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Review by Stansted Montfichet
Revisiting their country & western roots, surviving Brummels Ron Elliott and Sal Valentino joined forces with a host of ace session men at Owen Bradley's Nashville studios in 1968 and cut a clutch of tunes which included some of their finest work to date. From these sessions came "Deep Water" and the similarly constructed "Turn Around" -- each a solid 24-carat gold specimen of a new musical hybrid: country-rock. Both tracks are distinguished by stellar Dobro guitar work (the instrument's distinctive twang is heard on several other cuts as well). Valentino's lush voice, alternately playful and plaintive, is on this LP at its absolute peak. Valentino's effortless readings of "Jessica" and "An Added Attraction (Come and See Me)" could charm birds out of trees, and his persuasive handling of the smoke-filled bar ballad "Love Can Fall a Long Way Down" should make a believer out of anyone who ever doubted his vocal gift. Like its predecessor, Triangle, Bradley's Barn failed to attract the attention that it so richly deserved, though many critics gave it high marks. The more accessible and mainstream of the two, Bradley's Barn ranks right up there with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, the International Submarine Band's Safe at Home, and the freshman efforts of Gene Clark, Steve Young, and the Flying Burrito Brothers as a milestone of early country-rock. Fans of the genre would do well to seek out its German or Japanese CD reissue.
Tracklist:
1. You Tell Me Why
2. First In Line
3. Wolf
4. Down To The Bottom
5. Tennesse Walker
6. Singing Cowboy
7. Goldrush
8. The Lonely Side
9. Gate Of Hearts
10. Today By Day
Revisiting their country & western roots, surviving Brummels Ron Elliott and Sal Valentino joined forces with a host of ace session men at Owen Bradley's Nashville studios in 1968 and cut a clutch of tunes which included some of their finest work to date. From these sessions came "Deep Water" and the similarly constructed "Turn Around" -- each a solid 24-carat gold specimen of a new musical hybrid: country-rock. Both tracks are distinguished by stellar Dobro guitar work (the instrument's distinctive twang is heard on several other cuts as well). Valentino's lush voice, alternately playful and plaintive, is on this LP at its absolute peak. Valentino's effortless readings of "Jessica" and "An Added Attraction (Come and See Me)" could charm birds out of trees, and his persuasive handling of the smoke-filled bar ballad "Love Can Fall a Long Way Down" should make a believer out of anyone who ever doubted his vocal gift. Like its predecessor, Triangle, Bradley's Barn failed to attract the attention that it so richly deserved, though many critics gave it high marks. The more accessible and mainstream of the two, Bradley's Barn ranks right up there with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, the International Submarine Band's Safe at Home, and the freshman efforts of Gene Clark, Steve Young, and the Flying Burrito Brothers as a milestone of early country-rock. Fans of the genre would do well to seek out its German or Japanese CD reissue.
Tracklist:
1. You Tell Me Why
2. First In Line
3. Wolf
4. Down To The Bottom
5. Tennesse Walker
6. Singing Cowboy
7. Goldrush
8. The Lonely Side
9. Gate Of Hearts
10. Today By Day