GREAT SPECKLED BIRD - Great Speckled Bird - (Ampex) - 1969, Ian & Sylvia, Country Rock.

I got this for $5 at a sale and it was well worth it, if for no other reason than it is worth more than $5. Money aside it was a Ian & Sylvia side project and I have been partial to Ian & Sylvia since I went through a 60s folk kick in the mid-80s. That kick was largely based on the fact that there were many, many old folk records on the Vanguard and Elektra labels to be found in op shops.

Ian & Sylvia were one of the best of the new folk acts to come out in the 60s probably cause they were a little older (and wiser) ... they were certainly the best thing to come out of Canada in the 60s along with (but behind) The Band. Yes I know Neil Young and Joni Mitchell came from Canada in the 60s, but I ain't changing my position.

Allmusic: "One of the most popular acts of the early-'60s folk revival, Canadian duo Ian Tyson (b. 1933) and Sylvia Tyson (b. 1940) made several fine albums that spotlighted their stirring harmonies on a mixture of traditional and contemporary material. While these recordings can seem a tad earnest and dated today, they were overlooked influences upon early folk-rockers such as the Jefferson Airplane, the We Five, the Mamas and the Papas, and Fairport Convention, all of whom utilized similar blends of male/female lead/harmony vocals."

This album was recorded in 1968 and was recorded by a band that Ian & Sylvia had formed with Buddy Cage (pedal steel guitar – later with New Riders of the Purple Sage), Amos Garrett (guitar, background vocals – later with Paul Butterfield's Better Days and Maria Muldaur), N.D. Smart (drums), and Ken Kalmusky (bass guitar). As the instruments would suggest this is full on country rock and quite early in the genre though the International Submarine Band (with Gram Parsons),The Byrds (with Gram), Buffalo Springfield, The Band, and Bob Dylan had already been fooling around with a country rock mutation. The ancestry of the same can be traced back even further to Elvis' Sun records in 1954-55 and even the Beatles had dabbled in some countryish moods – check out "Beatles for Sale" from 1964.

In any event the album, when released in 1970, sold nothing because, I assume, Ian & Sylvia's folk fans were none to happy about the change in direction. This is a bit silly because there have always been country influences in Ian Tyson 's music (he was pretty much a Canadian cowboy), though admittedly it wasn't amped up as it was here. There is also quite a bit of gospel in the mix. Ian comes off best (his solo stuff is better than Sylvia's also) because Sylvia hasn't really lost her "folk voice" which, when she is not in harmony with Ian, can grate a little. Ultimately, I'm not sure if her voice is suited to country music. The band play well and like a lot of early country rock, before the genre became defined (and eventually stagnated), there are a lot of odd bits and pieces of sound going on which keep the attention.

Most bios will go to some length establishing that Great Speckled Bird was a band and not just Ian & Sylvia with backing, but be that as it may, Ian & Sylvia are at the forefront of the sound and unmistakeable. But, despite a smattering of really good tunes and the fact that the album does hold together it never reached the heights, either artistically or in sales, of other early country rock albums.

The album was produced by Todd Rundgren and how that happened I have no idea as it's not his style of music and he was just a kid (yes I know he was a boy genius but he produced this when he was 20!). Very little of his sound filters through though. Interestingly, the album was recorded in Nashville and legendary session musicians David Briggs and Norbert Putnam, played on the album. Briggs recorded and toured with Elvis and Putnam recorded with Elvis.

It's not the great lost country rock album but it is a must for lovers of the genre and for Ian & Sylvia fans – of which I am both.

Tracks (Best in Italics)

Love What You're Doing Child (Ian Tyson) – Possibly the least country rock song on the album … more of a country soul song.
Calgary (Ian Tyson/Sylvia Tyson) – Canadian country with a capital "C" though with all the usual country themes … departures, loneliness, meeting your love, leaving your love.
Trucker's Cafe (Ian Tyson) – This became a signature tune for solo Sylvia – great lyrics about a single mother working as a waitress but I find it hard on the ears with Sylvia's high pitched female folk screech which was popular in the 60s. The guitar work is excellent.
Long Long Time to Get Old (Ian Tyson) – a hoot from the cow bell(?) down to the harmonica.
Flies in the Bottle (Ian Tyson) – the title alone is worth it.

Flies in the bottle

they go round and round

my little friend stumbled

Then he fell to the ground

Be kind he cried

Like the time I found

I was alone here

I been down the line

Mostly just lonely

But somethimes quite fine

Bloodshot Beholder (Ian Tyson) – another great song title …always a must in country music. This recalls the folk harmonies of Ian & Sylvia.
Crazy Arms (Chuck Seals/Ralph Mooney) – A good version of the song Jerry Lee Lewis made famous – here it is half sung in French – which works on two levels – a homage to the Canadian West as well as to the Jole Blon of the Louisiana South.
This Dream (Ian Tyson) – a country ballad.
Smiling Wine (Sylvia Tyson) – A pretty song … but decidedly "un-Country" … obviously written by a woman. "I don't need a bottle to lighten my mind … you are my smiling wine" … I can't see Waylon Jennings doing this lyric …
Rio Grande (Ian Tyson/Amos Garrett) – the "Rio Grande", how many songs have mentioned it? This is a contemporary cowboy song about drug running and lost love?