In the wake of such country-rock bands as Poco and the Flying Burrito Brothers, the New Riders of the Purple Sage unleashed their debut album in 1971, adding a touch of psychedelia to the mix courtesy of the band's association with the Grateful Dead. [Jerry Garcia adds pedal steel or banjo on all tracks, Mickey Hart plays drums on tracks 5 and 9, and one of the executive producers was Phil Lesh.]
While NRPS were part of the Grateful Dead family, this was no mere Garcia side-project. The core group consisted of John Dawson (guitar, vocals), David Nelson (lead guitar) and Dave Torbert (bass). In fact, Dawson wrote all ten songs on the original release. The songs kicks off with the jaunty "I Don't Know You." "Henry" is an uptempo song about dope smuggling. The album's first single was the rollicking "Louisiana Lady." And the train-robbing saga of "Glendale Train" is propelled by Garcia's pedal steel and banjo picking. The Dead influence is perhaps most noticeable on the overlong "Dirty Business." Clocking in at more than eight minutes, it would have benefited from the shorter time frame of the rest of the songs on the album.
The bonus tracks are taken from their set during the closing of the Fillmore West in July of 1971. The three songs include covers of Joe South's "Down in the Boondocks," a 7:37 take on The Band's "The Weight," and the Dawson original "Superman." Garcia provides pedal steel and background vocals on "The Weight." "Superman," while it dates back to 1968, would not appear on a NRPS album until their 1973 album GYPSY COWBOY.
The band probably had more in common with Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen than to the Flying Burrito Brothers, but on this debut album the New Riders put their own unique spin on country-rock and came up with the best overall album of their career. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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