West 83

The East West Collective constituted one of the surprise hits of the 2013 Vision Festival in New York City. As their name implies the five strong outfit comprises improvisers from both the Occident and Orient. Their origin lies in French cellist Didier Petit's regular visits to the Far East, often with clarinetist Sylvain Kassap in tow, where he perceived a connection between Chinese traditional music and European improvisation. Guzheng player Xu Fengxia and koto exponent Miya Masaoka were invited to join for tours in France and America, and with the addition of reedman Larry Ochs (the "O" of the ROVA saxophone quartet, and a frequent collaborator of Masaoka), the East West Collective was born.

This album was successful. Two singles from this album were also successful. The most successful was "Rings of Gold", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Country charts in 1969. All the songs in this album are duets, both with Gibson and West. "Rings of Gold" helped Dottie West's career, because it became her biggest hit up to that point. It also revitalized Don Gibson's career as a solo artist. The other single from the album, "Sweet Memories" was a Top 40 hit, reaching No. 32. Their duet partnership would last into the next year, with another Top 10 hit, but they never recorded another album together. This album reached No. 21 on the "Top Country Albums" chart in 1969.