Anyone who enjoyed
the Grateful Dead's
Workingman's Dead or
American Beauty and wanted more, then or now, should get this record and follow that with
the Riders' next two albums. With
Jerry Garcia and
Mickey Hart in tow and
the Jefferson Airplane's
Spencer Dryden playing what drums
Hart didn't, plus
Commander Cody at the piano, New Riders of the Purple Sage is some of the most spaced-out country-rock of the period. Even ignoring the big names working with
John Dawson,
David Nelson, and
Dave Torbert, however, this is a good record, crossing swords with
the Byrds,
the Burrito Brothers, and even
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and holding its own; maybe a few of the cuts (especially "Henry") are predictable at times, but mostly NRPS was full of surprises (the amazingly sweet, brittle guitars, in particular) and has tunes that have held up well: "Portland Woman," "Whatcha Gonna Do," "I Don't Know You," and "Louisiana Lady," not to mention the eight leisurely paced minutes of acid country found in "Dirty Business." There are no added notes, but they'd hardly be vital -- the album is an open book. [The 2003 CD reissue on Columbia/Legacy adds three bonus tracks, all recorded live at the Fillmore West on July 7, 1971, two of them covers:
the Band's "The Weight" and
Joe South's "Down in the Boondocks."] ~ Bruce Eder