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This"Southwest"
album review and Bio appeared
in Issue # 101 of Folkwax on 3/6/03
(click here for info on Folkwax and how
to subscribe)
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Album Review
A Melodius and Mellow Pop-Country Classic,
(03/06/03)
A quarter of a century ago (and then some), this album
marked the launch of Herb Pedersen's solo recording
career, although Herb never actively pursued fame and
fortune by touring in support of his releases [See Note
#1]. A pair of solo albums followed Southwest, the last
nearly two decades ago, and in the last twenty-five
years, as a member of numerous duos and bands, Herb
has played on around twenty albums. That's a significant
pace for any musician...
The title "Southwest" conjures up a particular
musical sound - that pedal steel-driven genre that emanated
from the Arizona/Colorado/New Mexico region during the
height of the seventies Country-Rock explosion. And
that's a little strange, since Pedersen is a Californian
who, residentially, has only strayed from the state
of his birth when touring in bands etc. Originally issued
by CBS/Epic, the sessions took place in Hollywood at
Western Studios and were overseen by Mike Post. The
original album liner was extremely thin of session detail,
and Acadia had little choice but follow that template
[See Note #2]. What is certain is that Linda Ronstadt
and Emmylou Harris contribute vocally to the finished
product, while the L.A.-based session mafia include
Jim Gordon [drums], Lee Sklar [bass], John Guerin [drums],
Al Perkins [pedal steel] and David Lindley [lap steel,
fiddle].
Herb opens with a rendition of the Lennon/McCartney
composition "Paperback Writer," an urgent
plea for the opportunity to place one's foot on the
first rung of fame, and it's underscored by fiddles,
pedal steel and smooth as velvet sounding guitars. The
only other cover song, the penultimate cut, is Bill
Monroe's "Can't You Hear Me Callin'" on which
Herb well and truly pins his Bluegrass colours to the
mast. The major part of Herb's career has been spent
performing in Bluegrass bands. When called upon [to
do so], Herb can also delivery those down-home swampy
country licks and "Rock & Roll Cajun,"
the second cut, is his contribution to the genre. Going
by the seemingly familiar sound of the high-flying slide
guitar on this cut, I'd suggest that Lindley was plucking
the strings.
Vocally there's a smooth countrified feel to much of
Southwest and "If I Can Sing A Song" co-written
with Nikki Pedersen is a fine example. The latter track,
essentially a love song, features strings. As does "Our
Baby's Gone," an admission that at three years
old, Pedersen's daughter is fast growing up. Herb somewhat
prematurely sings, "the boys are going to chase
her, I'll be standing in line." Vocally, Emmylou
Harris joins Herb on the cut. Pedersen was a member
of The Dillards through the late Sixties and "The
Hey Boys" first appeared on their album Wheatstraw
Suite. One of Herb's three co-composers on the latter
cut, Roy Dean Webb, contributed to the sessions for
this album. The lyric of "Jesus Once Again"
opens with "Happy home in heaven, The light of
glory land, Jesus come and hold me, Help me make a stand,"
as the narrator relates that he has been "visited
by Satan." The narrator goes on to attest that,
given assistance from above, he'll live a good and honest
life from here on in. With strings arranged by Mike
Post, the ballad "Younger Days" is a pleasantly
understated paean to the loss of innocence that forms
part of the growing up process, while the string and
steel filled closing track, "Wait A Minute,"
is a song about love that is now lost.
I guess you could describe the contents of this disc
as melodious and mellow Pop-Country. Pedersen's voice
is smooth and graceful throughout this set. One thing
is certain, when you're looking at shelving chock full
of 12" vinyl discs, Southwest is one that I'd pick
out as having stood the test of time. Ageless and magical,
it's good to see it available on CD at last. What price
a release for the follow-up, Sandman?
Notes:
#1 - In the latter half of the seventies Pedersen worked
almost continuously with the late John Denver.
#2 - The song lyrics and more fully annotated track
by track details of the musicians are given on Herb's
web site at www.herbpedersen.com.
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Bio
A Great California Picker
Herb Pedersen was born in Berkeley, California on April
27th 1944. His parents had been raised in San Francisco
and had settled across the bay where his father served
a policeman. Pedersen developed a love of music from
an early age and it was on his mother's old Stella that
he learned to play guitar. At school, during his early
teens he teamed up with Butch Waller [mandolin], and
they developed a repertoire of material that included
songs recorded by the Everly Brothers, Louvin Brothers
and Jim & Jesse. In his mid-teens Herb formed the
Bluegrass band, The Pine Valley Boys, and during this
period he met and became friendly with future Byrd Chris
Hillman who, at that time, was a member of The Scottsville
Squirrel Barkers. In 1967 Herb spent a short time working
with Lester Flatt, while Earl Scruggs was indisposed.
Pedersen also worked for a time with David Grisman's
Smokey Grass Boys.
Pedersen was invited to join the family [Bluegrass]
band, The Dillards, when Doug Dillard left to form a
recording partnership with ex-Byrd Gene Clark. Herb
was a member of the band for three years and recorded
two albums with them. In 1971 Pedersen left The Dillards
to form Country Gazette with Byron Berline [fiddle],
Roger Bush [bass] and Billy Ray Latham [banjo], but
was soon replaced by Alan Munde. When Gram Parsons recorded
his final album, Grievous Angel [1974], Herb was one
of the sessions players. Having met Emmylou Harris at
the latter sessions, a couple of years later he worked
on her debut solo recording Pieces of The Sky [1975].
In 1976 he appeared on Chris Hillman's Slippin' Away
solo album, and went on to cut a couple of solo albums
of his own for CBS - Southwest and Sandman. Pedersen
chose not to capitalise on his solo releases by touring
in support of them, and instead, joined the John Denver's
band for four years. The other band members were guitar
legend James Burton, Emory Gordy, Jim Horn and famed
Wrecking Crew drummer, Hal Blaine. In 1979 Pedersen
and Rodney Dillard co-produced The Dillards Decade Waltz
and he was credited on the liner as "The Decade
Dillard."
In 1982, Herb teamed up with David Grisman, Emory Gordy
[ex-Hot Band], Vince Gill [ex-Pure Prairie League] and
Jim Buchanan to record the Bluegrass album Here Today.
In the mid-eighties Herb cut another solo album, Lonesome
Feeling, this time for Sugar Hill, as did Chris Hillman,
following which the pair formed the highly successful
Desert Rose Band. The other original band members were
Bill Bryson [bass], John Jorgensen [guitar], plus Steve
Duncan [drums] and Jay Dee Maness [pedal steel]. Having
cut seven original albums the band split up in 1993.
Pedersen's next project, the Laurel Canyon Ramblers,
consisted of Bryson, Latham and Kenny Blackwell [mandolin].
Sugar Hill issued the quartet's debut Rambler's Blues
and two more albums have followed. As well as maintaining
a touring schedule with the Ramblers, in the last few
years Herb and Chris have recorded two albums as a duo,
and they've also cut three discs in partnership with
Tony and Larry Rice.
One of Pedersen's teenage contemporaries was the late
Jerry Garcia. When David Grisman, Peter Rowan and Vassar
Clements decided to reform the mid-seventies aggregation,
Old And In The Way, Herb was invited to take Garcia's
place. Late last year, now known as Old And In The Gray,
the quartet assisted by Brynn Bright [upright bass]
issued a self-titled album.
Discography:
Solo: Southwest [1976/2002]; Sandman [1977]; Lonesome
Feeling [1984];
With the Dillards: Wheatstraw Suite [1968]; Copperfields
[1970]; Decade Waltz [1979];
With the Desert Rose Band: Desert Rose Band [1987];
Running [1988]; She Don't Love Nobody [1989]; Pages
Of Life [1990]; True Love [1991]; A Dozen Roses [1991];
Traditional [1993]; Life Goes On [1994];
: With Here Today: Here Today [1984];
With Laurel Canyon Ramblers: Rambler's Blues [1995];
Blue Rambler 2 [1996]; Back On The Street Again [1998];
With Chris Hillman: Bakersfield Bound [1996]; Way Out
West [2002];
With Tony Rice, Larry Rice and Chris Hillman: Out of
The Woodwork [1997]; Rice, Rice, Hillman And Pedersen
[1999]; Running Wild [2001];
With Old And In The Gray: Old And In The Gray [2002].
Arthur Wood
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