The Dilliards Copperfields Elektra 1970

The Dilliards Copperfields Elektra 1970 CAT# EKS-74054

Pretty clever LP by the Dillards and the last thing they released on Elektra. It follows the formula of the highly regarded LP, Wheatstraw Suite. Copperfields find the band effortlessly combining traditional bluegrass with pop and rock tendencies. The harmonies are great, the cover tunes are well selected for the most part (I could do without another version of "Yesterday", although pure vocal version is kind of cool) and the originals are solid.

Personally, I think bands like the Dillards get overlooked. The problem seems to be these guys were country first and then added rock influences. However, if you're the Byrds and take your folk-rock sound and add country, people lose their shit. People swear by Sweetheart of the Rodeo. And, they should, it's an excellent album, pretty sure it has a the Dillard brothers signing on it. Point is, there's a wealth of material out there that coincides with Sweetheart that's worth checking out, including this band and this album with their Kansas City connection and bluegrass roots.

Close the Door Lightly

Joe Walsh "But Seriously, Folks..." Elektra/Asylum Records 1978

Joe Walsh "But Seriously, Folks..." Elektra/Asylum Records 1978  CAT #6E-141

Yeah, so Joe Walsh was born in Wichita, KS.  That's cool, but I don't think he spent much time in Kansas before moving to Ohio as a child.  Further, at age 12 he'd move to New York.  Regardless, he's a native Kansan.  There is a good chance he has family here, maybe even frequented Kansas as a child for holidays and such.

I've had a rough go with Joe Walsh; not sure what music of his to include on this blog project and what not to include.  Ultimately, I decided solo albums are fair game.  I really wanted to do James Gang albums, because for the most part, the Joe Walsh edition of the band is great, but if I did that, I'd be opening myself up to the Eagles who Walsh also performed with.  I fucking hate the Eagles.  I had to draw the line at solo albums.  Second, that also would lead to talking about stuff just because there was one dude from Kansas or Kansas City and that's too much stuff, so it was best just to stick to solo albums and groups with legitimate roots to the area.

However, with that declaration, Joe Walsh still presented further problems.  Do you count the Barnstorm era Joe Walsh?  You see, after Walsh left James Gang, he went onto do Barnstorm.  That was the actual name of the group Joe Walsh formed and not his first solo album.  However, since Walsh had become an admired guitarist as a member of the James Gang and the labels love a good brand name, they bottled the first Barnstorm album as a Walsh solo project.  Due to the major label money grab, Barnstorm era is fair game as well.

Yeah, so this album is pretty boring.  My parents had it when I was growing up.  I found the cover interesting and humorous as a child.  I don't remember hearing it played in the household or anything, probably because Walsh was a bit Eagles-damaged at this point.  Several years in that band entrenched him in melodic soft rock tunes.  My parents always played party rock when they actually played records, so this one collected dust.  It is a better album than The Long Run by the Eagles which came out the following year.   Don Henly and Glenn Fry would've been better off just recording Joe Walsh tunes by 1979.  And since people fucking love the Eagles, loads of people seem to like this LP for it's a laid back and relaxed style.  It also contained the absurdly long, but big time AOR hit, "Life's Been Good," which admittedly, is pretty hard not to like.

Life's Been Good