The album’s first track, “Dallas,” begins with the question, “Did you ever see Dallas from a DC-9 at night?” This song has a sweet folk-country vibe, with some biting lyrics about that city. It features some nice work on harmonica, and then there is the unusual addition of a musical saw, sort of in the same vein as a theremin, so giving the song its own special sound. That’s Steve Wesson on saw. He also plays autoharp on this album. Jimmie Dale Gilmore is on lead vocals and guitar; Joe Ely is on vocals, harmonica, dobro and acoustic guitar; Butch Hancock is on vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica and banjo; Sylvester Rice is on double bass; Tommy Hancock is on fiddle; and Tony Pearson is on mandolin and vocals. “Dallas” is followed by “The Heart You Left Behind,” a song written by Angela Strehli, and featuring a beautiful, heartfelt vocal performance. “Love is not easy/And time will take its toll/But what good is life/If we must live alone?” This track has a somewhat loose feel, like an impromptu jam session on someone’s porch, which adds to its charm. This is one of my personal favorites.
“She Had Everything” contains some excellent lyrics, such as its opening lines: “She had money, she had time/She had everything in this world that was mine.” Those are lines you’ll likely be singing before the end of the song. I also love this line: “I know you made mistakes, but you made me what I am.” Butch Hancock wrote this one. It’s followed by “Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown,” a pretty and moving song, featuring a gentle vocal delivery that is almost in line with some Hawaiian music, that sort of vibe. “My love, my love has gone away/My love, my love, what can I say/My love would never see/This world’s just not real to me.” It too features the saw, keeping things interesting. This is another of my personal favorites. It was written by Jimmie Dale Gilmore and John Reed.
The Flatlanders deliver a great cover of Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waiting For A Train,” the saw adding an eerie element to the sound, giving this train a haunted sort of vibe. And yeah, there is a bit of yodeling. There is also a loose atmosphere here, with a bit of vocal riffing and banter. The track features nice stuff on fiddle. That’s followed by “Rose From The Mountain,” a track that will likely have you feeling good and perhaps eager to head away from the city. There is a bright, cheerful energy to this song. Then “You’ve Never Seen Me Cry” has a pleasant, appealing vibe. “The sunlight came, the sunlight went/The stars came out to see/The way I laughed and the way I cried/At the way you treated me.” There is some beautiful playing here. It has a rather sudden ending.
The fiddle is prominent from the start of “Jole Blon,” that instrument inviting us to come together, to dance, to become more human and live in the moment in a real setting, rather than in this pseudo-reality people dwell in online. There is a loose, lively vibe to this track that is incredibly appealing. Then “Bhagavan Decreed” contains some nice work on mandolin. “Each plant has a root that’s dipped in blood/So later on we’ll all find out we’re just nameless mud/And I’m saying goodbye to those old-time demons, darling.” This song has a great folk sound, with the additional element of the saw. I need this sort of thing now, and I love the closing lines: “You say one day soon we will all stand as brothers/‘Til then, I guess we’ll just stand around.” That’s followed by “Keeper Of The Mountain,” which has a sweet vibe. “And we had no dream/We just lived one.” This track also features some wonderful backing vocal work. The album’s original release, the one on 8-track tape, concluded with a good rendition of the Carter Family song “Hello Stranger,” this version containing some sweet vocal work, plus great stuff on guitar.
The next several tracks were released on the 1980 compilation One Road More, beginning with “Down In My Hometown,” a song written by Jimmie Dale Gilmore and having a relaxed pace and vibe. “Now I could sing you a song of inspiration/Or of a new world where everyone is free/But now you know there ain’t no new way to salvation/The time is getting short, my friends, for you and me.” The first time I listened to this album, I was visiting family in my hometown, and partly for that reason this song stood out. It is another of the disc’s highlights. It’s followed by a pretty rendition of Willie Nelson’s “One Day At A Time.” “I live one day at a time/I dream one dream at a time/Yesterday’s dead and tomorrow is blind.” “Stars In My Life,” written by Butch Hancock, is another highlight, in part because of these lines: “Though this universe collapses on occasion/The stars in my life will stay in place.” Those are excellent lines. This song features the saw and fiddle, and they sound wonderful together.
“Not Long Ago” is an instrumental number, the album’s only instrumental track. It has a pleasant vibe, like friends gathered on a porch or around a fire, striking up a tune. It was composed by Jimmie Dale Gilmore. That’s followed by “I Know You,” which features a moving vocal performance. “You say you’re never sure just who you’re looking for/You’ve never found the one to lay your love before/Well, I don’t claim to be the answer to your only dream/Whatever else you seem/I know you.” Then “One Road More” is a fun number featuring some great stuff on guitar. “Lord, I ain’t got a lick of sense, I got a crazy mind/‘Cause I don’t want to leave and I don’t want to stay behind/Well, at the end of this one last road they say there’s always an open door/And I guess my bare feet will have to carry me one road more.” The disc concludes with that alternate take of “Dallas,” which was originally released on Truckers, Kickers, Cowboy Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth Of Country Rock Volume 5 (1972). “Well, Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes/A steel and concrete soul and a warm-hearted love disguise/A rich man who tends to believe in his own lies.”
CD Track List
- Dallas
- The Heart You Left Behind
- She Had Everything
- Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown
- Waiting For A Train
- Rose From The Mountain
- You’ve Never Seen Me Cry
- Jole Blon
- Bhagavan Decreed
- Keeper Of The Mountain
- Hello Stranger
- Down In My Hometown
- One Day At A Time
- Stars In My Life
- Not Long Ago
- I Know You
- One Road More
- Dallas (Alternative Take)
All American Music was released on November 15, 2024 through Omnivore Recordings.
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