The story is familiar to fans of roots music and left-of-center country music by now: in 1972, three little-known Texas singer/songwriters named
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
,
Joe Ely
, and
Butch Hancock
loosely cohered into a group and somehow landed a deal with
Plantation Records
, the label founded by Nashville trend-chaser
Shelby Singleton
. Dubbed
the Flatlanders
, they cut an album of cosmic cowboy tunes that were thinking man's folk filled with dusty post-hippie vibes, and had nothing to do with what was happening on the country charts at the time. After getting a blink-and-you-missed-it release on eight-track tape in 1973, the album disappeared. About ten years later,
Gilmore
Ely
Hancock
were all rising stars in a new country scene that was forming around the Texas singer/songwriting community, and as word about that barely heard album spread, it became a much sought-after collector's item until
Rounder Records
released a collection of material from the
Plantation
sessions called
More a Legend Than a Band
in 1990. Since then, other odds and ends from
' brief run in the 1970s have made their way into the marketplace, and now
Omnivore Recordings
has given the
recordings a definitive release on
All American Music
, which brings together the 18 surviving tracks from their 1972 Nashville sessions (including an alternate take of "Dallas," which
Singleton
, in a burst of optimism, released as a promo 45 that fell on deaf ears).
is front and center on this material, having been chosen as the most interesting lead singer (the eight-track release was credited to "Jimmie Dale & the Flatlanders"), and though
wrote several songs for this set (including the splendid "You've Never Seen Me Cry" and "She Had Everything"),
's "Dallas" and "Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown" are the two most mesmerizing tracks here, and would be staples in his repertoire for decades to come. (
has no writing credits, but his vocals and guitar work are strong throughout.) The loosely tight acoustic accompaniment -- with
Steve Wesson
's musical saw a loopy, weird, yet somehow appropriate ingredient throughout -- is an ideal fit for these songs, and this music truly sounds and feels timeless, existing in a place all its own even as other artists have tried to replicate its easygoing yet committed tone. While
borrows its title and cover artwork from the 1973 eight-track release,
Omnivore
has given this just enough polish in remastering to allow the music to shine as it deserves, and this is a definitive presentation of music that's important, influential, and joyous. ~ Mark Deming