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ALL THINGS MUST PASS
1970
1970
Your All-Genres Guide To
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
Classic Albums, 45-Singles, Compilations
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"...Stone Fox Chase..."
In their short but lively
2-album career - the Nashville sessionmen supergroup AREA CODE 615 briefly
dented the US LP charts with their debut album "Area Code 615" in
October 1969 – a four week stay that peaked at a lowly No. 191. But their
second record "Trip In The Country" from August 1970 tanked entirely.
And on re-hearing its rather odd mishmash of styles in 2017 - its lack of
success then is not entirely unsurprising now especially from a cold-as-day reappraisal distance of
47 years.
Most of us in the U of the K
only really know this obscure American band through one song - their stunning
"Stone Fox Chase" Swamp Rock instrumental that became the very cool
theme music to BBC 2's "The Old Grey Whistle Test". First aired in
September 1971 and running right through to 1988 with various presenters (Bob
Harris, Anne Nightingale, Mark Ellen, Andy Kershaw, David Hepworth) – every kid
out there of my ancient stature (over 50) will know that that British music
program (primarily formed around Rock and its diverse genre buddies) probably
informed more of our album buying choices than cool DJs like John Peel, Alan
Freeman, Kid Jensen and even Thursday’s 'Top of the Pops' chart-program
combined. The "Whistle Test" was huge – and every week – there was
Area Code 615 – luring us impressionable young types into the soul-sucking
depravity of Rock 'n' Roll with some animated guy kicking stars in the galactic
nadge (graphics for the opening credits) to the sound of "Stone Fox
Chase".
The British release of their
second LP "Trip To The Country" didn't arrive in Blighty until April
1971 - so like "Top Of The Pops" using the equally cool cover version
of Led Zeppelin’s "Whole Lotta Love" by Alex Korner's C.C.S. for
their theme in 1970 - Whispering Bob Harris and his crew (the first presenter)
spotted a goody and promptly hooked a nation. In fact I can remember around
1973 or 1974 when Bob was inundated with requests as to know who did the theme
music - and before beginning the program had to explain what it was and who had
recorded it.
Which brings us to this
curious little CD reissue and remaster that has good and bad points. Here are
the foxy details...
European released 1 December
2014 (reissued 6 January 2015 and 29 February 2016) - "Trip In The
Country" by AREA CODE 615 on Prog Temple PTCD8036 (Barcode 4753314803619)
is a straightforward CD transfer and remaster of the original 11-track 1970 LP
and plays out as follows (33:20 minutes):
1. Scotland [Side 1]
2. Always The Same
3. Stone Fox Chase
4. Russian Red
5. Judy
6. Gray Suit Men
7. Katy Hill [Side 2]
8. Sligo
9. Sausalito
10. Welephant Walk
11. Devil Weed And Me
Tracks 1 to 11 are their
second and last studio album "Trip To The Country" - released August
1970 in the USA on Polydor 24-4025 and April 1971 in the UK on Polydor 2425
023. Produced by AREA CODE 615 - it didn't chart in either country. Note: the back inlay lists only 10 songs when there are
in fact 11 - "Gray Suit Men" (the last track on Side 1) is the song
mistakenly not listed.
AREA CODE 615 was:
WAYNE MOSS - Guitar
CHARLIE McCOY - Guitar,
Harmonica and Recorder
MAC GAYDEN - Guitar (Lead
Vocals on "Gray Suit Men", slight vocals on "Katy Hill")
WELDON MYRICK - Steel Guitar
BUDDY SPICHER - Fiddle,
Cello and Viola
BOBBY THOMPSON - Banjo
DAVID BRIGGS - Keyboards
NORBERT PUTNAM - Bass and
Cello
KENNETH BUTTREY - Drums and
Percussion
It doesn’t say who did the
liner notes in the gatefold slip of paper that acts as an insert – that’s not
to say they aren’t informative – they are. There’s a picture CD (front cover
art) and the rear sleeve of the album is reproduced beneath the see-through CD
tray. Although it says 'digitally remastered' on the rear inlay packaging – it
doesn’t say from where or what or by whom. Having said that the audio is
amazing. This is the second Prog Temple CD reissue I’ve bought. They’ve also
done Scullion's “Balance And Control” - an album released October 1980 on WEA
Ireland and Produced by the mighty and sadly-missed John Martyn. Scullion
featured Sonny Condell of the Irish Folk duo TIR na n'OG who'd had three
well-revered albums on Britain's Chrysalis Records in the early Seventies. The
sound on that 2016 Prog Temple CD is also superlative (will review soon) - so
I've absolutely no complaints here despite PT's slightly haphazard annotation.
Apart from "Gray Suit
Men" which features a mad vocal from Mac Gayden and one line sung in
"Katy Hill" - the album is entirely instrumental. And while most are
Country-Funky Swamp Rock-ish like say the Harmonica driven "Stone Fox
Chase" or the banjo-led "Russian Red" - you also get slightly
unnerving Easy Listening pieces like "Judy" that sounds like it
should be on a K-Tel LP for evening romance moods. And therein lies the problem
with AREA CODE 615 - identity. If this is an acid-trip in the country as the
title suggests - you'll be hard-pressed to find it amidst these swamp-meets-cinema
set of songs.
"Trip In The
Country" opens up with the decidedly funky "Scotland" where
Harmonicas, Fiddles and Guitars engage in a mighty hoedown that feels both fun
and cheesy at one and the same time. "Always The Same" then suddenly
comes on like some smooth Soundtrack interlude where pedal steel guitar
introduces Steve McQueen to another hacienda town that needs a hired gun. It's
confusing to say the least and musically not that great. Things of course
change with 'that' song - the wonderful "Stone Fox Chase" - sounding
utterly brill here and I'm loving that strange middle-eight that slows down -
the bit they edited out on the credits of TOGWT - the final passage in the song
you never get to hear. A mad fiddle solo introduces "Gray Suit Men"
followed by heavy-guitar and a 'count their money' set of lyrics from a clearly
exasperated Mac Gayden.
Side 2 opens with pure Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band Country - the banjo of "Katy Hill" where Gayden lets
rip with one lyric. Far better is "Sligo" which doesn't at all sound
like a county in the West of Ireland but a bayou swamp dance with Harmonica,
fantastic fuzzed guitars and a deeply funky bass line. At 2:25 minutes - the
unlikely sounding "Sligo" is one of the only other songs on the album
to compare with "Stone Fox Chase" - wishing the whole record sounded
like this. After the high of "Sligo" - we get the schlock of
"Sausalito" - an instrumental once again laden with strings and
Harmonica - like some interlude as Robert Redford wades through snow in Jeremiah
Johnson admiring the pine trees. "Welephant Walk" picks up the pace
and offers another moment of hoe-down fun while "Devil Weed And Me"
is the only other song that comes close to the guitar-wig out of
"Sligo" - another instrumental mixing nice moments with rocking ones.
In 1974 - Polydor UK lumped
their two albums together "Area Code 615/Trip In The Country" as one
twofer double-album on Polydor 2683 040. Wayne Moss, Mac Gayden and Kenny
Buttrey would split in 1971 to form the Southern Rock outfit BAREFOOT JERRY -
another fondly remembered band that issued a wad of albums that never charted.
After one LP with them - Gayden would again jump ship and form SKYBOAT. The
others would session on large amounts of albums for artists as diverse as Steve
Miller, Johnny Cash, The Beau Brummels, Neil Young, Simon & Garfunkel,
Nancy Sinatra and even Elvis Presley. Both Gayden and Buttrey are also
remembered for having penned the massive hit "Everlasting Love" - a
Soul dancer for Robert Knight in the States and a British No. 1 in 1968 for the
pop act Love Affair. West Virginia's Charlie McCoy would of course have his own
band and Country hits.
"Trip In The
Country" is anything but a masterpiece - a three-star album given
five-star sound. Yet there are moments of genius too that I just had to own and
I suspect others will feel the same.
Fans should dig in especially given the fab audio - but I’d suggest that the Country-Funk curious nab an iTunes listen first...
Fans should dig in especially given the fab audio - but I’d suggest that the Country-Funk curious nab an iTunes listen first...
