The final volume of
Bear Family
's seven-part country-rock history
Truckers, Kickers, Cowboys Angels: The Blissed-Out Birth of Country-Rock
concludes the story of the rise of country-rock by illustrating ways rock worked its way into mainstream country, while mainstream rock embraced the sunny vibes of California cowboy music so thoroughly it no longer seemed country. Of these two trends, the latter doesn't get as much space on this double-disc volume devoted to the music of 1974-1975. It's there in the
Doobie Brothers
' mellow "Tell Me What You Want (And I'll Give You What You Need)" and
the Outlaws
' railroad-train twang "There Goes Another Love Song," plus the laid-back boogie of the
Souther-Hillman-Furay Band
, who sound like a lither
Eagles
on "Trouble in Paradise." All this pales in comparison to the rise of
Waylon
and
Willie
. These long-haired outlaws started to take over Nashville -- it's hard to mistake how
Hank Williams, Jr
. and
Charlie Daniels
, two veterans, decided to remake themselves in their image -- and their shadow is cast elsewhere, evident in the rise of
Kinky Friedman
,
Billy Swan
's back-to-the-'50s rock & roll,
Larry Jon Wilson
's pungent redneck funk, and even
Doug Sahm
, who formed the first version of the
Texas Tornados
and then bowed out of the Austin competition with "Cowboy Peyton Place." Elsewhere,
Guy Clark
released his classic "Desperados Waiting for a Train" and "L.A. Freeway,"
Hoyt Axton
settled into the '70s hangover of "When the Morning Comes," and the last recordings of
Gram Parsons
are heard.
Parsons
died in 1973, the year covered in the previous volume, but "Brass Buttons" appeared in 1974 and provides a nice counterpart to the equally wistful
tune "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain," the song that closes this set and series. "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" gave
Nelson
his first number one single and, in doing so, provided the triumph not just for outlaw country but country-rock, proving how these cosmic cowboys changed American music for good. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine