The Brits really had a way with rural rock. They absorbed bits of Americana and folk rock while retaining strong elements of their classical tradition and lyricism. Heads Hands & Feet were the best band to follow the The Band. Starry Eyed & Laughing did a nice job picking up the Byrds trail. And here's another, the lead track from Keith Cross & Peter Ross' wonderful one-off album, Bored Civilians. It starts off unassumingly but you start to realize there's something a little more special going on when they hit the lilting, sublime harmonies of the first "chorus" at around 0:50. Then drums kick-in as the song elegantly shifts through several parts, culminating in its staggering guitar solo (starting around 4:15) that lifts the song through its climax, coda and conclusion. Here, it's critical to note that Keith Cross was, only two years prior, the dazzling 17 year old guitar prodigy for the Beatles meets Cream proto-prog powerhouse, T2. Here, Cross trades his Hendrix-meets-Fripp pyrotechnics and distortion for something far more restrained and understated. That he is able to retain such emotional intensity with such restraint is testimony to his genius. It's not clear what happened to him after this album...
Track of the Day: "Vamonos," Elkin & Nelson (1974) →
Funky Soul-Folk from the Spanish duo, Elkin & Nelson (looking kinda glam-Romantic on the cover of their 1974 album). The groove just gets deeper and deeper as they jam it out, almost mantra-like, and then the drums kick in. Got this one on repeat throughout the morning.