Psychedelic Country Soul
Psychedelic Country Soul | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 15, 2019 | |||
Recorded | November 2017–January 2018 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | [1][2][3][4][5] | |||
Length | 49:50 | |||
Label | Omnivore / Cherry Red | |||
Producer | Ed Stasium | |||
The Long Ryders chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Psychedelic Country Soul | ||||
Psychedelic Country Soul is the fourth
The first single from the album, "Greenville" was released on January 8, 2019.[10] Two further singles, "Molly Somebody" and "Walls", were released in March and September 2019, respectively.
Background
The Long Ryders originally disbanded in 1987 but have periodically regrouped for brief reunions.[11] The only new material released by the band since 1987 was the 2017 single, "Bear in the Woods".[12] In 2017,[13][14] the Long Ryders were offered a week's free studio time by Larry Chatman at Dr. Dre's Los Angeles recording studio, Record One. Chatman, who in the 1980s was part of the Long Ryders' road crew, had since become Dr. Dre's personal assistant, helping to oversee the studio.[1] The band had hired Chatman as a roadie for several tours in the 1980s[8] and made him the bass player when Long Ryder bassist Tom Stevens left the band before their final tour in 1987. Guitarist Sid Griffin: "For the last thirty years he has been telling me that he had never forgotten how kind the Long Ryders were to him when he was down and out in L.A. ... Larry kept saying, "I am going to pay you back."[13]
Griffin and the band accepted Chatman's generous offer and secured the services of their last producer,
Psychedelic Country Soul features eleven new Long Ryders compositions, all written specifically for the album,[15] and a cover of Tom Petty's "Walls". "Every time I met him he was a great guy, very fond of the band," Griffin said, "so we thought we’d do a little song in his honour."[15] Guests on the album include Debbi and Vicki Peterson of the Bangles on backing vocals, Dave Pearlman (Dan Fogelberg, Phil Everly, Hoyt Axton[16]) on pedal steel guitar and Kerenza Peacock of the Coal Porters on violin.
Griffin has called Psychedelic Country Soul "the album we were always trying to make … each flavor which made the band unique is there be it C&W, rock 'n' roll, troubadour folk music, raw R&B, or out-there psychedelia."[17]
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 79/100[18] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
American Songwriter | [19] |
Elmore | 91/100[20] |
Exclaim! | 8/10[3] |
Express | [21] |
Maverick | [4] |
Mojo | [22] |
PopMatters | 7/10[5] |
Shindig! | [23] |
Soundblab | 9/10[24] |
The Spill Magazine | 8/10[2] |
Uncut | 7/10[25] |
The Vinyl District | B+[26] |
Psychedelic Country Soul received positive reviews from music critics.[8][27] AllMusic felt that the album is "every bit as satisfying" as their earlier albums Native Sons and Two-Fisted Tales, and "within throwing distance" of their best album, State of Our Union.[1] Country music magazine Maverick called it "a masterful return from one of the great names in country rock,"[4] and PopMatters similarly called it a "triumphant return" and felt that the album is "as good as anything the Long Ryders released back when they were helping to invent what we now call Americana."[5]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Greenville" | Stephen McCarthy | 4:26 |
2. | "Let It Fly" | Steve Barton | 3:39 |
4. | "All Aboard" | Griffin, Stevens | 3:43 |
5. | "Gonna Make It Real" | McCarthy | 3:26 |
6. | "If You Want to See Me Cry" | Griffin | 3:08 |
7. | "What the Eagle Sees" | Griffin, Stevens | 3:19 |
8. | "California State Line" | McCarthy | 4:31 |
9. | "The Sound" | Griffin, Greg Sowders, Ed Stasium | 3:58 |
10. | "Walls" | Tom Petty | 4:39 |
11. | "Bells of August" | Stevens | 5:04 |
12. | "Psychedelic Country Soul" | Griffin, McCarthy | 6:08 |
Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes.[29]
- The Long Ryders
- Sid Griffin – vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica
- Stephen McCarthy – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, Mellotron, bass (4, 11)
- Tom Stevens – vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead guitar (4, 7, 11)
- Greg Sowders – drums, percussion
- Additional musicians
- Ed Stasium – vocals, organ, synth horns, tambura, melodica
- Debbi Peterson – vocals (2, 10)
- Vicki Peterson – vocals (2, 10)
- Kerenza Peacock – violin (2, 6, 8)
- Dave Pearlman – pedal steel guitar (8)
- Miss Julia Wild – vocals (10)
- Charles Arthur – organ (10)
- Hoppy Nipkins – piano (12)
- Technical
- Ed Stasium – producer, engineer, mixing
- Lola Romero – assistant engineer
- Adrian Olsen – overdub engineer
- Alexandra Spalding – assistant overdub engineer
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Greg Allen – art direction, design
- Henry Diltz – photography
Charts
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Americana Albums (OCC)[30] | 2 |
UK Country Albums (OCC)[31] | 4 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[32] | 10 |
References
- ^ a b c d Deming, Mark. "Psychedelic Country Soul – The Long Ryders". AllMusic. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ a b King Dawit of Aksum (2019). "Spill Album Review". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c Teplyske, Donald (February 12, 2019). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c Dalton, Nick (April 4, 2019). "Album Reviews: The Long Ryders – 'Psychedelic Country Soul'". Maverick. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c Whitelock, Ed (February 13, 2019). "'Psychedelic Country Soul' Is a Triumphant Return for Americana Pioneers, the Long Ryders". PopMatters. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ "Molly Somebody – Single by The Long Ryders on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ "Walls – Single by The Long Ryders on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c Psychedelic Country Soul - The official Long Ryders website. thelongryders.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020
- Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Graff, Gary (January 8, 2019). "The Long Ryders Return With Help From Dr. Dre: Listen to New Song 'Greenville'". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Deming, Mark. "The Long Ryders – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "The Long Ryders 'Bear in the Woods'". sidgriffin.com. April 18, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c Clarkson, John (April 24, 2019). "The Long Ryders interview". Penny Black Music. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- Louder Than War. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ a b Duda, Marty (February 22, 2019). "Interview: The Long Ryders – Back In The Saddle Again". The 13th Floor. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Meet Dave Pearlman of Pearlman Microphones in Canyon Country". Voyage LA Magazine. 13 February 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ The first new studio album from the founders of Alt-Country since 1987. omnivorerecordings.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020
- ^ "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Horowitz, Hal (February 13, 2019). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ Lindblad, Peter (February 13, 2019). "Elmore Magazine - Album Reviews". Elmore Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Express Review". Express. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Mojo Review on the Long Ryders website". Mojo. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Graham, Ben (2019). "Returning Legends". Shindig!. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Zivkovic, Ljubinko (February 11, 2019). "Soundblab Review". Soundblab. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ McKay, Alastair (2019). "Studio return for classic lineup after 31 years". Uncut. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "The Vinyl District Review". The Vinyl District. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ "Psychedelic Country Soul reviews on the official Sid Griffin website". sidgriffin.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- Louder Than War. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Psychedelic Country Soul on Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2019.