VA The Country No.1

An intriguing collection of rare cuts highlighting the sheer wealth of remarkable material that comes to light by digging that bit deeper into the country blues archive.

When it came to the compiling of this country blues album, the towering influence of a dozen or so of the giants of pre-war blues made them totally un-droppable. Therefore, with so many familiar names, the challenge lay with creating the best possible cross section of this most diverse of genres within the time constraints of a CD.

Various Artists - Across the Great Divide: Getting It Together in the Country 1968-1974 (2019) {3CD Set, Grapefruit Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.51 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 559 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968-74, 2019 Grapefruit Records / Cherry Red | CRSEGBOX061
Rock / Folk Rock / Country Rock

As the Day-Glo tide of psychedelic that swept over the U.K. in the late '60s began to recede, something far less ornate and flashy took root in its place. Spurred on by the artistic and commercial success of Traffic's folk- and jazz-influenced debut album – which was recorded out in the countryside – the Byrds headlong plunge into country-rock on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and the Band's brilliant slice of backwoods Americana, Music from Big Pink, all sorts of groups and artists sprouted up to play loose and wooly blends of organically grown folk, country, jazz, and rock. Some of the bands were beat group leftovers looking to evolve past paisley (the Searchers, the Tremeloes), some were city boys gone to seed (Mott the Hoople, the Pretty Things), and some were just weirdos like Greasy Bear, or lazy-Sunday balladeers like Curtiss Maldoon, all doing their own freaky thing.