I'll be at the show next Saturday night at The Roxy in LA. Check out their new song download called Bear In The Woods on iTunes!
I have the studio albums on vinyl and CD plus that EP and recently got 'Final Wild Songs' CD set I thought they were a great band, and as an old Byrds fan they sounded to me almost like the 'sons of The Byrds' kind of thing re their musical hearts etc, and were SO refreshing in an era of largely bland keyboardy based outfits and dreaded boy bands etc... shame they didn't last longer - in fact three groups I got into - Long Ryders, Del Amitri (from Scotland) and The Seahorses - all guitar led outfits doing their own songs and a few noted decent 'tribute' covers - all suddenly seemed to disappear too quickly despite making some great music .... I assumed it was down to the 'State' of the corporate musak industry (?) as more than one band were 'dropped' despite selling o.k. - it later happened to The Zutons too ! I recall two lovely ladies from The Bangles (also gone too soon back then) were guest backing vocalists on a Long Ryders track if those latter days younger groups I've mentioned had got the same kind of record company support the long running classic sixties and seventies groups had the situation re the music business now might be better quality wise....
Brought this thread back from the Graveyard as I adore the Long Ryders. I had a dream last night on the OGWT in 85(?) blew my mind, and I ordered Native Sons. Still in my Top 10 LPs of all time. All the albums are great, and Harriot Tubman is a stone classic. Saw them a couple of times, magic. Sid's a top bloke too. Chris Warr
I saw them perform at The Roxy last year. Was a lot of fun, but they were a bit less than well oiled. I've seen this band many times back in the day and they could alternately be brilliant or a bit of a train wreck (not unlike Rain Parade, who were that way until they got John Thoman in the band). That being said, they put out some great records and it was fun being a local following them (and others) around LA during the heyday of the Paisley Underground. I understand they are working on more new recordings...
Man, I hope they are working on new stuff. Rain Parade were ace live when I saw them, Green on Red were ace too, depended on how long Dan Stuart had spent in the bar before though..... CW.
Hah! I saw GOR at 930 Club in DC back in the days where every band had to play 2 sets. I think at the time, Chuck Prophet was more a culprit that Dan Stuart. During the second set, Chuck ended up on his backside on the stage playing some incomprehensible solo and Dan pretty much walked off the stage in disgust. Was a great night, nevertheless. Chuck added a lot to that band once he joined, like John Thoman did to RP.
The best Byrds revisionist band on the 10-5-60 EP & Native Sons full album. Sid Griffins book on The Byrds is essential reading. State of Our Union is a fine follow up to Native Sons. Not as Byrds-esque but good listening just the same more ala Los Lobos in sound.
I think if you approach the Long Ryders as being a Byrds revisionist band you are missing a lot. Yes the Byrds are an important and obvious reference point however they had other influences and they took their music far beyond those influences. For me the Long Ryders albums rate as high as the best Byrds albums. The Long Ryders were one of the best bands during the 80's a time when their style of music never got the accolades it deserved and the band foldedfar too early It's interesting that Stephen McCarthy repeated the frustration of indifference with another wonderful band in The Jayhawks.
]I'm a Long Ryders fan. I recall hearing "Looking for Lewis and Clark" at the time of its release, though I did not really delve much further into their work until maybe 20 years later. Something about the LRs I've always found amusing is the guitar solo in "Run Dusty Run", which seemingly pays homage to (in order) Chuck Berry, The Byrds, and The Move! In case they haven't been mentioned yet, LR fans should check out Sid Griffin's post-LR project The Coal Porters.
I've loved them from the beginning...also loved green on reds "gas,food and lodging" from the same period!I brought the box-set and love it!a few years ago I found a used copy of "gas,food and lodging" on the original enigma label on c.d..... I still listen to both bands!!!great 80''s bands both!!
What a wonderful band that never got their due. They had the songs and the presence. They put the Underground in the Paisley Underground.
Just read through the whole thread. I first became aware of the Long Ryders when I saw a video of "I Had a Dream" on a late night video show. This would have been probably spring of 1985. MTV was certainly going strong by that point, but that was on cable and not everyone had cable. I was in college then in L.A. and our dorm game room had a big TV and I used to watch NBC's "Friday Night Videos" (@11:30?) and then there was a locally produced show that came on afterward with more indie stuff, that's where I saw the Ryders video. Went out and bought Native Sons within a couple of weeks. I was very much into the Paisley Underground bands at the time, though I didn't get to see too many of them. I was into The Bangles, Green on Red, the Long Ryders, the Rain Parade, and most of all the Dream Syndicate. Of those, only got to see the Dream Syndicate and Long Ryders back in the day. Caught the Long Ryders at the Music Machine in 1987 I think it was. I'm a huge Steve Wynn fan and continued to follow his career closely through the years. Unless I missed it, nobody in the thread has mentioned Gutterball, the project Steve Wynn and Stephen McCarthy did with House of Freaks. And then of course there was also Danny and Dusty that Stephen also was part of.
From The Long Ryders' Facebook page this morning: November 2018 will see two very, very special Long Ryders releases! Both State Of Our Union and Two-Fisted Tales reappear on the marketplace after years out-of-print. Not only are they coming back into print each album is now a three CD set (!) with the first disc being the original album with B-sides, the second being outtakes and demos, and the third CD being a live show recorded in support of the album. So, yes, if you buy both releases…and we hope you do…the discerning Long Ryders fan will have six discs of Long Ryders music, much of it unreleased. Talk about Christmas coming early in the year! Hats in the air, let there be dancing in the streets, necking in the parlours, and singing in the saloons.
State Of Our Union 3-CD set available for preorder. To be released Nov. 30. https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/the-long-ryders-state-of-our-union-3cd-boxset/ New album next year!
Meh. The demos are barely different from the released versions. And IIRC, there is a fantastic cover of If I Were A Carpenter still unreleased. BUT....if you don't have any of their other stuff, this is a great place to start. They never put on a bad show and they were on fire during this time. Encore From hell is pretty funny and the 10-5-60 after just totally smokes.
Two-Fisted Tales also out Nov. 30. The Long Ryders: Two Fisted Tales, 3CD Boxset - Cherry Red Records
New wave had made anything possible for anybody, so the mid eighties were, I think, kind of a fertile ground for less than typical rock bands and music. Los Lobos popped up about the same time too. Saw these guys on their first tour behind the first album at Metro in Chicago. great show.
