Just as the big '80s were at their zenith, country-rock pioneer
Chris Hillman
(
the Byrds
,
Flying Burrito Brothers
) made his foray back into contemporary music with a new pop-oriented country project called the
Desert Rose Band
. Alongside a crew of premier L.A. session players that included banjoist/guitarist
Herb Pedersen
, guitarist
John Jorgenson
, steel guitarist
Jay Dee Maness
, bassist
Bill Bryson
, and drummer
Steve Duncan
, the band released a string of albums between 1987 and 1990 that charted a number of Top Ten country hits.
The Best of the Desert Rose Band
includes ten of their biggest hits culled from the group's first three albums including "One Step Forward" from their 1987 self-titled debut, "Summer Wind" from 1988's
Running
, and "Start All Over" from 1990's
Pages of Life
. At a time when so much of contemporary music was overwrought with synths and inflated production methods, the
's clean, Americana style and classic songwriting were a refreshing change. ~ Timothy Monger