Is the County still alive? - Yes it is...

16 Horsepower

Hipster Magnum, this is for you:

Conway Twitty

My good friend JAW sent me this one. Hell yeah, this is good.

RIP George Jones - September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013

"You changed a beggar into a king"

Best Cover: Nico

Nico, fine version:

These days (...again)

"Don't confront me with my failures, I have not forgotten them" - Jackson Browne - 16 year old singer-songwriter.

George Jones - Heartaches and hangovers

...and here's something for the folks that don't like to burn another honky tonk town down...the purity of regret; here's George Jones ;-)

Blaze Foley - the Duct Tape Messiah

Who was Blaze Foley ? In 2011 Kevin Triplett finished his 12 year old project, the documentary of Blaze Foley, and it was finally released. Austin singer/songwriter Foley from Austin was shot and killed by the son of an elderly man he tried to defend.... Before that....


Support and order the movie from Kevin at http://www.blazefoleymovie.com/





..and Merle Haggard took "If I could only fly", one of his songs, to his heart...

Beachwood Sparks - new cosmic country-rock

Ever since the first Beachwood Sparks album back in early 2000s I really liked their new-old-modern-cosmic-indie-country-rock (what the hell!).

Now they've finally returned with a brand new album, "The Tarnished Gold", and I must say that it really blows my mind. The californesque feel is intense, the steel guitars are floating great, and it has a real dreamy, calm atmosphere to it. I really spot alot of the Byrds' "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" here. So if you like re-invented 60/70s california pop and country rock, don't be a fool - check them out!

From New L.A. Folk Festival 2012

Woody Guthrie documentary

Hi folks, here's an interesting documentary about the very important Mr. Woody Guthrie - movie from 1988, when people from his age still was alive (Woody was born in 1912). Nice!

Townes Van Zandt

The Monkees - NOT

He was a Monkee, but he knew that country music was good, great and fantastic. Thank you Mike: 

Again John Phillips

Merle Haggard

Johnny's Christmas

Happy new year - the County is back with the Byrds

(and of course, Dylan). Live from Untitled.

Gib Guilbeau - a country-rock legend

I encourage you to see this 13 minute cronologic review of Gib Guilbeau's career. It's alot more interesting than I first thought and knew. From early blugrass-rock, to co-operation with Gene Parsons (file under: Bakersfield Country Rock) and other (later) Byrds members like Clarence White, John York and Skip Battin, Nashville West (early: The Reasons) to Linda Ronstadt's backup-band Swampwater to Flying Burrito Brothers and so on. Many great clips and cuts included in this one - mandatory!


Nashville West


Another Nashville West

Swampwater

Linda Ronstadt & Swampwater

Ryan Adams - country revisited

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals "A Kiss Before I Go", from my favorite Ryan Adams album "Jacskonville City Nights" where they bring a lot of great country influences into the songs.

Tom T. Hall / Leo Kottke

In the last post there was a fine tune being played live by the Flying Norwegians. This song was originally written by Tom T. Hall, so here's the original (imagine if Lee Hazlewood sang it). "Pamela Brown", 1972.


Another one by Tom T.

...and a bottleneck version of "Pamela Brown" by acoustic guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke.

Flying Norwegians - Norwegian country-rock from the 70s

The first real country-rock band from Norway was formed January 1974 in Bergen. They ended their carrier in the early 80s as a new wave band singing in Norwegian, but had a reunion in the 90s where they where back to the country-rock roots.

Guitarist Rune Walle and drummer Gunnar Bergstrøm had both been playing in the folk(-rock) band Hole in the Wall, and had just been playing with the band Saft when they grouped with Cato Sanden (vocals, guitar), Johannes Torkelson (bass) and Jarle Zimmerman (vocal, keyboards) to make a Norwegian country-rock act inspired by what had been going on in the US (eg. Flying Burrito Brothers, Eagles, Poco etc). The quintet moved to Denmark, where they where living in the countryside making songs for their first LP, recorded in Oslo. ”New Day” was released in ’74 and ”Wounded Bird” in 1976.  A&M Records long considered a release of the second album in the states, but it never happened.

The original lineup of Flying Norwegians fell apart when Rune Walle joined the american band Ozark Mountain Daredevils in june 1976. A last concert were held the 10th of January ’77 (with Jan Ove Hommel on bass) and was released as the Norwegian's third album the same year. A great concert album this is.

A fourth album, ”This Time Around” was released  by Sanden, Zimmerman and Bergstrøm with a new lineup in 1979, which has its moments. After another lineup change Zimmerman and Bergstrøm released the last album under the bandname ’82 called ”Du står i veien”.  A new wave rock album in Norwegian. Never heard it and guess it can’t be considered a Flying Norwegians’ album.

...and I almost forgot. The reunited Flying's "Still Riding" was released in 1996. Some kind of "old-man's" country-rock. 

So now as you’ve read a quick biography of maybe the only country-rock band from Norway in the 70s – I present you a selection of clips! 

"Old Lady" originally released on Wounded Bird, here from the live album.

Jingle-jangled-space-rock from Wounded Bird, 1976 :-)

It would be unfair not including "On a day like this" from the 1979 album.


"Young Man" from the first album, New Day, 1974.

Cover of Gram Parson's "Brass Buttons".

Another cover, "Pamela Brown".

"Time's Drawing Circles", first released on the first album.

..and if we end it with "White Line Fever", I guess we had most of what was available (on the tube). Wha'wa'we'va.
A hint if you want the MP3s of the first two albums is www.soundike.com . You're gonna have problems finding the LPs or the split-CD (New Day/Wounded Bird 1994).