American Country Rock bestrode the world during the mid-1970s – but it had a long gestation.  Before The Gold Rush charts the genesis and development of country rock, from its beginnings in the 1960s to its first blossoming.

WHAT WAS HAPPENING?

It snuck up on us, nice ‘n’ easy, but it took quite a while for the penny to drop.  It was during the latter half of the 1960s that California’s long-haired hippy musicians decided to shed the plumage of psychedelia and seek out something earthier.  To re-establish contact with their American roots.  And, to some of those musicians, that was a process that involved latching onto the musical traditions of Nashville and playing out their dormant cowboy fantasies.  It was a transformation that, as it turned out, was entirely compatible with the hippy ideal.

The incorporation of country influences into rock began earlier than most of us have realized.  Indeed, it was, probably, the former teen-idol Ricky Nelson who set the ball rolling when he recorded his 1966 Bright Lights And Country Music and its 1967 follow-up, Country Fever.  The rock establishment wasn’t slow to follow.  Bob Dylan recorded his epic 1966 Blonde On Blonde album in Nashville and subsequent releases such as John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline continued the country stroll.

But it was probably The Byrds that first pushed the country rock envelope to its outer limit when, in 1968, they released the milestone Sweetheart Of The Rodeo album.  It’s fair to say that, at first, the punters were confused.  Why were The Byrds (and Dylan) pushing out redneck music and fawning to the squares at The Grand Ole Opry?  What was happening?

IT MAKES YOU WANT TO MOVE…

Slowly, the world caught up.  In August 1968, The New York Times published an article by pioneer music critic Richard Goldstein that, effectively, coined the term ‘Country Rock.’  It’s worth taking a little time out to revisit what Goldstein had to say:

“The Byrds have backed away from the psychedelic barrage and are preparing a country album.  Fortunately, we needn’t wait for The Byrds to understand what the country rock synthesis is all about.  Already, the movement has its first major album: Music From Big Pink, by The Band.  You can tell right away that this is country music by its twang and its tenacity.  But you know that it’s rock, because it makes you want to move.”

Got it!

PIONEERS AND CROSS-POLLINATORS

The growth in the popularity of country rock may have been slow, but it was unremitting.  And, by the time the calendar had flipped to the mid-1970s, it was, arguably, the most popular music genre of the western hemisphere.  That’s when acts like Linda Ronstadt, her former backing band The Eagles, Poco, The Doobies, CSN&Y, Little Feat and the rest bestrode the world’s arenas like so many colossi.

With Before the Gold Rush, Cherry Red Records/ Grapefruit chronicle the early days of the country rock phenomenon, starting with the pioneering recordings of the likes of Rick Nelson, The Everley Brothers and Jerry Lee Lewis.  Along the way, the collection oversees the launch of Americana via acts like The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Poco and considers the influence of ‘cross-pollinators’ such as Little Feat, Crazy Horse and The Allman Brothers.

Cherry Red never skimp – we’re well aware of that.  And Before the Gold Rush is a typically comprehensive collection.  The 76 tracks are spread across three discs and the set features over four hours of music from just about every act you could possibly associate with country rock.  Buffalo Springfield, The Lovin’ Spoonful, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Dillards, Michael Nesmith, Gene Clark and, of course, The Byrds.  They’re all here.  As are many less well-known but equally influential names.

IT STARTED WITH A TEEN-IDOL…

The collection is compiled in chronological order and Rick Nelson’s early experiments get due recognition by launching Disc One of the set.  His cover of Glen D Hardy’s Things You Gave Me  was a summer 1966 single and was a clear statement of where the former teen idol’s ambitions lay.

Gram Parsons usually takes the credit (or the blame) for leading The Byrds in a country direction but, in reality, they were toying with such ideas long before Gram arrived on the scene.  The album’s extensive sleevenotes make reference, for example, to Chris Hillman’s Time Between, a track from the band’s 1966 Younger Than Yesterday album to prove that country influences were already on their agenda.  And Gene Clark’s country leanings are equally evident on Needing Someone, a track from the 1967 Gene Clark With The Godsin Brothers album – included here.

The harmonica-driven Louisiana Rain by (Gib) Guilbeau and (Gene) Parsons is a gem, as is the psychedelia-infused Life Stands Daring Me from Stone Country.  Elsewhere, the poppy Some of Shelley’s Blues by The Stone Poneys provides a taste of what Linda Ronstadt was up to in 1968.  Erstwhile British Invasion copyists The Beau Brummels were amongst the growing number of artists taking a crack at rediscovering their roots.  Sadly, their new direction didn’t work out for them but Cherokee Girl, a track from their Bradley’s Barn album, is a fine song nonetheless.

COVERS: HEARTFELT, PUNCHY AND DRAMATIC

The Everley Brothers’ heartfelt interpretation of Neil Young’s Mr Soul is a must-hear, as are Polly Nile’s dramatic take on For What It’s Worth and Taj Mahal’s punchy version of Six Days on the Road.  The Burritos are represented by Hot Burrito #1, a standout track from their landmark 1969 album the Gilded Palace Of Sin and Linda Ronstadt’s progress to superstardom is further charted the magnificent The Only Mama That’ll Walk the Line, from her first official solo album.

The growing willingness of the longhairs to work alongside established country musicians is illustrated by Dillard & Clark’s No Longer a Sweetheart of Mine, the track that kicks off Disc Two of the set.  The track is a showcase for the pedal steel wizardry of the iconic Sneaky Pete Kleinow and, speaking of special guests, Nicky Hopkins illuminates Quicksilver Messenger Sevice’s Words Can’t Say (a 1969 ‘B’ side) with some gloriously weepy piano.

Lovers of easy-going country will be charmed by Boston band Eagles’ upbeat Brown Hair and fans of down-home country will surely relish Charles’ Tune, a song from Kentuckian Charles Gearheart’s Goose Creek Symphony collective.  Meanwhile, Midnight Rider was a 1970 Allman Brothers Band single.  It flopped at the time, but was resurrected by Joe Cocker, who covered the song on his eponymous 1970 third album.  It’s the Allmans’ version that’s featured here.

ALL THIS – AND RY COODER TOO!

Michael Nesmith tried to steer The Monkees in a country direction right from Day One.  That’s a contention that’s proven by the inclusion of Papa Gene’s Blues – a track from the Prefab Four’s 1966 debut album on Disc One of this set.  By 1970, Nesmith was right into his stride as a bona-fide country artist, as frontman to his First National Band.  The Latin-tinged Silver Moon is a fine example of the furrow he had chosen to plough.

A collection of this nature would surely be incomplete without a contribution from the peerless Ry Cooder.  He’s represented here by My Old Kentucky Home – a slice of typically sleazy Cooder funk from the great man’s 1970 debut album.

By 1971, country rock was just about fully grown.  Country-influenced performers such as Neil Young, Crosby, Stills and Nash and James Taylor were fully fledged superstars.  The world was ready to mellow out and that mood is reflected throughout Disc Three of this compilation.  It’s here that many of the thoroughly familiar songs in the set will be found.  Gene Clark’s magnificent The Virgin – a track from Gene’s criminally-overlooked 1971 White Light album, for example.  John Prine’s Angel From Montgomery is here, too, alongside New Riders of the Purple Sage’s majestic Last Lonely Eagle, JD Souther’s How Long and Little Feat’s classic Willin’.

THE BYRDS WRAP OIT UP…

Appropriately, it’s The Byrds that wrap up Before The Gold rush.  They were in at the ground floor of the country rock movement and it is, perhaps, The Byrds that symbolize the genre most potently.  In 1972, the original band lineup of McGuinn, Hillman, Crosby, Gene Clark and Michael Clarke reconvened for a final hoorah.  The reunion didn’t, perhaps, go as well as planned – but that’s another story.  They did record a reunion album though, and the ‘Byrdsified’ cover of Neil Young’s Cowgirl in the Sand that closes this collection is a fine testament to one of the 20^th century’s most influential bands.

Before The Gold Rush is an excellent compilation.  Heartily recommended.

Listen to John Prine’s Angel From Mongomery – one of many classic Country Rock tracks included on Before the Gold Rush – below:

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