West (West The Band) - Ghost Riders / Turkey Necks. 1980 USA-Wyoming

Best I can tell is that West started out as a hard rock band and evolved into a more typical country rock / pop group. They started in Powell, Wyoming which is way up north toward the Montana border. Eventually they moved to Cody, which is famous for its rodeo scene. And it's closer to Yellowstone / Jackson Hole, where I'm sure there were plenty of gigs to be had as well.

 'Ghost Riders' is indeed the known late 1940's track that was made most famous by The Outlaws in 1980. Interesting then, to find out this was copyrighted and published in 1977. But it may have been recorded in 1980 (probably was). Interesting in that it is also a wicked hard rock version of the song. Is this where The Outlaws got the idea? The 'Turkey Necks' side is more typical country rock/pop and is copyrighted 1980.  According to the back sleeve, these two tracks were recorded in San Diego. San Diego? That's a long way from home and couldn't have been cheap.

Own. Estate sale find (2020).

3/28/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

Just say weeeeeeeeeeee.

Rock Bottom - I Wanna Live In The Country / I Don't Understand. 1973 USA

Despite the cool moniker and label name, this is mostly breezy rural rock with some folky touches. No idea where they might be from. Yet another mostly unknown 45. 

2.5 / 2.5

8/2/24

Wayne Hurst – Galaxies Of Love / Back Again. 1974 USA-North Carolina

From the Chapel Hill area. A delicious sounding hard guitar riff opens the A) side. Nice mid song break with a good solo. Only drawback is it fades out too soon! B) side recalls Lynyrd Skynyrd in song format. 'Sweet Home Alabama' comes to mind here. Southern rock at its most basic but with a nice solo. 'Galaxies of Love' sounds a few years ahead of its time, and 'Back Again' a few years before haha.

3/31/24

Idlewilde South - Feel It / Pedro's Bar & Grill. 1980 USA-South Carolina

From the hinterlands of South Carolina. A) side is FM friendly bar n' roll. B) side features an opening cool hard rock riff that reminds me of Blackfoot when they catch a groove. Actually the whole song reminds me of Blackfoot.

1/23/24

Happy - When and How / Letting Easy Take Me. 1974 USA-Virginia

The a) side is a complete stunner. Starts off beautiful enough with acoustic guitar and keys, which leads to a goose bump inducing mellotron strings chord progression. This track is absolutely loaded with mellotron strings, and is particularly gorgeous when the guitarist plays an equally beautiful lightly amplified jazzy solo on top. What an absolute monster of a track, the pinnacle of psychedelic folk. The flip is completely different and is southern rock, though despite the jarring contrast, is pretty good actually. There's some unusual drumming up front, and the latter half has the guitarist back out front with another great solo! Love his style, expressive but subdued.

Ownership: SP: 1974 Studio 1. Online acquisition (2022). Since I added this to Discogs, it's really taken off.

5.0 / 3.5

2/5/22

The Mogul Band - Backdoor Romance / Whatcha Doin' To Me. 1977 USA-San Francisco Bay Area

So... they reversed the labels, and it's very apparent that 'Whatcha Doin' To Me' is the a) side. An excellent example of southern rock with a phased guitar riff, and some fine solos. The songwriting is pretty good as well. The other side is much more hickified, but with a good mid-song solo. It would seem The Outlaws were the primary influence for The Mogul Band. The area code on the 45 suggests this to be from San Francisco, an odd sound for the region. Guessing it's from the late 1970s. Worth keeping.

1977 has been confirmed, and a band member wrote in to say they were from Pleasanton, where I used to work!

Ownership: 1977 Arest. Online acquisition (2020).

8/30/20 (first listen); 5/16/21 (review / new entry)

Blue Mudd - Natural High / Lay it On the Line. USA

At 10 minutes, you really get your money's worth here. That's EP length. The a) side just flat out kicks ass. Killer dual guitars with some serious fuzz action. Ostensibly this falls into the southern rock genre, but at its most psychedelic. Like the best of The Allman Brothers. The b) side is more traditional southern rock and checks many of the boxes. I was already sold, so I'm enjoying this track as well. Great discovery. No idea where these guys are from, but it's safe to assume the southeast. As for a date, and the psychedelic nature of the guitars on the first side, I'd go with 1972 to 1974.

According to Discogs they recorded another single under the name Blue Mud (in California). though no further data has emerged. At this point, I'm not sure it's the same band.

Ownership: SP: 19?? private. Online acquisition (2020)

9/25/20 (first listen); 5/16/21 (review / new entry)

The New Life - Backwoods Annie / Ha Lese (Le Di Khanna). 1969 USA-California

The New Life were from Fresno, California. The A side sounds like you would imagine, that of country rock. It's OK. The B side is somewhat legendary and was used in a biker flick. Mostly screaming fuzz psych with hyperactive drumming, though not overly memorable.

4/19/21

Crawdaddy - Traveling Down The Road / Lovers At Night, Strangers By Day. 1978 USA-North Carolina

I think with a name like Crawdaddy, and coming from North Carolina, you can guess what this might sound like. And you would be right. The a) side is the winner here. Starting off with electric piano, it has a late era Doors meets Allman Brothers vibe. Some fine slide guitar as well. The b) side is a bit too honky-tonk for me. Not that it's country music - it's still rock - but it's that element of the genre I don't enjoy.

Ownership: SP: 1978 New Hope. Online acquisition (2020). 

6/16/20 (first listen); 3/7/21 (review / new entry)