Choctaw Ridge 1968-1973

“Choctaw Ridge” explores a new country sound, one that emerged at the end of the 60s in the wake of Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billie Joe’, a shock number one hit in 1967. When singers like Gentry, Jimmy Webb, Michael Nesmith and Lee Hazlewood moved from the south to Los Angeles to make it in the music business, they were not part of the Nashville in-crowd and they forged a new direction.

'Ode To Billie Joe’ was the tip of the iceberg, and its success helped a bunch of singers and storytellers to emerge over the next three or four years. Some of the tracks on this collection bear that song’s stamp more clearly than others: Sammi Smith’s moody ‘Saunders’ Ferry Lane’ had a similar mystery lyric, and Henson Cargill’s ‘Four Shades Of Love’ is a portmanteau, with one (or possibly two) of the theoretically romantic situations ending in death. 

Suddenly, character sketches of southerners became a lot more rounded – women didn’t have to stay home, or take abuse at the office, and darkness wasn’t only found at the bottom of a bottle. Storytelling is the link between all of the songs on this collection. We have cautionary tales about what could happen to someone who heads for the bright lights and doesn’t make it, ending up in the grasping hands of ‘Mr Walker’ (Billie Joe Spears), or on the ‘Back Side Of Dallas’ (Jeannie C Reilly), or on a mortuary slab in the case of the songwriter with the ‘Fabulous Body And Smile’ (Robert Charles Griggs). And there are stories about wanting to go home – Nat Stuckey’s ‘What Am I Doing In LA?’ and Charlie Rich’s ‘Feel Like Going Home’ – and others from Ed Bruce and Lee Hazlewood, who know that their home isn’t home anymore. 

The tracklist and fulsome sleeve notes have been put together by Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) and Martin Green (Smashing, The Sound Gallery), who have been collecting these records for decades.

The voices are resonant and relatable, and the productions take in the best of what pop had to offer in the late 60s and early 70s. Before the factionalism between smooth pop-conscious Nashville and the hedonistic ‘outlaws’ made it look inward again, this was a golden era for an atmospheric, inclusive and progressive country music. It began on the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day. 

Tracklist

1. THE HOUSE SONG - Lee Hazlewood 

2. IF ONLY SHE HAD STAYED - Chris Gantry 

3. ENDLESS MILES OF HIGHWAY - Jerry Reed 

4. THE BACK SIDE OF DALLAS - Jeannie C Riley 

5. WAY BEFORE THE TIME OF TOWNS - Hoyt Axton 

6. STRAWBERRY FARMS - Tom T Hall 

7. DOWN FROM DOVER - Dolly Parton 

8. JULY 12, 1939 - Charlie Rich 

9. WHAT AM I DOING IN L.A.? - Nat Stuckey 

10. MR STANTON DON’T BELIEVE IT - Rob Galbraith 

11. SAUNDERS’ FERRY LANE - Sammi Smith 

12. FOUR SHADES OF LOVE - Henson Cargill 

13. DRIVIN’ NAILS IN THE WALL – Waylon Jennings & The Kimberlys 

14. RUBY, DON’T TAKE YOUR LOVE TO TOWN –  Kenny Rogers & The First Edition 

15. WHY CAN’T I COME HOME - Ed Bruce 

16. MR WALKER, IT’S ALL OVER - Billie Jo Spears 

17. HARLAN COUNTY - Jim Ford 

18. WIDOW WIMBERLY - Tony Joe White 

19. BELINDA (Alt take) - Bobbie Gentry 

20. JOANNE - Michael Nesmith & The First National Band

21. MR JACKSON’S GOT NOTHING TO DO - John Hartford

22. ALONE - Lee Hazlewood & Suzi Jane Hokom 

23. FABULOUS BODY AND SMILE – Sir Robert Charles Griggs 

24. I FEEL LIKE GOING HOME - Charlie Rich 

Soundwave

https://youtu.be/g-JZ5H3USNY