Bradley's Barn

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Fans of Gram Parsons’ effect on the Byrds will find warm familiarity with the concept of folk rockers going twangy. But 1968’s <i>Bradley’s Barn</i> actually sounds more akin to Monkee Michael Nesmith’s pioneering recordings with the First National Band. They cut <i>Bradley’s Barn</i> in Music City enlisting A-list guns like Jerry Reed on guitar, bassist Norbert Putnam and drummer Kenneth A. Buttrey almost a year before Dylan rolled tape on <i>Nashville Skyline</i> with the same guys. “Turn Around” opens with a resonator guitar picking and sliding over mellifluous acoustic arpeggios as sunny bumpkin lyrics add pastoral poetry — the tune was even covered by the Everly Brothers on their own 1968 country-rock album <i>Roots</i>. The catchy “Deep Water” proved to be another standout with its vibraphone touches and tinges of chamber pop contrasting nicely with rootsy Americana instruments. And while the implementation of a string section on “Cherokee Girl” makes for the prettiest number; their take on Randy Newman’s “Bless You California” is an awesome way to bookend an album.

via Apple Music