Chris Hillman - Desert Rose

I'm not sure how I ended up so many releases that feature Chris Hillman. I knew of him of course, from that one time he appeared on a 77s album way back in 1987. Everyone always made such a fuss over Roger McGuinn, and David Crosby that was all I really knew about The Byrds ... of course there were other members of the band but they seemed to be a footnote. Right or wrong, perception can be a cruel and unfair thing.

A while ago I found Chris' 1976 release Slippin' Away. It was on Asylum records (which I always associated with prestige back in the day) and the cast of characters on the album was really impressive. The album though? I can't remember it ... at all. It was instantly forgettable, but pleasant as well. It was enough that when I found anything with Chris on it, I bought it. From his collaboration with J.D. Souther and Richie Furay, to an album with former Byrds McGuinn and Gene Clark. I would snap them up.

When I found a pristine, and I mean pristine copy of Desert Rose I bought it. It didn't hurt that it didn't cost much ... still a record is a record. Here in Canada it was on Stony Plain, the little record label from Edmonton, Alberta licensed the album from Sugar Hill. I suspect they figured it was a good bet.

Desert Rose is a country album. An honest to goodness hillbilly swinging good time. The songs are sweet, and the performances are top shelf. Al Perkins produced the album and played dobro on a couple of songs.

It's a strange thing though, this is good. It's also pretty dang generic, and the songs aren't straying from the predicable chord progressions and expected tropes. A solo here, a pedal steel here, a fiddle there. Part of the problem is actually Chris Hillman. The guy is an amazing singer, he's also blessed and cursed with an every-man's voice. There's nothing that really separates him from any other good singer. There's nothing distinctive that makes things sound like Chris Hillman. I could be wrong, but it's how it feels, and sounds to me.

Again, I have to say, while this was playing it was a truly enjoyable listen. Chris brought in some great players to guest on many of the tracks. Bernie Leadon appears on a few tracks, providing backing vocals, banjo, mandola and guitar. James Burton who is considered one of the finest guitar players ever, appeared a couple of tracks. They bring a lot to the songs, as do the other musicians. They do what they can with the source material. The best back handed way of describing the album is to say it is an full of good songs that are pleasing to listen to.

The trouble of course is the world is full of good musicians, and good songs. Being good is sort of the ante that gets an artist to the table. Releasing an album of good songs is still an accomplishment when so many artists struggled with filler, but I also know that even after spinning this a few times I likely won't be able to remember any of the songs in a day or two. I'll be left with the memory that this was a good album, but I won't be able to tell you why. I can also say with a degree of certainty that if I stumble upon any of his albums I'll also pick them up.

Life is a funny old thing.

Garfield - Strange Streets

I'd seen this before in the bin, but kept flipping through the stacks. I'd see it a few more times, each time stopping to look at it a little more. There was something kind of cool about the cover where the stylized Celtic knot had the dotted yellow line - it was a strange street for sure. I pulled the record out of the jacket and I was struck by the centre image. There was the familiar Mercury label, the same one I'd seen a thousand times on BTOs Head On album. Well, I'd bought things based on odd associations before - like when I had to buy anything that Solid Rock Records released (this was generally a good thing) who knows maybe this was a hidden gem. There weren't any real scratches or rash, just a lot of dirt and dust - it seemed to clean up okay, but we'll see how it goes. The album opens with the title track, and this wasn't straight ahead pop, or rock. It was leaning to the progressive, but with a pop bent. Oddly enough the vocals reminded me of Mi...

Hoodoo Gurus - Mars Needs Guitars!

The first time I got this album it was a gift from my old roommate Otto. For a goofy little nebbish he would occasionally surprise me with some left of field musical treasures. Although, I still think he was reaching a little when he brought home the new "Led Zeppelin" album by Kingdom Come and forced me to listen to "Get it On" over and over again. I'd not listened to Mars Needs Guitars in a long, long, long time. The first thing that I jumped out at me was how David Faulkner's vocals reminded me of his fellow countryman Peter Garrett from Midnight Oil. I think the reason this never occurred to me was at the time I didn't have any Midnight Oil until Diesel and Dust in 1987. I'm not saying it was all the time, but there were a couple of songs where it stood out. Not a bad thing, just a thing. Even at the time this felt slightly out of step with what was going on in 1985. It seemed like everyone was using drum machines and synthesizers and having t...

Saturday Night Fever - The Original Movie Soundtrack

It was going to happen sooner or later. Nostalgia is a cruel Mistress...she can dull the sharpest edges and over time can even soften the hardest of opinions. I found this in the dollar bin, and frankly at a dollar I was worried about what this would cost me. Not only from a monetary perspective, but my time, and more important my credibility. Fourteen year old me was screaming "Don't you dare. DON'T DO IT! Put it down. Walk away!" Then there was grey bearded me holding it and looking at it, thinking, "How bad could it be? I actually kind of like "Staying Alive" and me buying this record won't bring disco back, and no one will have to know I bought this." I pulled the album out of the bin, and carefully took out the records. They'd seen better days, and there were a couple of decent scratches that would no doubt make their presence known later. The jacket was in decent condition, and both of the albums had the original sleeves. I dusted the...

Old Enough to Forget

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