When I lived in Cape Breton I was in love with Tom Rush’s Wrong End Of The Rainbow. The gentle country-rock music & the sweetly poetic lyrics captivated me. He fell between James Taylor & Jackson Browne. In face he did cover versions of songs by both of them. I picked up a cd that combined his first Self-Titled (1970) lp with Wrong End. The first is more folk rock & all cover versions: Jackson Browne’s These Days. Wrong End has originals like the title song, covers like James Taylor’s Riding on a Railroad. He’s still alive & performing – his last release was in 2018.
Next to Rush on the shelf is an lps to cd transfer of The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978); and Bubblerock Is Here To Stay (1972). The Rutles: is the soundtrack to Eric Idle’s pitch-perfect parody of the Beatles. Much like Spinal Tap, it captures changing musical styles of the 60’s & the absurdities of the rock industry. The songs are excellent & quickly transcend mere parody. Bubblerock is a Jonathan King satire of pop music forms – Mr. Tamborine with a background of more tambourines than an octopus could shake; a mash up of led Zeppelin & The Supremes. Worth searching out.
Next on the shelf is an mp3 cd collection including Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels: Breakout! (1966), Greatest Hits (1981), Get Out The Vote (1997). Mitch was a hit maker through the last half od the 60s with his masculine rock that owes much to Wilson Pickett etc. Here too is the cult favourite: Chocolate Watchband: 65-67 psychedelic and garage rock components compared to the Rolling Stones. A time when bands had ‘trippy names’ Vanilla Fudge, Strawberry Alarm Clock. They are better than their names suggests.
Also Eric Anderson’s debut lp Today Is The Highway (1965) folk originals except for Joe Williams’ ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go.’ A pretty boy with pretty voice who never made it big but stuck around – changing labels & moved into a more country rock & eventually blues sound. I have other lps of his in other compilations. Finally Sir Douglas Quintet: Mendocino (1969). A Texas/California good time swamp rock band that had a few hits, none of which really charted in Canada. Classic rock like Mitch Ryder.
TOpoet 