Various - Wayfaring Strangers: Cosmic American Music

  by Nicky Crewe

published: 10 / 4 / 2016

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Review

Chicago based archival record label Numero Group have put together a collection of nineteen tracks for their fifth compilation. Since starting their 'Wayfaring Strangers' series in 2003 they have been nominated for three Grammys. Gram Parsons has been described as the father of country rock but he preferred to describe the kind of music he played as ‘Cosmic American Music’. Sleeve notes describe these tracks as ‘fascinating twangy obscurities’, recorded between 1968 and 1980. They are definitely fascinating, and they deserve so much more than obscurity. If you like Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Byrds, Nick Lowe, Brinsley Schwarz, Pure Prairie League, Buffy Saint Marie, Emmylou Harris and all, then you will love this collection. It’s like one of those great cassette tapes of olden days passed on by a friend, where there was never enough room to write the full track listing. You’d listen to it on journeys and never be quite sure who was playing which song, but loving them all. Talking of olden days, there’s also a real sense of how talented writers and artists didn’t get the success or recognition they deserved, because if the star maker machinery didn’t get behind a recording artist, then they were doomed to disappointment. All those hopes and expectations, cowboy dreams and broken hearts are here in the songs. In the days before the internet, it was hard to track down music. Back in the summer of 1972 I headed for a venue in an old cinema in Gorton called Stoneground to see a group over from America called McKendree Spring. There were about half a dozen of us in the audience. I went because a Pure Prairie League lyric mentioned them in passing. Something like "Sitting by a lazy river, listening to McKendree Spring’. Maybe I misheard it. Perhaps I imagined it. Discovering bands you liked was that random. I wondered if they would appear on this compilation, but they don’t. However I did discover they are still touring. These songs are full of lovely harmonies, distinctive vocals, pedal steel guitars and cosmic sounds. They represent the hopes and dreams of all those involved. Apparently some were scammed by sham record deals. Others gave up when the career path didn’t follow the record release. One of the artists, F J McMahon, sums it up in a quote on the sleeve notes, "My concept of record albums and musicians was, you came out with an album and went on TV and you had some money and you lived off it and made another album. I had no concept of you make an album and it goes nowhere, which it did. It was a harpoon to the heart for a long time." That harpoon went right to the heart of Kenny Knight, who chucked his master tapes in a skip. Others like Jimmy Carter and Dallas County Green, and the Black Canyon Gang played for the love it, working as farm and ranch hands for their day jobs. Some found success. Thomas Jefferson Kaye, frontman of White Cloud, was a successful songwriter and recording artist with Gene Clark and Dr John. Arrogance’s co-founder Don Dixon later co-produced REM. Pure Prairie League’s John Davis Call appears on Sandy Harless’ track. Clarence White appears on Mistress Mary’s. For all these who achieved recognition, there’s someone like Kathy Heideman who has disappeared without trace. There isn’t a track I want to skip on this. There are some real new favourites. Songs that sound familiar but fresh, songs upbeat and soulful, songs mournful and traditional. I have grown particularly fond of Angel Oak’s 'I Saw Her Cry', Jeff Cowell’s 'Not Down This Low' and White Cloud’s 'All Cried Out'. This is a real treat for anyone who loves this kind of music. These artists deserve to be heard and appreciated. Every song tells a story, not just in the lyrics but also in the back story of the artists involved. Give them a listen.

Track Listing:-

1 Travelin'
2 And I Didn't Want You
3 You Can't Make It Alone
4 Lily of the Valley
5 I Saw Her Cry
6 Sleep a Million Years
7 Me Lovin' You
8 To See Her Smile
9 Not Down This Low
10 Baby's Back
11 Lonesome City
12 Mountain Roads
13 Lonely Entertainer
14 Buffalo Skinners
15 All Cried Ou
16 Gentle One
17 I Knew Her Well
18 The Spirit of the Golden Juice
19 Alabama Railroad Town

Label Links:-

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