ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE: GETTING IT TOGETHER IN THE COUNTRY, 1968-1974 (3-cd box, Grapefruit UK)

DISC ONE

TEATIME ON THE TRAIL

1. WARMING UP THE BAND – Heads Hands & Feet
2. CAJUN WOMAN – Fairport Convention
3. HOME IS WHERE I WANT TO BE – Mott The Hoople
4. DEVIL’S WHISPER – Mighty Baby
5. DESERT ISLAND WOMAN – Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers
6. WILLOWING TREES – Shape Of The Rain
7. ABBOT OF THE VALE – Tony Hazzard
8. LOUISIANA MAN – The Hollies
9. FADING – Mason
10. SLEEP SONG – Unicorn
11. BOY, YOU’VE GOT THE SUN IN YOUR EYES – Open Road
12. COUSIN NORMAN – The Marmalade
13. CLIFFTOP – Richmond
14. LADY CAME FRO THE SOUTH – Starry Eyed And Laughing
15. OIL FUMES AND SEA AIR – Stray
16. RED MAN – Rare Bird
17. THE PIE – The Sutherland Brothers Band
18. TOUCH HER IF YOU CAN – Matthews Southern Comfort
19. EMPTY STREET, EMPTY HEART – Quicksand
20. OOH LA LA – Faces

DISC TWO

BEFORE THE GOLDRUSH

1. COUNTRY GIRL – Brinsley Schwarz
2. WHEN I’M DEAD AND GONE – McGuinness Flint
3. FORTY THOUSAND HEADMEN – Traffic
4. NEW DAY AVENUE – Bronco
5. TRY AGAIN – Tranquility
6. VELVET MOUNTAIN – Cochise
7. A SOUVENIR OF LONDON – Procol Harum
8. CINNAMON GIRL – The Deep Set
9. DAY THE WORLD RAN AWAY – Stephen Jameson
10. I’LL JUST TAKE MY TIME – Byzantium
11. IT’S A WAY TO PASS THE TIME – High Broom
12. GOING TO THE COUNTRY – Holy Mackerel
13. LIQUOR MAN – Montage*
14. JESUS IS JUST ALRIGHT – Shelagh McDonald
15. WE BOTH NEED TO KNOW – Granny’s Intentions
16. BYE AND BYE – Heron
17. COUNTRY DAN AND CITY LIL – Timebox
18. AND A BUTTON – The Searchers
19. TAKE ME TO THE PILOT – The Orange Bicycle
20. THE JAILER – Natural Gas*
21. SO NICE – Curtiss Maldoon
22. MILLION TIMES BEFORE – Jawbone

DISC THREE

URBAN COWBOYS

1. OPEN THE DOOR – Carolanne Pegg
2. COUNTRY COMFORT – Rod Stewart
3. HOME FOR FROZEN ROSES – Northwind
4. NICE – Bridget St. John
5. COUNTRY ROAD – The Pretty Things
6. HOME GROWN – Andy Roberts
7. SHERIFF MYRAS LINCOLN – Edwards Hand
8. CIRCLE ROUND THE SUN – Marian Segal
9. PRETTY HAIRED GIRL – The Parlour Band
10. HELLO BUDDY – The Tremeloes
11. TALLAWAYA – Greasy Bear
12. MY NAME IS JESUS SMITH – Man
13. METROPOLIS – Keith Christmas
14. COUNTRY HEIR (single edit) – Deep Feeling
15. JOHNSON BOY – Prelude
16. COTTAGE MADE FOR TWO – Paul Brett’s Sage
17. SEE HOW THEY RUN – Dave Cousins & Dave Lambert
18. CLEAR BLUE SKY – Mother Nature
19. DANCING FLOWER – Idle Race
20. WHEEL OF FORTUNE – The Illusions*
21. MY LITTLE ONE – Gordon, Ellis & Steel*
22. I’LL FLY AWAY (demo version) – Plainsong

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V.A.—Across The Great Divide: Getting It Together In The Country, 1968-74 (Grapefruit UK), 3-cd box

     This unexpected compilation looks at UK bands who, somewhat under the influence of The Band, the Clarence White-era Byrds, and John Wesley Harding-era Dylan, decided to go “back to the country,” both literally (the liner notes date this “movement” from Traffic’s 1967 relocation to rural Berkshire) and musically. Since North American country and roots music is largely derived from English/Scottish/Irish roots anyway, these artists wound up re-investigating their own roots. As the UK music scene moved into 1968-69, this rural rock movement provided an alternative for those who didn’t feel like moving into hard rock or prog or heavy blues. While some bands moved totally into the field, many others dipped their toe into it or featured a track or two on an album or B-side, so we’ve got unexpected songs from well-known artists such as Rod Stewart, The Pretty Things, The Tremeloes, The Searchers,  Mott The Hoople, Fairport Convention, and Procol Harum mixed among the more obscure names.

     For many listeners, the real value of this collection will be revisiting (or discovering) lesser-known bands such as Head, Hands & Feet, Quicksand, Stray, Starry Eyed and Laughing, Richmond, Bronco, The Deep Set, and Curtiss Muldoon. This compilation offers UK “rural rock” as a genre unto itself, running alongside prog, hard rock, glam, singer-songwriter and other styles of that period, and there is a lot of diversity within this movement, whose members probably all thought of themselves as free spirits doing their own thing outside of then-current fads or styles.

    Compiler-annotator David Wells is to be commended for tying together so many disparate strands from the UK music scene from 68-74 and finding a “rural” thread that unites them. The deep archival dig involved here is also quite impressive—there are 13 tracks not originally issued (and collectors are probably not on the lookout for an unreleased version of “Jesus Is Just Alright” from 1970 by Scottish singer-songwriter Shelagh McDonald the way they would be for some 1966 Freakbeat acetate) and Wells’ exhaustive liner notes provide a full context and background for each artist/track and offer many unexpected connections. A few tracks drift a bit too far into Crosby, Stills & Nash territory, but are mixed nicely into the overall fabric so that they don’t call much attention to themselves. A highly recommended set!

BILL SHUTE, originally published in Ugly Things magazine in 2020

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