Chris Darrow Albums (3)
'Under My Own Disguise'
Release Date 1/1/1974
Tracks 43
Label United Artists
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On the appropriately titled Under My Own Disguise, Chris Darrow's follow-up to 1973's Chris Darrow, the journeyman Southern California country-rocker continues to sound more like a former group member than a current solo artist. His sturdy, if undistinguished baritone is mixed down, no louder than the musical instruments, which gives the album an under-produced sound. Under My Own Disguise is not as concerned as Chris Darrow with exploring the artist's eclecticism; there are no Japanese or chamber music touches this time, just different sides of country and blues styles, for the most part. (Darrow does include a cover of the 1940s Ink Spots hit "Java Jive," another novelty nod to the distant past, as was "Hong Kong Blues" on Chris Darrow) He also plays a rag instrumental, "Live or Die Rag," and continues to display the influence of the Allman Brothers Band on "Maybe It's Just as Well." As country-rock goes, this is closer to Gram Parsons than to Poco or the Eagles, which is to say that it leans more toward country than rock. But Darrow doesn't make as much of an impression as a frontman as Parsons; he seems like a sideman on his own album. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As a former member of Kaleidoscope, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the Corvettes, Chris Darrow is a veteran of the Southern California psychedelic country-rock scene, and his self-titled solo album is an eclectic grab-bag of styles. Lead-off track "Albuquerque Rainbow," with its twinned electric guitar line, sounds like one of the softer efforts of the Allman Brothers Band, while "Take Good Care of Yourself" applies a reggae rhythm to a country tune. Elsewhere, Darrow turns to less produced and more esoteric fare, including the double-mandolin instrumental "Devil's Dream" and the old-timey country number "We're Living on $15 a Week." "Hong Kong Blues" is the old Hoagy Carmichael song, but "Faded Love" is an original in which the mandolin, accompanied by a flute, approximates the sound of a koto for a Japanese effect, and it all concludes with "That's What It's Like to Be Alone," given a Renaissance chamber music arrangement complete with harpsichord and cello. Thus, Chris Darrow boasts a little bit of everything in its musical choices, although at its center is a singer and player with a stronger sense of style than substance, which may explain why he's tended to be a group member rather than a frontman until now. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
