''Tales from the Ozone'' is an album by American rock band

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944 in Boise, Idaho, died September 26, 2021 i ...

. Their sixth album, it was produced by the musician

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

, and recorded at

the Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

Sausalito, California Sausalito (Spanish language, Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, California, Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, California ...

. The last studio album to feature most of the band's original lineup, it was released in 1975. It reached #168 on the ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

''.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Thom Jurek said, "Like their eponymously titled set earlier in 1975, ''Tales from the Ozone'' featured a plethora of great songs... Critics have been critical of the production on this set in the past, but Axton knew exactly what he was doing in the studio. The "flat" sound is the dynamic the band had live, with everything up in the mix." On ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as a p ...

'', Eli Messinger wrote, "Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen's ''Tales from the Ozone'' draws almost entirely from a list of covers... As a mature band, recording for the then-reigning industry conglomerate, this is more polished than the earlier albums and just as inventive and enjoyable." When the album was released, ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine wrote, "Commander Cody's music, in its own slightly erratic way, represents the true spirit of America. Through the lines of ''Tales from the Ozone'' run images of truck stops and bars in one horse towns."

Track listing

:Side A #"

Minnie the Moocher "Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz- scat song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over a million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed (" scat") lyrics (for example, "Hi De Hi De Hi ...

" (

Cab Calloway Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

) – 3:50 #"It's Gonna Be One of Those Nights" (George Frayne,

Bill Kirchen William Knight Kirchen (born June 29, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid-1970s and later worked with Nick Lowe. ''Guitar Player'' magazine desc ...

, Billy C. Farlow) – 2:17 #"Connie" (Kevin "Blackie" Farrell) – 2:52 #"I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train" (

Billy Joe Shaver Billy Joe Shaver (August 16, 1939 – October 28, 2020) was an American outlaw country singer and songwriter, as well as an actor. Biography Shaver was born in Corsicana, Texas, and raised by his mother, Victory Watson Shaver. Until he was 12 ...

) – 2:47 #"Honky Tonk Music" (George Hawke) – 3:39 #"Lightnin' Bar Blues" (

) – 2:35 :Side B #"Paid in Advance" (Axton) – 2:50 #" Cajun Baby" (

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

) – 2:41 #"Tina Louise" (Farrell) – 3:27 #"The Shadow Knows" ( Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:30 #"Roll Your Own" (

Mel McDaniel Melvin Huston McDaniel (September 6, 1942 – March 31, 2011) was an American country music artist. Many of his top hits were released in the 1980s, including " Louisiana Saturday Night", "Big Ole Brew", "Stand Up", "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans ...

) – 3:22 #"Gypsy Fiddle" (

Andy Stein Andy Stein is an American saxophone and violin player. He is a member of The Guys All-Star Shoe Band on the radio show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' and the movie. He was a founding member of the country rock band Commander Cody and His Lost Plan ...

) – 3:02

Personnel

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen *Commander Cody (George Frayne) – piano, vocals *Billy C. Farlow – vocals, harmonica *

– guitar, vocals *John Tichy – guitar, vocals *Bobby Black – pedal steel guitar, vocals *

– fiddle, saxophone *Bruce Barlow – bass guitar, vocals *Lance Dickerson – drums, percussion, marimba, vocals Additional musicians * Tower of Power Horns with

Mic Gillette Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was an American brass player, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay. He is best known for being a member of the bands; Tower of Power, Cold Blood, and The Sons of Champlin. He pl ...

and Gregg Adams playing trumpet *

David Bromberg David Bromberg (born September 19, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. David Bromberg biographyat Billboard.com An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock a ...

– dobro *

– dobro, background vocals *Renee Armand,

Ronee Blakley Ronee Sue Blakley (born August 24, 1945) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, composer, producer and director. She is perhaps best known for her role as the fictional country superstar Barbara Jean in Robert Altman's 1975 film '' Nashvil ...

Nicolette Larson Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contem ...

Mimi Fariña Margarita Mimi Baez Fariña (April 30, 1945 – July 18, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez. She was the younger sister of t ...

, Deborah Anderson, Kevin "Blackie" Farrell, Marc Edelstein – background vocals Production *Produced by

*Mixing, engineering: John Stronach *Additional engineering: Tom Anderson, Chris Morris, Deni King *Mastering: Kent Dunken, John Stronach *Art direction, graphics, photography: Ren Deaton Productions

References

{{Authority control Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen albums Warner Records albums 1975 albums