Canyon "Canyon" (Nature Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Gerhard Kampfe)
A German band with fluid boundaries between country and rock, though
with a definite country direction... The trio included Manfred Wetterich
(guitar), Wolfgang Ronsch (guitar, mandolin) and Achim Dresch
(keyboards and harmonica) with additional backing by a slew of
musicians, ranging from trumpets to pedal steel. Songs include "Brother
Hobo," "Cowboy Song," "Don't Join A Rock'N'Roll Band" and a cover of
the Beatles' "I've Just Seen A Face." An earlier iteration of this band
cut an album under in 1976 the name Itcheyfoot, as a more modest,
bluegrass-y trio.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/8p988g2vvdgcdeb/Canyon+-+Same+(Ger+'78+Country+Rock).rar/file
Tumbleweed Band "Goin' Nowhere Fast" (Creative Arts Studio, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Ronnie Fuquay & Randy Merryman)
Oh, wait! There's one more Tumbleweed Band, this time a combo from
Spartanburg, South Carolina which featured Miles Costin (on banjo,
guitar and lead vocals), Lee Dunham (bass and guitar), Ronnie Godfrey
(keyboards) and Jon Morris playing lead guitar and pedal steel, and a
little extra help from bluegrass fiddler Bobby Hicks. Amid well-curated
covers of Guy Clark, Hank Cochran, Willie Nelson and Henry Mancini(!)
are a slew of originals by various members of the band, including
"Carolina Blues," "Get Your Stuff," "Lizard Lick Boogie" and "Pain In My
Heart," and ne from their North Carolina neighbor, Sam Milner, called
County Line."
Michael Rabon & Choctaw "Michael Rabon & Choctaw" (Uni Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Robin Hood Brians & Michael Rabon)
A non-pop outing from Michael Rabon (1943-2022) the former lead singer
of the bubblegum-ish 'Sixties Top 40 band The Five Americans, and who
later played guitar in the rock band Gladstone. He apparently dropped
out and went to live in the desert after the his days of '60s pop glory,
and this album seems to have been a musical declaration of
independence. There's some overt country-rock on here, particularly on
songs like "Texas Sparrow" and "Country Music," though the album is even
more full of mellow folk-psych tunes and (semi-) hard rock with power
chords though with thankfully little macho swagger. The twang tunes are
interesting, particularly how Rabon blended pedal steel with sharper
rock guitars... Although this is more of a rock record, its early '70s
release does make it a credible country-rock forerunner, and it'll
probably be of interest to folks who are into Mike Nesmith's music of
the same era.
Whoever the unnamed studio crew included, they did a good job, and even though many of these songs were basically little more than circular...
