More A Promise Than A Success -- But All Delivered
Eventually
More a Legend Than a Band
The Flatlanders
[Butch
Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely]
|
The album title says it all; like Coors beer before
it became available nationally and was revealed as just another mediocre
American beer, this album's rarity enhanced its reputation. Unlike Coors,
which still produces the same bland product, the individual members of this
band have gone on, individually and in various combinations, to expand the
boundaries of country-rock, country, folk and folk-rock in various quirky
and beautiful directions.
If this album came out cold today, no-one ever having heard of Mssrs. Hancock,
Gilmore or Ely, it wouldn't receive the kind of kudos it's getting.
That said, it's a decent album, and worth having just to hear extremely early
versions of Jimmie Dale's "Dallas" and his lovely, Zen-like ballad, "Tonight
I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown", and of Butch's "One Road More".
And, certainly, if you like this one, you need Butch and Jimmie Dale's "Two
Roads", a live album from an Australian tour, and Butch's "Own & Own",
and, of course, the new Flatlanders album |
|
