COUNTRY – Country – CD review

COUNTRY
Country
Slipstream Records 2013

I mean, come on! I know it was the seventies, but calling your country band, Country, is just taking the mick. And if it was bad in 1971 when this first came out, can you imagine how difficult it is in the days of the internet? Crazy.

This is another reissue from the good people over at the Fantastic Expedition zine whose raison d’etre is the country rock of the early seventies. So enamoured are they, that they put together Slipstream Records to reissue some obscure gems from back in the day. Now we’ve already drooled over the Country Funk album, and this one is another goodie. The band were spawned from a duo called Fondiler & Snow. Michael Fondiler and Tom Snow (for it is they) had already seen some action with Fondiler having been on the pre-Spirit bands The Red Roosters and Western Union, and Snow had been an original member of Gram Parsons The Like. They added in Michael’s brother Steve, Bobby De Simone and Ian Espinoza to become country and set about making an absolute peach of an album.

Sadly, it was only critical acclaim that came their way, because despite the smooth beauty of songs like ‘Beverly Glen’ and ‘Give My Best To Everyone’ and the input of manager Peter Asher it wasn’t to be.  Tom Snow was kept on by Peter Asher for a solo career, but for Country it was all over.  The 12 track album has been augmented with a bonus track, ‘Sylive’ which features Lowell George (Little Feat) on slide guitar, and you’ll find Mark and Matt Andes (Spirit / Jo Jo Gunne) hither and thither.  There are also four songs added on by Fondiler & Snow including one produced by Ahmet Ertegun (‘Aragon Ballroom’).  In the liner notes, Tom Snow tells the story of Country, and more.

It may not have ended well for Country but Tom Snow ended up as a legendary songwriter, writing hits for Joe Cocker, Olivia Newton-John, Barbra Streisand, Rita Coolidge, Randy Crawford, Leo Sayer, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and many, many more. He even co-wrote ‘Let’s Hear It for the Boy’, which was performed by Deniece Williams for the film soundtrack “Footloose”. And this is where it all began.

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