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New Riders Of The Purple Sage - New Riders Of The Purple Sage (1971)

Track listing:
  1. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-01-I Don't Know You-N.R.P.S.
  2. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-02-Whatcha Gonna Do-N.R.P.S.
  3. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-03-Portland Woman-N.R.P.S.
  4. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-04-Henry-N.R.P.S.
  5. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-05-Dirty Business-N.R.P.S.
  6. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-06-Glendale Train-N.R.P.S.
  7. Garden Of Eden 4:37
  8. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-08-All I Ever Wanted-N.R.P.S.
  9. Last Lonely Eagle 5:15
  10. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-10-Louisiana Lady-N.R.P.S.
  11. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-11-Down In Boondocks (Live At The Fillmore West 1971)-N.R.P.S.
  12. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-12-The Weight (Live At The Fillmore West 1971)-N.R.P.S.
  13. New Riders Of The Purple Sage-13-Superman (Live At The Fillmore West 1971)-N.R.P.S.

Notes

The debut record from Jerry Garcia, Spencer Dryden, Mickey Hart, John 'Marmaduke' Dawson and company, reissued with unpublished photos, notes and three unreleased live bonus tracks - 'Down in the Boondocks', 'The Weight' and 'Superman' taken from the historic closing night of the Fillmore West on July 2, 1971!

Anyone who enjoyed the Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead or American Beauty and wanted more, then or now, should get the New Riders of the Purple Sage's eponymous release and follow it with the Riders' next two albums. With Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart in tow, and 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, New Riders of the Purple Sage was full of surprises then (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.