''Powerglide'' is the second album by the American band the
New Riders of the Purple Sage
New Riders of the Purple Sage is an American country rock band. The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969 and its original lineup included several members of the Grateful Dead. The band is sometimes referred ...
. The music is a
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
hybrid of
country rock
Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...
, and includes guest musicians
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
and
Bill Kreutzmann
William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued ...
from the
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
, along with noted session player
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
. The album contains six original tunes by the band, plus covers such as "I Don't Need No Doctor", "Hello Mary Lou", and "Willie and the Hand Jive".
''Powerglide'' was the first New Riders album to feature
Buddy Cage
Buddy Cage (February 18, 1946 – February 5, 2020) was an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. , who had replaced Garcia as the New Riders'
pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...
player. It was the band's highest-charting album, reaching number 33 on the
''Billboard'' 200.
[
]
Artwork
The album cover artwork for ''Powerglide'' was done by Alton Kelley
Alton Kelley (June 17, 1940 – June 1, 2008) was an American artist known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concert posters and album covers. Along with artists Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso an ...
and Stanley Mouse
Stanley George Miller (born October 10, 1940), better known as Mouse or Stanley Mouse, is an American artist who is notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert
A rock concert is a performance of rock music.
During the 1950s, several Ameri ...
, under the name Kelly and Mouse Studios.
The original LP contained a 12 inch by 12 inch heavy paper insert with the album credits. The artwork for the insert was drawn by Lore Orion, then known as Lore Shoberg. It is a caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
that portrays the band members as Western outlaws. Depicted from left to right are David Nelson, John Dawson, Spencer Dryden
Spencer Charles Dryden (April 7, 1938 – January 11, 2005) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Jefferson Airplane and New Riders of the Purple Sage. He also played with Dinosaurs, and the Ashes (later known as the Peanut Butt ...
, Dave Torbert
David Edwin Torbert (June 7, 1948 – December 7, 1982) was a Bay Area musician, best known for his associations with the Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He played bass for the latter group, replacing Phil Lesh during the se ...
, and Buddy Cage
Buddy Cage (February 18, 1946 – February 5, 2020) was an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. .[
]
Track listing
#"Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)
Dim may refer to:
* Dim, a rhinoceros beetle in the 1998 Disney/Pixar animated film ''A Bug's Life''
* ''Dim'' (album), the fourth studio album by Japanese rock band The Gazette
* Dim, Amur Oblast, a rural locality in Amur Oblast, Russia
* Dim, I ...
" (Joe Maphis
Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis (May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together, later referred to as "Mr & Mrs Country Music".
One of the flashiest c ...
, Max Fidler, Rose Lee Maphis) – 4:15
#"Rainbow" ( John Dawson) – 3:05
#"California Day" (Dave Torbert
David Edwin Torbert (June 7, 1948 – December 7, 1982) was a Bay Area musician, best known for his associations with the Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He played bass for the latter group, replacing Phil Lesh during the se ...
) – 2:40
#"Sweet Lovin' One" (Dawson) – 2:30
#"Lochinvar" (Dawson) – 3:33
#"I Don't Need No Doctor
"I Don't Need No Doctor" is an R&B song written by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Jo Armstead. First released by Ashford on Verve in August 1966, it went nowhere. It was then picked up and recorded by Ray Charles and released in October ...
" (Nick Ashford
Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946).
Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...
, Valerie Simpson
Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946).
Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...
, Jo Armstead
Josephine Armstead (born October 8, 1944), also known as "Joshie" Jo Armstead, is an American soul singer and songwriter. Armstead began her career singing backing vocals for blues musician Bobby "Blue" Bland before becoming an Ikette in the Ike ...
) – 4:47
#"Contract" (Torbert) – 3:10
#"Runnin' Back to You" (Dawson) – 4:12
#"Hello Mary Lou
"Hello Mary Lou" is a song written by American singer Gene Pitney first recorded by Johnny Duncan in 1960 and in the following year by Ricky Nelson. The song was recorded by Ricky Nelson at the famous United Western Recorders Studios on 22nd Mar ...
" (Gene Pitney
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician.
Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...
, Cayet Mangiaracina) – 2:58
#"Duncan and Brady
"Duncan and Brady", also known as "Been on the Job Too Long", "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", or simply "Brady", is a traditional murder ballad about the shooting of a policeman, Brady, by a bartender, Duncan. The song's lyrics stemmed from act ...
" (trad Trad. is often an abbreviation of the word "traditional". It may also refer to:
Music
*Trad jazz, a style of jazz music in the 1950s and 1960s
*Néo-trad, a musical style that arose in Quebec around the turn of the 21st century
*Irish traditional m ...
., arranged by John Koerner
"Spider" John Koerner (born August 31, 1938, in Rochester, New York, United States) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the blues trio Koerner, Ray & Glover, with Dave Ray and Ton ...
) – 5:23
#"Willie and the Hand Jive
"Willie and the Hand Jive" is a song written by Johnny Otis and originally released as a single in 1958 by Otis, reaching #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song has a Bo Diddley beat and was partly in ...
" (Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...
) – 6:50
Personnel
New Riders of the Purple Sage
* John Dawson – acoustic and electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
s, vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, lead vocals on "Rainbow", "Sweet Lovin' One", "Lochinvar", "Runnin' Back to You", "Duncan and Brady"
* David Nelson – lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
, vocals, mandolin on "Runnin' Back to You", lead vocal on "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke"
*Dave Torbert
David Edwin Torbert (June 7, 1948 – December 7, 1982) was a Bay Area musician, best known for his associations with the Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He played bass for the latter group, replacing Phil Lesh during the se ...
– bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
, vocals, electric rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar on "California Day" and "Hello Mary Lou", piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
on "Duncan and Brady", lead vocals on "California Day", "I Don't Need No Doctor", "Contract", "Hello Mary Lou", and "Willie and the Hand Jive"
*Buddy Cage
Buddy Cage (February 18, 1946 – February 5, 2020) was an American pedal steel guitarist, best known as a longtime member of the New Riders of the Purple Sage. – pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...
, dobro
Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar.
The Dobro was originally ...
on "Lochinvar" and "Duncan and Brady"
*Spencer Dryden
Spencer Charles Dryden (April 7, 1938 – January 11, 2005) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Jefferson Airplane and New Riders of the Purple Sage. He also played with Dinosaurs, and the Ashes (later known as the Peanut Butt ...
– drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
, broom, whistle, and whoopee on "Duncan and Brady"
Additional musicians
*Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
– piano on "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke", "California Day", "I Don't Need No Doctor", "Contract", "Runnin' Back to You", "Willie and the Hand Jive"
*Jerry Garcia
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
– banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
on "Sweet Lovin' One", "Duncan and Brady"; piano on "Lochinvar"
* Billy Kreutzmann – percussion on "Duncan and Brady", "Willie and the Hand Jive"
*Peoples chorus on "Duncan and Brady" – Nelson, McDuke, Buddy, Judy, Steve
*Riderettes on "I Don't Need No Doctor" – our boys in drag
Production
*Producer – Steve Barncard and the New Riders
*Engineer – John Fiore
*Second engineer – George Beauregard
*Mastering – Bob McCloud, Artisan Sound, Hollywood
*Outside album design – Kelly
Kelly may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kelly (Kelly Price album)
* Kelly (Andrea Faustini album)
* ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap
* "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland
* ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
and Mouse
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
Studios
*Inside artwork – Lore Shoberg
References
{{Authority control
New Riders of the Purple Sage albums
1972 albums
Albums produced by Stephen Barncard
Columbia Records albums