Iain Matthews Appreciation Thread--solo, album by album + track by track (pg. 18)*

Jackson used it, and Tom Rush. But now I doubt myself...time to listen again.

 

Interesting, if somewhat snarky review (Pitchfork, what do you expect?). Getting off topic a bit, but I think Nesmith has had more than a “modest stake” in that “country-rock” sound. A fair many would say he’s one of the pioneers of it.

Besides making some damned good country-rock records as a Monkee (as far back as 1966), his ‘70s RCA catalogue — including the trio of First National Band albums — is essential. He and Red Rhodes were indeed “Cosmic Partners,” which happens to be the title of an excellent live album (From a 1973 performance) recently released:



“Different Drum” is a great song, but Linda wasn’t the first to cover it (That would be the Greenbriar Boys, Linda and the Stone Poneys did it a year later). Let’s not forget songs like “Some of Shelly’s Blues,” “Nine Times Blue,” “Joanne,” “Silver Moon,” etc., either.

 

Took me by surprise... I swear I’ve never heard that line in Jackson’s original. Never heard Tom Rush’s version (Guess I’ll seek that out too).

 

I have this on vinyl. Got it about five years ago for six pounds.

 

I just picked up this 1976 IM LP.
It was the last one still missing in my run of 1970-1988 albums by Iain.



I hadn't heard this album yet and right now I'm very happy with a couple of magnificent tracks on it.
One stunning example here:

 

STOP PRESS:

Today Iain's website launches the new MSC single from the forthcoming album:

 

Yes...you're right! I listened to Jackson's version and Tom Rush's and they both leave out that verse. I wonder if Jackson sent Iain the lyrics and and Iain chose to use more than Jackson. or any other artist I've heard who's covered it!

 

Yes, this rivals Iain's best albums...really great.

 

8) Some Days You Eat The Bear...Some Days The Bear Eats You
Maybe my favorite Ian LP. I am so lucky to have this promo vinyl. A treasure.

Some Days You Eat The Bear And Some Days The Bear Eats You is the 1974 album by country rock/folk rock musician Ian Matthews.

The original vinyl album was released worldwide by Elektra Records, the second of two Ian Matthews solo albums released on that label (the first being Valley Hi in 1973), and featured various well-known session musicians such as David Lindley, Al Garth, Jeff Baxter from Steely Dan, and others. It also featured bandmates, guitarist Andy Roberts and drummer Timi Donald, from the first Plainsong album, In Search Of Amelia Earhart. -wiki






I've given up a bit on Pitchfork reviews....as was said above by a member here...they can get snarky.

AllMusic Review by Brett Hartenbach

Ian Matthews' fifth solo effort since leaving Matthews' Southern Comfort, Some Days You Eat the Bear and Some Days the Bear Eats You continues the country-rock of its predecessor, the Michael Nesmith-produced Valley Hi, but with more emphasis on the L.A. singer/songwriter sound and less on straightforward country.

Though both records were recorded in Southern California, Nesmith brought a distinct Nashville flavor to Valley Hi, utilizing such country greats as steel guitarist Red Rhodes and fiddler Byron Berline. Here, Matthews (who handles the production duties) draws from the vast pool of L.A. session regulars, including Jackson Browne sideman David Lindley, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter from Steely Dan, and America's rhythm section. This -- along with the occasional saxophone and double-tracked lead vocal -- accentuates the pop sense evident just below the surface in Matthews' past work, giving Some Days You Eat the Bear a slightly more polished, commercial feel.

For material, he once again borrows from the catalogs of favorites such as Jesse Winchester and Gene Clark (whose "Tried So Hard seems to be a leftover from the Valley Hi sessions), as well as covering now-classic tunes by the likes of Steely Dan, Danny Whitten, and Tom Waits, all of which suit his warm, emotive tenor nicely. There's also the usual peppering of fine originals, which at their best hold their own next to his choice of covers.

Matthews' best song here is also one of his most enduring, the Hank Williams tribute "A Wailing Goodbye," in which he imagines himself attending the funeral of the country & western legend. A solid final album for Elektra, Some Days You Eat the Bear seems to serve as the bridge between his folk and country-rock days of the late '60s and early '70s and the more pop and rock direction that would dominate the next decade of his career.


.................

1. "Ol' '55" (Tom Waits) - 3:12
2. "I Don't Wanna Talk About It" (Danny Whitten) - 3:48
3. "A Wailing Goodbye" (Ian Matthews) - 2:52
4. "Keep On Sailing" (Ian Matthews) - 4:37
5. "Tried So Hard" (Gene Clark) - 3:00
6. "Dirty Work" (Donald Fagen, Walter Becker) - 2:51
7. "Do I Still Figure In Your Life" (Pete Dello) - 2:51
8. "Home" (Ian Matthews) - 3:12
9. "Biloxi" (Jesse Winchester) - 4:18
10. "The Fault" (Ian Matthews) - 3:00

Personnel[edit]

• Ian Matthews - acoustic guitar, vocals
• Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitar
• David Lindley - lap steel guitar
• B. J. Cole - pedal steel guitar
• David Barry - organ, piano, keyboards
• Andy Roberts - acoustic guitar
• Joel Tepp - acoustic guitar, harmonica
• Michael Fonfara - piano, keyboards
• Lynn Dobson - alto saxophone
• Al Garth - alto saxophone
• Jay Lacy - electric guitar
• Willie Leacox - drums
• Danny Lane - drums on "Tried So Hard"
• Timi Donald - drums on "Keep On Sailing"
• Danny Weis - electric and acoustic guitar
• Steve Gillette - acoustic guitar
• David Dickey - bass
• Billy Graham - bass on "Tried So Hard"
• Bob Warford - electric guitar on "Tried So Hard"

Production

• Producer: Ian Matthews

 

Ian Matthews...Keep On Sailin'

This version has slower more bluesy feel--the kind we get from Ian on Go For Broke and Pure & Crooked...though I really love the version from Valley Hi also.


From Valley Hi...more of the Red Rhodes, Papa Nez influence.
Keep on Sailing

 

Ian Matthews..A Wailing Goodby

 

The Fault...love it.

 

Biloxi...as always a prefect Ian styled cover, just beautiful.

 

Ian does a wonderful job covering Gene Clark...Gene's peers loved Gene, even if the general public had mostly forgotten Gene.

Tried So Hard

 

Sorry don't want to put a damper on this thread but I think Matthews' biggest "problem" is quality control as well as releasing his music under various names (= too many releases in general and far too many under different names)
As a great fan of the original Matthews Southern Comfort albums (two desert island discs and Woodstock being one of the most definitive cover versions ever) I was surprised when he picked up the name again ten years ago for the Kind of new album - surprised ,because apart from Ian there were no other original members in the group and in spite of the fact that the album contained three remakes of original MSC songs , it had only little to do with the original sound of the band. It remains a mystery to me why he used the MSC name for this project .I was disappointed with the album and never bothered with the second one , Like a radio, from 2018 . This new song also doesn't bode well for the new album , average at best , both lyrically and musically.
With regard to the purpose of this thread , I must say that I like all his early albums (my favourite is Journey from Gospel Oak) and I think his biggest achievement are his interpretations (and popularization) of songs by American songwriters like Paul Siebel,Jesse Winchester, Mickey Newbury,etc , which were only little known in Europe at that time.
A friend of mine met him a couple of years ago when he was touring the Richard Farina cover album with Plainsong and he came across a nice guy who was happy with what he was doing which, in the end,this is all that matters .

 

Thanks for your thoughts, tmg.

I am obviously a huge fan of Iain, and agree to some extent about some of his releases after "Go For Broke", at least for the next decade. After "Go For Broke" the pressures of producing more pop radio friendly albums made much of his work less enjoyable for me. Amidst those releases there were many gems and fortunately I have all those on vinyl. Songs like "Gimme An Inch", "The Girl With Clouds In Her Eyes" and "Horse Left In The Rain" are all time favorites and are well worth the journey. For me his return to form was when he joined Windham Hill as a producer, and then recording "Walking A Changing Line" for the label...beautiful stuff. Later works include many favorites that are well worth the effort to find, especially his teaming with Elliot Murphy, and a number of live releases.

As far as reviving Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong, I commend him for it. Like Neil Young (with various backing bands), Michael Nesmith (reviving First National Band with new members) or Arthur Lee (with various LoVE incarnations), those were and are Neil's, Nez's, Arthur's and Matthews' bands first and foremost, and I found each effort to be very worthwhile albums (if often not what I'd hoped for) and journeys. I love "Like A Radio" which we will get to, and several others, and that is more than what many artists give us.

Matthews was never one to stay in a safe place by creating the same style music over and over again. Just as Neil, Papa Nez, and Arthur, with Iain there are hits and misses, but that never stopped them...and I respect & commend them for keepin' on with their music and muse, wherever it takes them.

Cheers
LK

 

Just to continue on my thoughts above, Iain did seem to be in a bit of a free fall as the singer songwriter era faded for a few years, but he came back with an amazing album in Excepts From Swine Lake...we will get to that but just as a teaser:

Horse Left In The Rain....powerful stuff, the whole album is just brilliant and as good as anything on Pure And Crooked, or previous great LPs by Iain.

 

And on the previous album before "Excerpts...", an amazing effort. Iain performs the title track live here:

God Looked Down

 

9) Go For Broke

I love this one. I am lucky to have a fine white label promo vinyl LP, the last Matthews promo I have, but a great one.



Matthews had a lot left in the tank and this one is a fave....for the next decade there are hits and misses, but the hits are still numerous, even if the attempt at more radio friendly pop music (tho very well crafted still) changed his approach, if only for a while.

Released in 1976.

Bri Mo/AllMusic
December 10, 2015

I have listened to this LP repeatedly, and find it to be the cleanest recording of Iain Matthews arsenal. The mere fact that the 2 best non-covers on the record were not mentioned [in previous review], are 2 of the best songs he has recorded to this time point: "Lonely Hunter" and "Rhythm of the West" proves Brett Hartenbach was not enamored with an electric oriented sound.The boys at Quadraphonic Studios know what they were doing and it's so audible you'd have to have stone ears to not be aware of the production quality of this vinyl release."When the Morning Comes" and "Groovin" just come alive in a manner totally unlike the originals, and prove once again that Iain can rework a song better than the original.

Go For Broke was an intended outing off the comfortable rails of the country/folk track Matthews had been on for his previous solo journeys. While not cashing in on commercial appeal as producer Norbert. Putnam was likely shooting for, it did give Iain's audience something different, and positive to play over and over for the test of time.



Tom Daly/AllMusic
May 31, 2016

Along with Bri Mo, I must disagree with Jim Worbois review of this LPs. GO FOR BROKE for the most part, allows Ian (original spelling) Matthews to showcase his ability to put his own spin on other people's material. Every Matthews album has done this to some extent, but not to the depth he gives to The Youngbloods' "Darkness, Darkness," Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl," The Rascal's "Groovin'" or Doris Troy & The Hollies' "Just One Look." How Columbia missed the boat by not issuing and promoting "Lonely Hunter" as a single is baffling. This LP is as good as anything of Matthews' three Elektra albums (including Plainsong), but with a different twist, and it's probably that twist Jim Worbois didn't appreciate. This isn't a folk-rock album. It's a pop album, and artists DO have the option of changing direction when so motivated. I'll just point out that Matthews re-recorded "Lonely Hunter" on his 1980 album SPOT OF INTERFERENCE, albeit not performed as well as it is here. Ignore Jim Worbois (some people just weren't cut out to review albums) and seek out a copy of GO FOR BROKE. It'll be worth the trouble!






Darkness Darkness (Jesse Colin Young)

4:52​

I'll Be Gone (Matthews)

3:29​

Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)

3:51​

Rhythm Of The West (Matthews/Lacy)

3:23​

Groovin' (Brigati/Cavaleri)

2:48​

Lonely Hunter (Matthews/Nunes)

4:44​

Steamboat (Matthews)

3:55​

A Fool Like You (Moore)

3:13​

Just One Look (Payne/Carroll)

3:34​

When The Morning Comes (Hall)

2:43​

 

Contains two of my absolute favorites by Iain:

Lonely Hunter

 

...and Rhythm Of The West

 

Just won a vinyl copy of tigerscwill survive on eBay for six pounds. Am going to see him in a church about half a mile from where I live in August.

 

Nice....Iain is returning to England! Nice. If you can, share the set list and your feelings. I guessing there will be goosebumps a plenty. A church is an appropriate venue for Iain's special music.

Another great Vertigo label release and a favorite gatefold cover.

"1971 found former Fairport Convention lead singer Ian Matthews not only extremely prolific but surprisingly consistent. Tigers Will Survive, originally released on Vertigo in November of that year, is no exception. Featuring backing from British band Quiver (which included Bruce Thomas, later of Elvis Costello and The Attractions, and Tim Renwick, who played with David Bowie, among others). Tigers Will Survive is a brilliant collection of originals and choice covers (including Eric Andersen's classic 'Close The Door Lightly When You Go' and an a capella version of The Crystals' 'Da Doo Ron Ron.' Mellow folk-rock jams of the highest order."

 

I remember buying this in a bargain bin full of Vertigo swirls in the mid 70's , price was 5DM - I also bought Magna Carta's Songs from wasties orchard and Jackson Heights - Fifth Avenue Bus on the same day , all of which have been favourites until today . On the downside, I didn't pick up any of the more valuable Vertigo albums , otherwise I'd be a rich man now ... you can't have it all I guess .
Great album with great covers of Eric Anderson, Moby Grape and Richard Farina and the title song is one of the best of Matthews' self-penned songs ( I don't consider him a great songwriter, but this one is really good)

 

Another favorite song from "Go For Broke"...this has all the notes and lyrics of a classic tune. Memorable and a real toe tapper.

I'll Be Gone