Bobby Charles - Bearsville Sessions (1972-1975)
Bobby Charles was an American singer-songwriter.
From
1972 to 1975 Bobby Charles lived in Woodstock, where he had originally
gone (under an alias) to find somewhere to hide away, as he was on the
run for a minor drugs possession charge. When his identity became known,
Albert Grossman persuaded him to sign a contract and record, the result
being his fantastic self-titled album of 1972. It was recorded at Grossman’s Bearsville Studios just a few miles down the road, which also produced records by The Band, Paul Butterfield’s Better Days, John Hartford, Bonnie Raitt, Karen Dalton, Happy & Artie Traum
and others. Charles in particular struck up a friendship with
Butterfield and his band, and both the Better Days albums from 1973
featured numerous Bobby Charles songs.Grossman wanted a follow-up record in 1975, but it never materialised. Charles felt that Grossman was taking advantage of him, and managed to escape through a loop-hole in his contract and return to Louisiana, where he lay low for many years. However his original Bearsville album has been reissued numerous times in recent years, with all sorts of bonus tracks from the Woodstock period, all presumeably recorded at Bearsville. This collection compiles twenty one of these tracks. I’m not sure about the exact recording dates - some might have been outtakes from ‘72, some maybe the start of the ‘75 album, and others may have been recorded at any time in between. Backing musicians include Dr John, pedal steel guitarist Ben Keith, bassist Jim Colegrove, drummer Billy Mundi, and members of both The Band and Better Days, alongside many others. Also features the single version of “Small Town Talk”, which features trombones played by John Simon and Rick Danko.
This is a great compilation of laid-back, rootsy music, blending rock, R&B and country. A fine companion to the 1972 album, and proof that another similar record or two could have been produced whilst he was living in Woodstock.
More from Bobby Charles
all via http://stuckinthepast08.blogspot.com/
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