any of these albums that doesn’t fit my theme. Even “Proud Mary” while not Country-ish still tells a southern story and has that twangy guitar purists love. By the way releasing three albums of this quality and appeal in one year is unheard of. Oh, but you say Drake has done it, Taylor Swift has done it and even Beyonce has done it! I will stop you right there, They suck and 98% of their music is repetitive bass lines over some trickery of electronics. They can have millions of downloads but they will never be able to produce three classic albums in one year. It’s 53 years later and the music is still revered. 53 years from now, possibly only Drake’s music will stand the test of time and out of the 200 songs the guy has recorded, maybe five will be considered legendary.
Sorry. I like to defend my choices a little too much.
Now, there are hundreds of great songs from that 1969-1972 era that you can put on this list but, like always, I am going to dig a little deeper.
I will start with Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road”. Some people might want to pigeonhole this song as strictly a Country song and I won’t argue too hard and some purists may argue that the song was released in the mid 80’s and I won’t argue too hard there either but it’s still a great song with a story about a Vietnam vet returning home to Eastern Kentucky. It’s my list, it’s on it.
The album version of “Darkness, Darkness” by The Youngbloods qualifies with no asterisks. Is it Americana? Is it Country rock? Blast me all you want but when I listen to this song it reminds me of a certain period in the history of the West. It is not defined but listen to it and see where it takes you. The song has an intensity that you rarely feel from a rock song and I think it has a straight up power that very few songs can reach.
This may be another odd choice but “Mandolin Wind by Rod Stewart exemplifies the sound I am trying to explore. It’s a story that is both compelling and lovely and it may take place in Canada or the High Plains of the US during a snowstorm during a long past time. That’s what great songwriting will do, tell a story but let the listener fill in the blanks as well. Let me include the Rod Stewart version of a Taupin/John song, “Country Comfort” as well. Another great American-ish song done by English artist who has a love for all things American. I like Stewarts version better than the original just because his version seems more in tune to the original intent of the song.
The New Riders of The Purple Sage were a band that was made for this list. They were a country rock band from the Bay Area and Los Angeles. They had members come and go on each album and not surprisingly the quality of the music varied greatly from album to album and song to song but I do think that “Lonesome LA Cowboy” sticks with what I am trying to get at. Great lyrics, tinge of Rock and lots of Country twang. This band was part of that large musical puzzle that was The Bay area back in the late 60’s early 70’s. Grateful dead members, The Band members, Big Brother and the Holding Company members are all interspersed in their recordings.
You can’t write something like this without including the Grateful Dead. I never appreciated the Dead until later in life and now I am sold. They produced so much music over their 60+ years of existence it really is hard to narrow it down to one song that encompasses what I am trying to say in this column. Since almost all of their music could fit into this column I have decided to put two of my favorites, “Jack Straw” and “Me and my Uncle” as some of the best examples of Americana Rock. Both songs tell a great story of outlaws in the West and musically, are as complex as anything the Dead has ever done. Like I said, I could probably find fifty other songs that fit equally as well and I think that says all you need to know about the Grateful Dead.
The Doobie Brothers would never be considered an Americana Rock type of band but they did have a moment in that Western sun and released Stampede. It was an album showing the bands virtuosity and ability to cover different forms of music, including Country and Western. The best song on the album and one of the best songs on this list is “I Cheat The Hangman” written by Patrick Simmons. A simple story about a hangman’s son being hung by another hangman.
Speaking of hangmen, try listening to “Two Hangmen” by Mason-Proffit. Written in 15 minutes on the back of their tourbus is a great poem turned into a great song. The story is similar to “I Cheat The Hangman”, with two hangmen figuring out how to get away from a dual hanging.
Since we are swinging with the hangman lets throw in “Gallows Pole” by Led Zeppelin for good measure. This is the closest the band every got to doing something Americana like. It really doesn’t qualify but I felt I needed to include it.
Speaking of great groups, The Rolling Stones even had a small period where they did some Country-ish Americana Rock. I am not talking about Some Girls and “Faraway Eyes”, I am talking about “Country Honk” from Let It Bleed. It is a comical take on “Honky Tonk Woman” and is equally as fun as the original. The fiddle on this song cracks me up and if you have time, watch the video. Whoever does those animations is a genius.
The Byrds’ “Hickory Wind” is included here not so much because of it’s beauty, which it is definitely a beautiful song, but because it is really considered Gram Parson’s best work. Parsons as you may or may not know was one of the founding members of that Country-Rock world that so many bands fell into in the late 60’s. Considered a genius songwriter and a damn fine guitarist as well. He was considered one of the most influential artists of his era and amazingly, we share the same birthday.
I know there is a whole sector of Rock and Roll that could easily be included here but that would be too easy and I have already done a column on Southern Rock.
Excellent, excellent trip you've taken us on. Agreed on many choices, but will listen to the others again! Welcome Back, enjoyed todays column Immensely.