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I mentioned The Odessa Tapes, which were eventually excavated and released in 2012, on on New West, which sez: After being forgotten about and stored for decades in the bass player’s closet, the remixed and remastered 14 songs are undeniably bright, immediate and magical. Many are familiar with these song titles from their 1972 Plantation debut recorded in Nashville but these earlier recordings eschew the polished production and bristle with innocence and the energy that is pure Texas.
New West Records along with The Flatlanders have overseen the restoration, research and release of their true debut album. Recorded in 1972 in Tommy Allsup’s Odessa, TX studio, the band put 14 songs to 3-track tape. Four of these recordings (*) have never been available on any Flatlanders album. Nah, it's not "their true debut album": even polished, still sounds like---tapes, non-magical, de facto demos for what, as the Austin Chroncle observed, is more like " a shelved Jimmie Dale Gilmore album" than a long lost Flatlanders 8 track (though the official debut, which was an 8-track only, I think, was initially listed under Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the Flatlandes, and how could he not be the lead singer, whatever the billing?)
Very nice, and you do get four prev. unreleased titles.
From my Nashville Scene ballot comments re 2012 releases:
The Flatlanders, The Odessa Tapes: 14 tracks (my Windows Media Player picks up sometimes distracting noise around the edges; boombox makes the audio sound perfect), recorded in Odessa TX, before the Nashville sessions, which were eventually released as More A Legend Than A Band, among other titles. The very useful booklet's author, Michael Ventura, thinks that these tapes (mostly same songs as More…) are better, because they don't the later set's "self-conscious Bob Willsian asides." Can't find my copy of that, so no comparative listening yet, but Ely, Hancock and/or Tony Pearson's occasional background harmonies always perk up the attention span here. Gilmore doesn't bend notes, syllables and keys with his nose yet, so there's a certain sameness and smoothness to the pudding-stirring sweetness. But sweetness and buoyancy--not too far above the ground, while they're discreetly extending some craft---and intimacy all are crucial ingredients here, as Ventura points out. The slightly lecture-y bits are never hectoring, the Flatlanders want to just to make love make sense to you, so it'll make sense to them, so the imagery times plain--for-serenades seek dialogue, seek truth in peeling and appealing veils, in balancing acts, even or especially those which might be seized on in sleight of hand---they want to understand, man. And woman, oh yes, and oh Lord too. They also know when to move on. Two previously unreleased songs by Gilmore, two by Hancock, all worth checking out; ditto a DVD interview with Gilmore, Hancock and Ely.
It's on YouTube, Spotify etc.
― dow, Wednesday, 9 February 2022 19:17 (two years ago) link
nine months pass...