Western Electric CD

There aren't many CDs whose producers are credited on the front cover, but the producer credit on the cover of Western Electric, the group's self-titled debut album, serves to alert the potential buyer to the presence of Sid Griffin, former leader of the Long Ryders and biographer of Gram Parsons. Griffin isn't only the producer of Western Electric, though; he is the group's frontman, and his background serves as a clue to the record's sound. Predictably, we are in the austere country-rock territory of Parsons and the Long Ryders, with songs dominated by pedal steel guitar, autoharp, and mandolin. Such instruments often make for lively listening, but much of Western Electric is slow and ponderous. "Recorded over a long period of time," says a sleeve note, and the album feels like it took a long time, if only because the songs often go on and on to the point of becoming trance-like. "Emily in Ginger" is close to eight minutes long and "Whirlwind" over seven. Griffin and his cohorts seem to be evolving a new country-rock sound that evokes the long, empty stretches of the West in its lonely expanse. Or maybe it's that, when you produce your own record for yourself, you can do what you like. (Issued on a British label in 1999, the album was released in the U.S. on March 21, 2000, by Gadfly.) Fans of the Byrds will be cheered by the inclusion of a previously unrecorded song by Gene Clark ("Straight from the Heart") and the ringing 12-string guitar passages. But they should be prepared for the album's deliberate pacing and solemnity. ~ William Ruhlmann

"Western Electric," an exciting self-titled debut release, breaks ground by blending twang, Byrds-ish 12-string, sound bites, pop/rock and psychedelia, all unified by leader and frontman SID GRIFFIN. It is certain to make waves as one of the breakthrough rock/Americana releases of the new year. GRIFFIN -- frontman for L.A.'s seminal twangrock band The Long Ryders in the '80s -- has been active with a variety of solo and group (The Coal Porters) projects in the '90s. With Western Electric, Griffin has put together a combination of styles and influences that is both genre-bending and genre-expanding at the same time. This debut CD is a stunner. In the early 1980s, a number of groups were following Gram Parsons' lead of blending pop and country influences, and adding a more rocked up feel. Most prominent among these were Rank and File and The Long Ryders, both out of L.A. After several critical and commercial successes, The Long Ryders broke up in the late '80s. Since then Griffin has focused on solo and Coal Porters releases in addition to quite a bit of music journalism, including his published biography of Gram Parsons. Western Electric is: Sid Griffin -- lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica Pat McGarvey -- vocals, bass guitar, guitars, banjo, keyboards Dave Morgan -- drums and percussion Neil Robert Herd -- pedal steel guitar, lead guitar, 6-string bass, keyboards WORTH NOTING: -- Includes a guest appearance from ROBYN HITCHCOCK; -- Includes a previously-unrecorded song by ex-Byrd GENE CLARK ("Straight From The Heart")

Recorded at Bark Studio, Spot Watkins Sound Recorders and PRM Productions, London, England.

Western Electric: Neil Robert Herd (vocals, guitar, pedal steel guitar, 6-string bass); Rob Childs (vocals, guitar, pedal steel guitar); Sid Griffin (vocals, guitar, mandolin, autoharp, harmonica); Pat McGarvey (vocals, guitar, banjo, keyboards, bass, percussion); Robyn Hitchcock (vocals, guitar); Will Morrison (vocals, drums, percussion); Bob Stone, Steve Beast (keyboards); Dave Morgan (drums, percussion).

Engineers: Brian O'Shaughnessy, Paul Middleton.

Q (6/00, p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A charming, woozily atmospheric album...with some deft trip-hoppy and psychedelic touches ebing applied to the familar alt.country canvas..."
Uncut (10/00, p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...An eclectic brew of country-folk, woozy psychedelia, audio cut-ups and keening pedal steel..."
No Depression (5-6/00, pp.118-9) - "...Reflective [and] mysterious....the songs spin slowly, meditatively, a copper and chrome gyroscope winding down but never quite stalling....remaining magnetic all through its eerie, amorous echo."
Mojo (Publisher) (6/00, p.100) - "...A mid-Atlantic fusion of Western American folk-psychedelia with West of England trip-hop, roots with loops, banjos and pedal steels witty cut-ups and samples....Strong on melodies, mood, vocals and playing..."