The Southern California Sound

In 1974 I was 21, a full time college student, working three jobs, and somehow having the time of my life. Music was a major factor in my life and, fortunately for me, there was an amazing amount of wonderful new music every month. Let’s take a quick look at some of the key album releases during the first three months of 1974. By the way, if you are interested, the picture above is Big Star (more about them below).

So get ready, set aside some quality time, and head back to the first quarter of 1974 with me. Enjoy…….

January 1974 Album Releases

The Way We Were-Barbara Streisand

I’m a rocker at heart and it probably surprises many of you that I bought this album when it was released but ……great music is great music! The only comments I have about the album are: What a voice and what an album. It would have been easy to play the title track but here’s one that I like even better……I think you will like it……

What are you doing for this rest of your like? I ask myself that question a lot more now that I’m older…..

Court and Spark-Joni Mitchell

Joni, part of my holy trinity of Canadian music (Neil, Joni, and Gordon), was continuing to evolve her musical style. Court and Spark started to add in some jazz elements but lost none of it’s introspection which is what drew me to her in the first place. I’ve learned a lot of lessons in my years and in 1974 Joni choose to write about one of them in a song…..It’s Down To You……

Everything comes and goes
Pleasure moves on too early
And trouble leaves too slow
Just when you’re thinking
You’ve finally got it made
Bad news comes knocking
At your garden gate
Knocking for you
Constant stranger
You’re a brute you’re an angel
You can crawl you can fly too
It’s down to you
It all comes down to you

Energized-Foghat

Foghat was an amazing boogie band from the 70’s and has gotten the respect that they deserve in my humble opinion. Here is one of Foghat’s masterpieces that doesn’t get the respect it deserves……Home In My Hand. If you were lucky enough to see them play it live back in the 70’s, as I was, I guarantee that you were entertained…….

Grevious Angel-Gram Parsons

I’ve written about the sad story of Gram Parsons as part of my Southern California Sound series. Grevious Angel was released after Gram’s untimely death in the fall of 1973. Brass Buttons is a classic (Poco did an amazing cover version that you might want to checkout) and you need to hear it straight from the mouth of the writer…..sing it Gram……

Sundown-Gordon Lightfoot

January 1974 was a great month for Canadian music releases with Gordon joining Joni in releasing a new album. The title track was one of Gordon’s biggest sellers but you dig a little deeper in the album to find the real treasure……Seven Island Suite…….

Look around at the morning, guess you’re doing the best you can
Surely you know that when you go nobody gives you a hand
Think of the air you’re breathing in, think of the time you waste
Think of the right and wrong and consider the frown on your face

February 1974 Album Releases

Kiss-Kiss

Forty years after the release of their debut album, Kiss is finally going to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame….it’s about time! This album wasn’t a hit, the band wouldn’t really take off until their release of their double live album, but I’ve got to give it to the boys….they had ambition. Listen to its Kissin’ Time and you will see exactly what I mean……

Badfinger-Badfinger

If you are a reader of this blog you already know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Badfinger and their incredibly sad story. This was the group’s first album after leaving Apple records and unfortunately the end was a lot nearer than anyone foresaw. The song I have for you today from this album was written by Pete Ham, I Miss You………

Damn it Pete….I Miss You! RIP buddy!

Radio City-Big Star

Looking back it seems ironic that Big Star released their second album the same month as the Badfinger release discussed above. September Gurls was maybe the best pop song of the 70’s and to this day very few people have even heard of Big Star…..it’s a fucking tragedy ……

Of course the entire Big Star history is pretty much one big tragedy. I’m reading a biography of Alex Chilton, the band’s lead singer, right now and I’m planning a post dedicated to Big Star’s sad story. Stay tuned for that…..

What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits-Doobie Brothers

The Doobies were going through some significant personnel changes in 1974, and more were on the way, but they managed to put out another great album in 1974. The song that I have for you today makes me want to be floating down a little southern river in a canoe…..laid back without a care in the world….

If you listen closely, you can appreciate some amazing steel guitar added by Skunk Baxter. He would be an official member of the group by 1975 as the band’s sound started to change. More about that next……

A New Life-Marshall Tucker Band

This was Marshall Tucker’s second release and it confirmed that they were not just a one trick pony. The title track from this album highlights everything that makes Marshall Tucker Band one of the best bands from the 70 (great vocals, amazing musicianship, and great songwriting)…..listen and be amazed……

March 1974 Album Releases

Kansas-Kansas

I’m a sucker for bands named after the states that they’re from and Kansas is one of the best examples of such a band. This was the debut album for Kansas and if you listen to the lead off song and it immediately let’s you know that you should expect great things from this band……

Bridge Of Sighs-Robin Trower

Jimi Hendrix was gone but we still had Robin to blow our minds. You can’t go wrong with the title track from this album….absolutely Epic……..

On The Border-Eagles

1974 found the Eagles, one of my favorite Southern California Sound bands, starting to move towards a more rock oriented sound. You wouldn’t know it from the song I have for you today, Ol’ 55, one of the few songs on the album not written by the group. The amazing Tom Waits wrote the song and the Eagles performance of it is something to be treasured. It brings back some amazing memories of driving back home from various girlfriends houses as the sun was coming up in my rear view mirror……

Get Your Wings-Aerosmith

On their sophomore album Aerosmith fully hit their stride. It was an amazing album and the start of a string of releases that would make Aerosmith one of my all time favorites. Let’s listen to Track 5 from the album, SOS (Too Bad)……in case you are wondering SOS stands for Same Old Shit…….

Somethin’s Happening-Peter Frampton

In 1974 something was at least on the verge of happening for Peter. The release of Frampton Comes Alive in 1976 would make him a superstar but you could see it coming by listening to this 1974 release. Let’s listen to the title song from the album, Somethin’s Happening……

Thursday Interviews #6 – Jackson Browne (Bonus Edition)

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on May 17, 2013

Posted in: Rock History, Rock Interviews, The Southern California Sound. Tagged: Jackson Browne. Leave a comment

Today’s interview is a little unique. It includes Jackson, Henry Diltz (the photographer that took some of the most iconic rock photographs of all time) and Gary Burden talking about the creation of the cover for Jackson’s amazing first album. I think you will like it…….

So if you are wondering about the bonus part of the post, here it is……click on the video below to hear Jackson’s first album in it’s entirety. It was an amazing album…….I hope you enjoy it!

Sunday Sessions #5 – America (1975)

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on April 14, 2013

Posted in: RIP, Rock History, Sunday Sessions, The Southern California Sound. Tagged: America. Leave a comment

Our Sunday session for today is a great 1975 set from America that was broadcast on a West German TV program called Musikladen. This concert captures America at the height of the career and is well worth a listen.

Watching this brought back a lot of memories for me. I can remember hearing A Horse With No Name driving to school in 1972 and being totally captivated. At the end of the song, the DJ indicated that it was “America A Horse With No Name.” which I thought was the coolest name ever for a song. It wasn’t until later, in a record shop, that I discovered that the song was named “A Horse With No Name” and the group was named America. Life before internet was a bitch 🙂

As always, let me know what you think…….

Setlist

1. Ventura Highway
2. I Need You
3. Don’t Cross the River
4. A Horse with No Name
5. Moon Song
6. Lonely People
7. Wind Wave
8. Rainbow Song
9. Tin Man
10. California Revisited
11. Green Monkey

RIP Dan Peek

LA from The Byrds to The Eagles

This is a great BBC documentary that makes a nice companion piece for our Southern California series from last year. Here is what the BBC website has to say about it….

Documentary looking at the music and mythology of a golden era in Californian culture, and telling the story of how Los Angeles changed from a kooky backwater in the early 1960s to become the artistic and industrial hub of the American music industry by the end of the 1970s.

Alongside extensive and never before seen archive footage, the programme features comprehensive first-hand accounts of the key figures including musicians (David Crosby, Graham Nash, J. D. Souther, Bernie Leadon and Bonnie Raitt, music industry bosses (David Geffen, Jac Holzman, Ron Stone and Peter Asher) and legendary LA scenesters including Henry Diltz, Pamela Des Barres and Ned Doheny.

The film explores how the socially-conscious folk rock of young hippies with acoustic guitars was transformed into the coked-out stadium excess of the late 1970s and the biggest selling album of all time.

I think you will like this one! Let me know what you think………

Favorite Holiday Songs #26 – The Rebel Jesus

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on December 1, 2012

Posted in: Holiday Songs, Rock History, The Southern California Sound. Tagged: David Lindley, Jackson Browne. Leave a comment

Jackson Browne speaks the truth which is why his music has always spoken to me. Today he gives us something to think about over the holidays. I hope you enjoy it.

My surprise gift to you today is a great 1976 live performance of For A Dancer by Jackson and David Lindley. This song is on my final playlist and it is on my mind today because a coworker that I have known for over 30 years died of a brain aneurism yesterday.

For A Dancer

Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down
I don’t remember losing track of you
You were always dancing in and out of view
I must have thought you’d always be around
Always keeping things real by playing the clown
Now you’re nowhere to be found

I don’t know what happens when people die
Can’t seem to grasp it as hard as I try
It’s like a song I can hear playing right in my ear
That I can’t sing
I can’t help listening
And I can’t help feeling stupid standing ’round
Crying as they ease you down
’cause I know that you’d rather we were dancing
Dancing our sorrow away
(right on dancing)
No matter what fate chooses to play
(there’s nothing you can do about it anyway)
Just do the steps that you’ve been shown
By everyone you’ve ever known
Until the dance becomes your very own
No matter how close to yours
Another’s steps have grown
In the end there is one dance you’ll do alone

Keep a fire for the human race
Let your prayers go drifting into space
You never know what will be coming down
Perhaps a better world is drawing near
And just as easily it could all disappear
Along with whatever meaning you might have found
Don’t let the uncertainty turn you around
(the world keeps turning around and around)
Go on and make a joyful sound

Into a dancer you have grown
From a seed somebody else has thrown
Go on ahead and throw some seeds of your own
And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you’ll never know

RIP Bill!

The Southern California Sound #15/Album Of The Week #10

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on July 17, 2012

Posted in: Album Of The Week, The Southern California Sound. Tagged: Furay Band, Hillman, Souther. Leave a comment

In our last post we discussed how sometimes in music 1+1 equals 3. In today’s post, the final one in The California Sound series, we talk about how sometimes 1+1+1 equals 1.

To start our story we need to travel back once more to 1973 and check in on some of the musicians we have been discussing during The Southern California Sound series.

Let’s start with Poco…you might remember that the band went through a lot of personnel changes over time. In 1973 Richie Furay, one of the founding members of Poco, was hanging on but he was frustrated with the band’s lack of success especially given the popularity of that upstart band named the Eagles. Richie was ready for some of the same.

Next up is Manassas, the amazing band that Stephen Stills put together. As we reported in an earlier post, Stephen abandoned the group in 1973 while chasing after another Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young reunion that was doomed to failure. In Stephen’s absence, everyone was scrambling to find their next gig. Chris Hillman took some time for a short Byrds reunion but was soon back on the street.

John David (J. D.) Souther spent a lot of time hanging out with his buddies the Eagles and writing with them. He supposedly was offered a chance to join the band but in his words, “I just wanted to stay home and write.”. J. D. released his first solo album on Asylum Records in 1972.

Around this same time David Geffen, the head of Asylum Records, was looking to score big and thought he had discovered a formula that guaranteed him a California Sound supergroup. Take one part Byrd, one part Buffalo Springfield, mix in another great songwriter, and success is guaranteed along with money….lots of money. OK, maybe he wasn’t the first to discover that formula but did I mention that there was money….lots of money.

Richie wanted success and Geffen was pretty convincing that success was a given. Chris just wanted to play and if Stephen was willing to sacrifice Manassas for CSNY they why not give Geffen’s idea a shot. By the way…Chris brought a hell of a band with him including Paul Harris, Joe Lala, and Al Perkins who were fellow refugees from Manassas. J. D. was a great songwriter and had claimed he just wanted to stay home and write but somehow Geffen convinced him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that J. D. was already signed to Asylum records, maybe it was something else, but once he signed on the Souther Hillman Furay Band was formed. I bet Geffen thought of the idea of using the last names of the three guys as the band name. That guy was just full of fresh new ideas!

The group’s initial, self titled, album was not a bad piece of work by any measure but it wasn’t magic. What you basically got for your money was three EPs (one each for J. D., Chris, and Richie) each of them playing with the same excellent backing band. Each of the three was a great performer/songwriter in his own right but there was absolutely no group chemistry (Hey David Geffen….MAYBE great music is more complicated than you thought!). To borrow the title of their second, and last album, there was Trouble in Paradise from the start.

Chris Hillman might have summed it up best in a Commercial Appeal newspaper interview from April 25, 2008.

“SHF was an odd experience. I love Richie and J. D. dearly, but i really did find myself in the middle almost holding them apart. J. D. was a very introspective guy and a great songwriter — probably the best out of all of us — and I think secretly he had a desire to be in the Eagles, and they just didn’t have room for him, and so he was frustrated. And Richie was much more a professional person who’d always been in bands and J.D. hadn’t so there was a clash there. That band was never meant to be. That was a group that looked great on on paper. In theory it was good, but it never gelled.”

Richie had similar feelings as expressed in an online interview with John Cody in 2007 when he stated: “With us, we had the best musician’s going. And then Chris was playing bass, and J.D. and I are adding our parts. But what looks good on paper doesn’t always work out.”

J.D. admitted his contributions to the groups problems in a October 1998 interview in Goldmine Magazine, “I’m not a great team player under those circumstances.”

So…the group was doomed before it ever started but let’s talk about their first album.

Richie’s leadoff single “Fallin In Love” was the only real hit from the album but I have to say that Chris and J. D. had the best songs on the album. Chris’ “Heavenly Fire”, a song he wrote about Gram Parsons was incredible and “Safe at Home” and “Rise and Fall” were both great in their own right. J. D.’s “Border Town” was the catchiest song on the album and “Pretty Goodbyes” and “Deep, Dark, And Dreamless” are both classic J. D. songs.

Overall, as I said earlier, it was not a bad album but it didn’t have any amazing group moments. Let’s listen….. As always, let me know what you think.

Fallin In Love (Richie Furay)

Heavenly Fire (Chris Hillman, Len Fagan)

The Heartbreaker (J. D. Souther)

Believe Me (Richie Furay)

Border Town (J. D. Souther)

Safe At Home (Chris Hillman)

Pretty Goodbyes (J. D. Souther)

Rise and Fall (Chris Hillman, Len Fagan)

The Flight Of The Dove (Richie Furay)

Deep, Dark, and Dreamless (J. D. Souther)

So there you have it, the Rise and the Fall of The Southern California Sound told in fifteen parts (may apologies to Chris for adapting his song title for my own purposes). I hope you enjoyed the music and maybe learned something in the process. Here is the final complete picture or our Southern California Sound story.

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The Southern California Sound #14 – Who Says Eagles Don’t Flock?

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on July 11, 2012

Posted in: The Southern California Sound. Tagged: The Eagles. Leave a comment

Back on June 12 we were talking about Linda Ronstadt who in an effort to improve her live show had hired Glenn Frey (from Longbranch Pennywhistle) to put together a new band for touring and for her third album. The band that Glenn put together included Glenn, Don Henley (a drummer from a group called Shiloh) and Randy Meisner (Poco/Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band). Bernie Leadon from the Flying Burrito Brothers was among the contributing players on Linda’ third album and would end up joining the band for at least a portion of the summer tour.

After the album and the tour, it was clear to everyone, including Linda, that this group of guys was something special. It was with Linda’s encouragement that they formed their own band and signed with Asylum Records. The Eagles had landed (my apologies to the Apollo program!) and when they spread their wings, and took off with their self titled first album, the Southern California Sound was headed for new heights.

The first song on the Eagles first album was one of the best lead off songs of all time…Take It Easy. Mostly written by Jackson Browne with a little help from his old downstairs neighbor Glenn Frey, the song was a breath of fresh air. Even today, when I hear that first acoustic strum a big smile appears on my face. Let’s listen…….

While Glenn Frey and Don Henley would soon start to dominate the band (from all perspectives) after their first couple of albums, this first album featured a nice mix of all four original members of the group. One of my favorite songs from the album, Earlybird, was written by Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner with Bernie taking lead on vocals. See what you think….

You have to love those vocal harmonies and I am a sucker for the banjo! The Eagles were well on their way.

The Eagles’ next album, Desperado, was a concept album about the Dalton gang. It is my favorite Eagles album and I think it is an artistic tour de force. In addition to the four Eagles, Jackson Browne and John David (JD) Souther also provided significant input to the album. As an interesting aside, the contributions of Jackson and JD were acknowledged in the photo on the back of the album cover (see below).

That’s Jackson laid out on the far left and JD laid out on the far right with the four Eagles in between 🙂

Since Desperado is such a great album let’s switch things up and listen to the whole thing. See what you think….

With Desperado, The Southern California Sound reached its zenith (in my opinion). It was an awesome group effort by artists who were doing it for the love of music more than financial reward. Sure…the Eagles would go on to become the best selling American band but the magic of the Southern California Sound would would gradually get squeezed out by a Glenn Frey/Don Henley driven move towards a more rock focused sound with its associated increases in popularity and financial rewards. Desperado was the beginning of the end for more than just the Eagles’ Southern California sound……more about that in our final post in The Southern California Sound series.

I can’t leave the Eagles post without sharing a great BBC performance from 1973. This is really great stuff….I hope you enjoy it.

Out picture is almost complete….stay tuned!

The Southern California Sound #13 – Leader Of The Band…..At Last

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on June 19, 2012

Posted in: The Southern California Sound. Tagged: Chris Hillman, Manassas, Stephen Stills. Leave a comment

Stephen Stills had been a man on a mission since the mid-1960. He wanted a band! Not just any band but a band that was his and his alone. He wanted to be in control.

Buffalo Springfield held promise but it could never really be his band with that pesky Neil Young competing with him and refusing to take his direction, or anyone else’s direction for that matter. He thought he had it made with Crosby, Stills, and Nash but they were more of a vocal group than a band. Hell, he had to play almost all of the damn instruments himself on their first album. In his desperation for a real band he somehow allowed Neil Young to re-enter the picture with CSNY. It was great having Neil as a foil, and someone that was his equal for extended guitar solos, but just like with Buffalo Springfield, Neil refused to cooperate with Stephen’s ambitions. In the end, Neil treated CSN like an alternative backup band to Crazy Horse which was not to Stephen’s liking at all!

In 1971, Stephen took matters into his own hand and formed Manassas, the band of his dreams. Stephen was in charge and the band could really kick ass. This was a group that could comfortably play the country flavored rock that the California sound was famous for as well as the latin flavored music that was Stephen’s secret passion. Although Stephen was in charge, he had a pretty impressive right hand man in Chris Hillman who we have discussed at length as an original member of the Bryds and of the Flying Burrito Brothers. The other musicians were equally impressive in their own right and included Al Perkins (steel guitar), Fuzzy Samuels (bass), Paul Harris (keyboards), Dallas Taylor (drums), and Joe Lala (percussion – the foundation of the latin sound that I mentioned). It was a real band, a big band, and it would be the source of some of the best music of Stephen’s career (and Chris’ career as well). On most days I actually prefer listening to Manassas over CSN or CSNY and that says a lot. So today we are going to celebrate Manassas’ two studio albums with a lot of music….no I mean a whole lot of music. I hope you enjoy it, I am not going to bore you with a lot of my feelings. Quick introductions and then on to the music.

Manassas (double album release in 1972 – an absolute masterpiece)

First up is a song written by Stephen and Chris called Both of Us (Bound to Lose). Chris and Stephen trade of lead vocals and the harmonies are amazing. My favorite Manassas song….

Next up is my second favorite Manassas song, It Doesn’t Matter, which was also written by Stephen and Chris.

Finally, we have a beautiful song written by Stephen called Move Around. In addition to a great vocal by Stephen, this song has an extremely tasty synthesizer backing track.

So far we have highlighted some of my favorite tracks from the Manassas double album but you only have half the story. I mentioned early on that this band could kick ass and now it is time to prove it. We are lucky enough to have a full 35 minute Manassas performance from a German TV show in 1972. The set list from this show includes a number of songs from their double album: Bound to Fall, It Doesn’t Matter, Hide It So Deep, Song of Love, Rock ‘n Roll Crazies, Cuban Bluegrass, Jet Set, Jam, The Treasure. Let’s listen……

If you aren’t sold on Manassas I seriously have to question your musical taste but I am going to give you one more chance. Let’s sample some Manassas’s second (and last) studio album titled Down the Road. This album was pretty much panned by the critics but hopefully you have learned by now that I trust myself over any critic and I feel today like I did in 1973. Down the Road was a great album. Maybe not as good as their first but great in its own right.

So Many Times was easily the best song on Down the Road. Once again it was cowritten by Stephen and Chris. Chris takes the lead vocal with Stephen singing harmony and the result is amazing.

For a change of pace, let’s listen to Down the Road, the title song from the second album. Some wonderful slide guitar from Stephen on this one.

Can you tell I like Manassas??? I hope you enjoyed this extended post of their music.

To wrap things up I am sad to report that Manassas met it demise in 1973 soon after the release of their second album. The cause….Stephen was lured back to CSNY for one of their many short lived reunions. In my opinion Stephen had it all and threw it away. Maybe it was the money, maybe it was the fame, but whatever it was Stephen would never again have a band as good as Manassas or music with the same level of consistent quality. On the other hand, some of the other members of Manassas still had a role to play in the story of The Southern California Sound. We will hear about them in the final post in this long running series.

Coming Attractions

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on June 14, 2012

Posted in: Coming Attractions, The Southern California Sound. Leave a comment

We are getting close to the end of The Souther California Sound series with only three posts left. I think all of the remaining ones will be interesting. Up next is lucky number 13 in the series titled The Southern California Sound #13 – Leader Of The Band…..At Last. I hope to have that post finished and posted by this time next week. Keep an eye out for it. Here is the updated series graphic that will go with the post.

In the meantime, I have some other good stuff for you including the next Album of the Week post and another Underachiever post.

Thanks for reading and listening to this blog! If you have friends that you think would be interested in what we are doing here please let them know about it!

The Southern California Sound #12 – Not For Boys Only

Posted by thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard on June 12, 2012

Posted in: The Southern California Sound. Tagged: Linda Ronstadt. Leave a comment

Linda Ronstadt was a founding member of a folk trio called the Stone Poney’s that formed in the mid-1960s. The group was composed of Linda, Bobby Kimmel, and Kenny Edwards and produced three albums with the last one coming out in 1968. Early on in their career it was clear to everyone that Linda was the star, so much so that Capitol Records wanted sign her to a solo contract rather than sign the band. As you can imagine, this was the source of more than a little tension in the band. Their biggest hit was a song called Different Drum that was written by Michael Nesmith of the Monkeys. Let’s listen……

I hope you were watching as well as listening so you can understand why me, and most of the other teenage boys back in 1967, were madly in love with Linda. To be that cute and to have that voice was truly too good to be true.

Linda finally went solo in 1969 signing with Capitol Records but she did not entirely abandon the Stone Poneys. Kenny Edwards became a long term collaborator. (Kenny passed away in 2010 and the music world lost a significant talent. RIP Kenny! If you are interested checkout a band called Bryndle. I will feature them in a future post.).

As a solo artist, Linda started to move toward the country rock sound that was beginning to take shape in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Let’s watch and listen to a couple of TV show appearances from that time so we can see her as we listen to her 🙂 First up is a 1969 appearance on the Johnny Cash show. This video is followed by a 1970 appearance on the Glen Campbell show.

I Will Never Marry (1969) with Johnny Cash

Long Long Time and Carolina In My Mind (1970 Glen Campbell show)

Linda’s first two solo albums on Capitol were named Hand Sown……Home Grown and Silk Purse. The first of these albums did not chart at all while the second album failed to break the top 100 in album sales. Silk Purse was redeemed, somewhat, when the single Long Long Time (one of the songs performed on the Glen Campbell clip above) broke into the the top 20.

While her albums were suffering from a sales perspective, her live performances were much more successful. Trying to build on this success, Linda hired Glenn Frey (from Longbranch Pennywhistle) to put together a new band for touring and for her third album. The band that Glenn put together included Glenn, Don Henley (a drummer from a group called Shiloh) and Randy Meisner (Poco/Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band). While this band would not stay with Linda for long (more about this in a later post in The Southern California Sound Series) they were indeed a kick ass band and their later success would give Linda’s career a boost.

Linda’s third album was self titled and not only included her new band discussed above but other musicians we have discussed in earlier posts in the series: Bernie Leadon (Flying Burrito Brothers), Sneaky Pete Kleinow (Flying Burrito Brothers), and J.D. Souther (Longbranch Pennywhistle). It also included a song from a young songwriter named Jackson Browne, who lived in the apartment below Glen Frey and J. D. Souther when they formed Longbranch Pennywhistle. Let’s listen to Linda’s performance of Jackson Browne’s Rock Me On The Water.

Trying to further capitalize on her live performance reputation, three of the songs on her third solo album were live numbers recorded at Troubadour. Let’s listen to Linda’s live performance of Neil Young’s Birds that was included on the album.

Alas, with her third album Linda was still two albums away from her commercial break through album, Heart Like A Wheel, that would result in her being called the Queen Of Rock and/or the First Lady Of Rock in the mid-1970s. It is a strange twist of fate that her biggest contribution to the world of music, early in her solo career, would end up being her role in the formation of a yet to come supergroup that would come to symbolize the Souther California Sound. Much more about his later.

Before we leave Linda behind lets take a look ahead in her career and watch/listen to her sing a J.D Souther song called Faithless Love that was included on Heart Like A Wheel.

It is worth noting that J.D sang harmony with Linda on the album version of this song. The singer providing the harmony on this live version from 1975 is the late, great Andrew Gold (RIP Andrew). Andrew was another of Linda’s long time collaborators, a solo artists, and yet another member of Bryndle, the group I mentioned above when discussing Kenny Edwards.

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