The Long Play with Al Neff" is a continuing Sunday evening Feature on The
GOAT. This year, Every Sunday Evening, Album Rock WXYG, The GOAT will
feature a full album at 8:00 PM from the halcyon musical days of 1973.
1973
was Possibly the Greatest Year in Album Rock history. Another year of
tough choices every week. So many great ones to choose from.
We hope you’ll tune in next Sunday evening, February 12th for the self
titled debut album from “The Marshall Tucker Band”. It was released in
April 1973, the album was recorded in 1973 in Macon, Georgia, at Capricorn
Studios.
The album's musical style incorporates elements of psychedelic, jam band,
jazz, R&B, gospel and folk. Guitarist/songwriter Toy Caldwell drew heavily
from bluegrass and country while writing songs for the band's debut.
The album's eclectic style has been categorized as country rock and
Southern rock.
The lead single, "Can't You See", musically is a mixture of country rock
and Southern rock. The lyrics of "Can't You See" are noted as being dark,
reflecting heartache and "a man running as far away as he can to begin the
process of healing himself".
Taking a page from their Capricorn Records labelmates and Southern rock
contemporaries the Allman Brothers, the Marshall Tucker Band issued a
self-titled debut blending the long and winding psychedelic and jam band
scene with an equally languid and otherwise laid-back country-rock flavor.
Into the mix they also added a comparatively sophisticated jazz element --
which is particularly prominent throughout their earliest efforts. The
incipient septet featured the respective talents of Doug Gray (vocals),
Toy Caldwell (guitar/vocals), his brother Tommy Caldwell (bass/vocals),
George McCorkle (guitar), Paul Riddle (drums), and Jerry Eubanks
(flute/sax/vocals). Their free-spirited brand of Southern rock was a
direct contrast to the badass rebel image projected by the Outlaws or
Lynyrd Skynyrd. This difference is reflected throughout the 1973
long-player The Marshall Tucker Band. The disc commences with one of the
MTB's most revered works, the loose and limber traveling proto-jam "Take
the Highway." The improvised instrumental section features some inspired
interaction between Toy Caldwell and Eubanks. This also creates a unique
synergy of musical styles that is most profoundly exhibited on the
subsequent cut, "Can't You See."
Caldwell's easygoing acoustic fretwork babbles like a brook against
Eubanks lonesome airy flute lines. The remainder of the disc expounds on
those themes, including the uptempo freewheelin' "Hillbilly Band." Unlike
what the title suggests, the track is actually more akin to the Grateful
Dead's "Eyes of the World" than anything from the traditional country or
bluegrass genres. "Ramblin'" is an R&B rave-up that leans toward a Memphis
style with some classy brass augmentations. The effort concludes on the
opposite side of the spectrum with the tranquil gospel rocker "My Jesus
Told Me So," offering up Caldwell's fluid guitar work with a sound
comparable to that of Dickey Betts. "AB's Song" is an acoustic folk number
that would not sound out of place being delivered by John Prine or Steve
Goodman. This eponymous effort established the MTB's sound and initiated a
five-year (1973-1978) and seven-title run with the definitive Southern
rock label, Capricorn Records.
Tune In and Turn On Next Sunday Evening, February 12th, and every Sunday
evening at 8:00 PM for The GOAT'S "The Long Play with Al Neff.”
Don’t forget, right after the “Long Play”, we do a “Replay” of this week’s
GOAT GUEST DJ SHOW.
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