Even if you’ve never heard of Chris Darrow, you’ve probably heard him. The guy has a resume a mile long, having lent his stringed instrument skills to recordings by Leonard Cohen, Linda Ronstadt, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, James Taylor and John Fahey, among many others. He was also a founding member of the obscure-but-excellent psych group Kaleidoscope, a collective that made two adventurous, West Coast-Meets-Middle-East LPs in the late 1960s. But by the time he recorded his solo debut, Artist Proof, in 1972, Chris had his feet firmly planted in the USA’s fertile musical soil, with songs that drew from classic country, cajun fiddle grooves, traditional string band music and much more, all given a freewheeling, cosmic Americana spin. Through 11 sparkling tracks, Darrow proves himself to be a master songwriter, switching easily from the breezy late-period Byrds vibe of “Beware of Time” to the gorgeous melancholy of “The Sky Is Not Blue Today.” Freshly reissued and expanded by Drag City, Artist Proof is yet another where-have-you-been-all-my-life records. A California country-rock classic. words/ t wilcox
MP3: Chris Darrow :: Beware of Time
MP3: Chris Darrow :: Lovers Sleep Abed Tonight
Heard this playing at my local record store last week (thanks Soundscapes) and picked it up. A solid little album, it is.
Have any of you A.Q. Drunks ever put ears up to this?:
http://slosingerredbury.com/order
Its a FINE LP. His second and third were on United Artists and have been released as a Two-fer within the last 2 years). He was actually a member of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in their straw boater boardwalk dandy jug band days. He also did a solo on Pacific Arts (Nesmith;s Label where Kaliedoscope did their final LP with Darrow). Check out ‘Alligator Man’ for roots cred at a time when many eschewed Heritage Acoustic sounds. Man could do some Hoagy Carmichael, also. WELL worth seeking out. FYI. I don’t do links well… the journey to discovery is all the fun anyway!
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