Pickin' And Fiddlin' / Wheatstraw Suite / Copperfields ( 2CD)
£10.99
Description:
Carrying on from their earlier Bluegrass albums, 1965's 'Pickin' & Fiddlin' featured co-billing for fiddler Byron Berline. Dissatisfied with the way Elektra was marketing them, the Dillards switched labels to Capitol for two singles (included here) but returned to Elektra without releasing an album. In 1968, as the Byrds were making efforts to bring rock and country music closer together, the Dillards were trying to do some of the same for bluegrass and rock. The result was 'Wheatstraw Suite';13 all-but-perfect tracks.
In many ways, this is a finer rural/rock fusion album than 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo', the first Flying Burrito Brothers album, or the Beau Brummels efforts during this same period, and an indispensable part of any collection of '60s music. The Dillards' second album with rock-influenced arrangements ' Copperfields', was not as barrier-busting as 1968's 'Wheatstraw Suite', and further removed from their bluegrass roots. However, it was a similarly eclectic and, for the most part, joyous romp through a fusion of bluegrass, rock, folk, and country, with a bit of pop and orchestration along the ride, and the group's superb vocal harmonies being the main constant that recalls the Byrds' psychedelic era. Newly remastered and featuring luxury packaging, new liner notes, rarely-seen photos and contemporary ephemera.