The best synthesis of rock, blooze and country?

yeah, would ya, it's blocking my view.

Exile is great of course, but it also has strong gospel and soul elements in it, so it's more than a melding of the three styles in the thread title.

Dylan's John Wesley Harding has a minimalist style that covers all three bases.

get one CMT

I'm a lefty rock critic and they're all welcome in my club.

Oh yeah, Gun Club!

>Elvis Costello's KIng of America (uneven, bloated, still great) <

How much country and blooze does this have? I guess I think of Costello as just a pop guy, though I know he had country moments (*Almost Blue*, "Radio Sweetheart", the rockabilly parts of *My Aim is True*) early on. Then again, I stopped paying attention to him after *Trust* or so, so maybe he got bloozier later. (And oh yeah, I guess there were white-soul attempts early on too.) (And part of the problem might be that I might define blooze differently than some of y'all. Blooze = blues + ooze, which to me basically = heavy boogie.)

Actually, that group doesn't really exist. Lefty POP critics maybe. Rock critics are pretty much just at Rolling Stone these days, and they would be the first to be all like "WOW Montgomery Gentry is ROCK BLOOZE and COUNTRY, 4 stars" (5 is reserved for Mick Jagger solo albums)

Actually, I think Christian Hoard (who likes pop as well as rock as well as lots of other things) gave MG's previous one 3 stars, and said it was too ballad-heavy compared to their earlier records (which to my ears it wasn't.) But I still think Matt's wrong here -- Rolling Stone critics hardly tend to judge music by hard it rocks, or even by how drenched in alleged roots music it is, these days, and they haven't in years. They'd take Pavement reissues over the Kentucky Headhunters anyday. I'm willing to see examples that disprove me, though. (Maybe Matt meant *Mojo*? But they ignore Nashville, right?)

There's a lot of Tin Pan Alley in there.

CMT artists as heirs/keepersoftheflame of Bad Company trope to thread.

Speaking of which -- Bad Company.

Shooter Jennings.

No, I do agree with you in that it's probably just as much that they self-identify as country and use country tropes stylistically and aim for a country audience and all that...but, given that their music does rock far more than the majority of contemporary rock music, be it indie or mainstream (and most of the folks that cover that stuff I tend to think would be comfortable with calling themselves primarily rock critics), it is kinda odd that they don't get much coverage from rock critics. But whatever, I don't have statistics in front of me or anything, that's just the assessment I can make off the top of my head.

I don't think it's a conspiracy - nothing of the sort, not like there's some cabal that gets together and decide "hm, you sell music to a socioeconomic demographic that we do not approve of, sorry guys no coverage for you" - so much as I think it's just something that never really occurs to most of them because it doesn't fall within the boundaries of what they consider rock, which just seems to often have little to do with whether something actually *rocks*.

well, they get coverage in the village voice and the new york times to name two places. and there must be more than that (i can't read everything).

and don't discount, ya know, the beatles. they didn't do too much straight-up blues like the stones did, but they did just as much synthesizing.

Anyway, though, I don't even *like* these guys. My pick is Johnny Burnette/Rock & Roll Trio.

and i suppose the residents' cube E: the history of american music in 3 EZ pieces deserves some sort of honorable mention.

and matt, rolling stone likes plenty of pop (even when they shouldn't); britney's on the cover more often than jagger these days.

Country rockers doing the hard stuff get their press dibs. Plain old vanilla hard rockers often do less well even as ads for them a local barns and theatres fill up the pages adjacent to the recomendations of rock critics. It's that way where I live, anyway. The ad size in the LA Sunday Times and the acts advertised are a hoot. It's where I read to see what's cool.

Eric Sardinas
Johnny A
Alvin Youngblood Hart
etc

True, but so is Jessica Alba and she doesn't even make music (ie., I wouldn't necessarily see Britney on the cover as a sign of pop appreciation).

But she makes erections.

Gary Stewart did it well, I think, especially his "Your Place or Mine" album, lots of sorta chooglin' and slide guitar stuff. Or, Jerry Lee Lewis, although the blues is second fiddle always to whatever else he does (I love his country shit more and more thru the years). Self-consciously, Jim Dickinson's "Dixie Fried" does a good job of covering all those bases, and I think Waylon Jennings is pretty bluesy in his own way. Bob Seger does it well too, he could've easily gone to Nashville and made country records just like Conway Twitty did. And yeah, the Band, except I find them way too self-conscious, the fathers of alt-country if anyone is, to really get me off the way many others do...

Nah. John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Born in California.

Yeah, I'll go with that considering someone tried to sneak The Residents into the thread.

sneaky me! but i figure that any band makes a concept album explicitly about the synthesis of rock, blooze and country -- whether or not they're wearing big eyeballs on their heads -- deserves at least a mention! as does george thorogood.

Talking Heads' More Songs About Buildings and Food.

Well then. There's quite a bit of country in Creedence. And the rhythm section had a great deal of swing. "Hey Tonite," "Cotton Fields of Home"...

BEST SYNTHESIZED BLUE ROCK IN THE COUNTRY!

Then you wouldn't get the CMT channel. I'd say listen to more Creedence but ...

Joe Dee Messina. Terri Clark.

country =/ folk music (though it can, i guess)

then again, maybe i should re-read *mystery train.*

which reminds me: I nominate harmonica frank floyd.

though skynyrd still wins by a mile, when you get down to it.

i agree. which is why i posted their name first. before i got carried away.

Ronnie Milsap when he's not so overtly country is another guy I think does it--he's underrated.

Nah, Fogerty could sing.

Actually he was the Dan McCafferty (Nazareth) of his time (as I think Frank Kogan pointed out once.) And Dan McCafferty was the Axl Rose of his time (unless Jim Dandy Mangrum was).

By the way nobody has mentioned the Drive By Truckers til now. Or Kid Rock, either, for that matter.

yeah they did.

what about tom petty? i'd say (at his best at least) he's closer to fogerty than earle is, too (thoough he definitely has more countrish than bluesish moments i suppose).

From my understanding and from what I hear when I listen to the Band, they were more into rock 'n' roll, blues, and a bit of country. They recorded a great version of "Long Black Veil", which Lefty Frizzell had a big hit with. When recording the Basement Tapes, Dylan apparently taught them the old Appalachian string music, folk, and Dock Boggs type stuff. The Band were rockers even if the first two records barely show it. For a taste of their rock, I would suggest the Hawks stuff ("Who Do You Love"), bootlegs of live recordings from the late 60s, and the Band's first song on the Festival Express movie. Robertson's solo is simple, nasty and totally dissonant.

Not to get off the subject, but I have to admit that CCR has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I like their music, and I like their 12-minute version of "Chooglin'", but for some reason I hesitate to call them great or one of the greats. It gets a but dull after a few tracks.

What about Sir Douglas Quintet's Mendocino LP???

No, no, listen to some more tracks! They had a bunch of good ones on every album. between the songwriting, the hooks, and those guitars, i never get bored. and i love when they go long. i love "pagan baby" for instance.

what record is this on? Is this like the extended "Chooglin'"? I always dig long-ass Diddley grooves.

i hear lots of gram parsons in tonight's the night (check "roll another number" most specifically) and though i'm not entirely sure what the blooze is, as opposed to the blues, i hear one or the other in the title track. and i detect the shadows of both throughout the album.

charlie rich definitely had this feel at several points in his career, including but not at all limited to his recordings for sun in the '50s and smash in the '60s. i guess his sun sides were more like a straight rockabilly thing, but then again, why is rockabilly getting such short shrift in this thread? and by the evidence of the complete smash sessions, he WAS having fun there.

No, no, no -- Axl Rose was the Dan McAfferty of his time, only GNR had more "hits" and sales. Speaking of which, has been mentioned, Nazareth fits into this thread most excellently. Jim Dandy had the pseudo-Howlin' Wolf voice. Which brings up Ruby Starr & Grey Ghost who should also be here.

xpost

"Pagan Baby" isn't a "Diddley" groove. It's rock rave, a simple shout.

What about Sir Douglas Quintet's Mendocino LP???

What about Sir Doug backed up CCR's rhythm section, "Groover's Paradise."

between the songwriting [of CCR],

Yes, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" and "Lodi" wonderfully fit this thread.

Contemporary, check Silvertide's "California Rain" which is just aching to be something hot on CMT.

Now I'm going to get back listening to The Glitterati, which is another matter.

And I'm dragging in Ted Nugent, too, because Ted built (and builds) a lot of his classic stand up and shake your fist numbers on pure honky tonk riffs, only played through a wall of amplification. It's a well known fact.

I Mentioned Elvis!

"why is rockabilly getting such short shrift in this thread?"

It hasn't, if you read the thread!

i'm yelling again.

ian et al, do you have this album? i like the cover:

http://therisingstorm.net/audio/hillsofindiana.jpg

never seen it, but it looks like the kind of thing i've dig.

http://record-fiend.blogspot.com/2010/06/lonnie-mack-hills-of-indiana-elektra.html

Lonnie Mack is my Cincinnati homeboy, synthesis of rock/blooze/country/soul exactly nails what he does.

I like his late 60s elektra LPs better - Glad I'm In The Band and especially Whatever's Right recorded at Jewel Records studio in scenic Mt Healthy, Ohio, about ten minutes away from my old house.

Lonnie Mack's best album, next to his debut Wham! is Roadhouses & Dancehalls from 1988, recorded in Nashville but not really sounding like it.

"Too Rock For Country, Too Country For Rock & Roll" - opening cut sums it up.

Grew up in the 50s with a guitar in my hand,
With the Grand Old Opry, Jimmy Reed and Bobby Blue Bland.
Everybody asked me what I play, everywhere I go.
I say I'm too rock for country, too country for rock and roll.

Well, my brother's in the Army with a country western band.
But I'm setting home, playing music with my old man.
When my uncle came to visit, he turned me on to Soul,
Now I'm too rock for country, too country for rock and roll.

No mention of Little Feat on this thread?

lonnie mack one of the greatest live shows i've ever seen in my life. blew me away.

Three words: Stevie. Ray. Vaughan.

honestly s.r.v. always struck me as guilty of overstatement--seems constitutionally unsubtle.

that lonnie mack album i posted above is not bad. has a good cover of dylan's "the man in me" that was a nice surprise.

ooh i was playing a good one today:

http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/72/Hot_Tuna_Burgers.jpg

hot tuna! yowza!

"water song" could be 20 minutes longer and i would not complain.

No mention of Little Feat on this thread?

― Thraft of Cleveland (Bill Magill), Monday, April 4, 2011 11:33 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

haha you stole my line!

some dude, what are your top 3 Feat LPs? I only have the first one.

you need them all!

and lowell solo.

seriously, being a feat completist is easy and cheap and totally worth it.

my top 3 Little Feat studio LPs (so, not counting the live Waiting For Columbus, which is v essential) are 1) Sailin' Shoes 2) Feats Don't Fail Me Now 4) Dixie Chicken. at least that's my answer today.

okay, yeah, i see those records all the time for cheapzilla. i'll get 'em.

add that bootleg that somebody around here provided a link for a couple years ago. It was a WLIR broadcast from '74 or something.

Ian needs to definitely get Columbus

The best synthesizer of rock, blooze and country
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJM-zHMr2B0

^^^ lmao <3

add that bootleg that somebody around here provided a link for a couple years ago. It was a WLIR broadcast from '74 or something.

http://www.archive.org/details/lf1974-09-19.shnf

also:

http://991.com/newgallery/Bobby-Whitlock-Raw-Velvet-348978.jpg

http://www.rekord.net/cover/bigthumbs/rekord.9387.jpg

but, you know, honestly, capricorn records discography to thread. don't think anyone did this better than them. shelter maybe a distant second.

need to get me some Hot Tuna