|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Click to subscribe to our newsletter. |
|
|
Click to subscribe to the Rockzilla.net discussion group! |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
No one, least of all the record buying public, was ready for the 1968 bluegrass-chamber-rock masterpiece, Wheatstraw Suite. After all, what had the Dillards been to that point? A bluegrass band. An energetic, masterful bluegrass band, but a bluegrass band nonetheless. This they established through appearances on The Andy Griffith Show as the catatonic-yet-fast-pickin' "Darlin Boys" and via three albums for Elektra Records (1963's Back Porch Bluegrass, 1964's The Dillards Live! Almost!, and 1965's Pickin' and Fiddlin' With Byron Berline). The only hint of things to come was a live version of Bob Dylan's "Walkin' Down the Line" from the Live! Almost! set. Even then, however, the song was introduced by bassist Mitch Jayne's hokey joke about how badly Dylan sang. (If I remember correctly, it was something about a hound with his foot caught in a barbed wire fence.) However, inside the Dillards camp, things were afoot. Their longtime line-up of Rodney Dillard on lead vocals and guitar, Doug Dillard on banjo, Dean Webb on mandolin, and Mitch Jayne on stand-up bass was about to change. Dillard namesake and banjoist Doug Dillard left the group in 1967 after disagreeing with brother Rodney about their experiments with electrifying bluegrass instruments and the early recordings of some of the genre-bending songs that would appear later on Wheatstraw Suite. Doug, as it turned out, was wrong, but he redeemed himself a couple of years later by hooking up with ex-Byrd Gene Clark and releasing two groundbreaking country-rock albums as Dillard and Clark. Doug's replacement, Californian Herb Pedersen, turned out to be just the catalyst the Missouri-bred Dillards needed. Not only was Herb an adept banjoist, he was an extraordinary songwriter and tenor singer. Rodney and he were on the same page from the start. "Things" were about to happen. Wheatstraw Suite appeared on Elektra Records in 1968 and immediately became a must-own for those in-the-know in the music industry. The general public, alas, was almost wholly unaware of its existence. While groups like the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and the International Submarine Band were, at this time, combining folk, rock, and country elements, no one was combining folk, rock, pop, country, and bluegrass. This is precisely (or not so precisely) what the Dillards did on Wheatstraw Suite. Wheatstraw Suite opens with a half-minute fade in, with traditional country harmonizing, on the old gospel testimonial "I'll Fly Away." A split second after "I'll Fly Away" ends, "Nobody Knows" begins and we're not in Kansas anymore. The banjo intro sounds like bluegrass is coming, but then the heavenly vocal blend of Rodney and Herb kicks in on the choruses, and the genre bending begins. If released today, the song would be called singer-songwriter with banjo and mandolin accompaniment. In 1968, it was something new under the sun and moon. Bluegrass wasn't supposed to be this mellifluous. What was this? The Beach Boys surf the hills of Missouri? The next song, "Hey Boys," may be the stand-out cut on this exceptional album. Rodney Dillard's lead is rural-yet-smooth and when Herb Pedersen and Rodney are multi-tracked on the backing vocals, there's an angelic blend of voices. Especially effective is the incremental stacking of harmonies on the lyric "And another little taste won't do us any harm (harmmmmmm) (harmmmmmm) (haaaa-aaaaarmmmmm)." I know it's an oxymoron of sorts, but this is gorgeous bluegrass. Not even such unique vocalizing could prepare the listener for "Listen to the Sound." Written by Herb Pedersen, this lush, dreamy folk song is nothing short of transcendent. The lyrics are mountain poetry: "You were born by the rolling ocean/I was born in the mountains green/Sing to the wind and the wind will tell you/All of the things the wind has seen." "Listen to the sound" indeed, for it is carried exquisitely and effortlessly by this fresh breeze. The cover songs on Wheatstraw are also inspired. Until this album, no one had bluegrassed the Beatles, but that's just what the Dillards did on their take of "I've Just Seen A Face." Again, however, it is bluegrass with a difference--for instance, guest picker Buddy Emmons' pedal steel. Pedersen takes the George Harrison guitar part on banjo, with Emmons riding over the top. Dillard's lead vocal is expressive, countrified, and right. As ever, Pedersen lays on beautiful harmonies. Another cover is a take of Tim Hardin's tale of betrayal, "Reason to Believe." Strings, orchestrated by Al Capps, abet but do not intrude. Once more, though rural and rustic in nuance and inflection, the song floats on air. The last cut on the album is another cover, obscure folkie Jesse Kincaid's "She Sang Hymns Out of Tune." Herb takes the lead on this surreal tune about a tragic damsel: "She sang hymns out of tune/And carried a yellow balloon/She traded her love for a Spanish dubloon/And talked to the people/the people who are." I have no idea what the lyric means, but thanks to Pedersen's unfailingly smooth tenor, and Dillard's back-up singing, it sure is evocative. The conventional critical wisdom on the 1970 follow-up to Wheatstraw Suite, Copperfields, is that it pales in comparison. Wrong. Though not as much a surprise, Copperfields is every bit the musical match for Wheatstraw and, at times, ups the ante. The lineup is the same, except drummer Paul York is added as official group member where Wheatstraw features guest drummers Toxey French and Jim Gordon. Copperfields kicks off with a banjo and pedal steel take of Harry Nilsson's "Rainmaker." With Pedersen on high harmonies, Dillard's Missouri twang is convincing. The Dillards, in effect, take the song from its birthplace in Los Angeles to its proper locale - flyover middle America. After all, a song about a Kansas rainmaker should have some twang to it. "In Our Time," written by Rodney Dillard and Mitch Jayne, is another successful foray into "chamber bluegrass" territory. Yet another Dillards example of Hollies harmony meeting Bill Monroe filtered through east Missouri. Dillard's strong lead carries the song, along with his string-bending guitar lines. Brian Wilson would be proud to claim the vocal blends. With guest fiddler Byron Berline, "Old Man at the Mill" is raw bluegrass at times. But, again, when voices merge, it becomes something else. Rustic, rural, uptown, toe-tapping, lush-in short, genre-challenged but wonderful. The Pedersen title track is drop-dead beautiful. With a lilting melody that instantly grabs, it is a crime that it hasn't become an oft-covered standard. At the risk of redundant redundancy, the harmonies are damn good. When I hear what Herb and Rodney can create vocally, I become furious that they have seldom been together since this album. They should have been glued at the hips, never to stray apart. Pedersen's lyric is superb: "All the copperfields are going toward the town where they were born/Do you have a copperfield to play in when you're growing old?" The most incredible, outré cut on either Wheatstraw or Copperfields is "Brother John." Another Pedersen composition, the group has now added jazz to the mix. Shifting tempos and intricate harmonies along with acoustic and electric guitar lines create a classic that could absolutely not be covered by anyone. Too difficult. The only thing I can compare it to is some of the country-rock flights Buffalo Springfield took on their envelope-pushing second album. The closest the Dillards come to their Darlin Boys roots comes on Copperfields' toe-tappingist toe-tapper, "Ebo Walker." Berline's fiddle and Pedersen's banjo lead the way, aided by Dean Webb's mandolin fills. Webb's rhythmic mandolin is usually a second or third lead, but his agile fills are essential to the Dillard mix. "Ebo Walker" should be a staple for every bluegrass band worth its banjo picks. Perhaps it hasn't become such since, once more, its pure-bred authenticity is "sullied" by that ethereal, sumptuous Dillard/Pedersen blend of voices. Copperfields contains another Beatles cover, an a cappella take of McCartney's "Yesterday." Though only 1:07 in length, it is timeless. Had the Persuasions taken a cue from this rendition, their recent CD of Beatles songs might have been a bit more compelling. No "Beatles by other artists" compilation should be without it. Rather than repeat the same adjectives, I'll just say Rodney and Herb do their thing. From 1970, the Dillards went on to lesser heights. Pedersen
left after Copperfields and has had success backing Linda
Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, and others. He and ex-Byrd Chris Hillman
had a string of country chart hits as the Desert Rose Band.
He continues to record with Hillman in recent outings. The Dillards
soldiered on without Pedersen, adding Billy Ray Lathum on banjo,
but the magic was sporadic. Roots and Branches and Tribute
to the American Duck, released in the mid '70s, were solid-to-good
Dillard outings, but nothing approaching the heady atmosphere
of Wheatstraw and Copperfields. |
 Read Rockzilla's Guestbook Sign Rockzilla's Guestbook |
|
|
|||
|
|||
|