The Country Gazette Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
Fourteen great bluegrass cuts with Alan Munde. The Country Gazette's 20th year. ~ Chip Renner, All Music Guide
'Bluegrass Tonight'
Release Date 1/1/1988
Tracks 12
Label Flying Fish
See Album Tracklist and Review
'All This, and Money, Too!'
Release Date 1/1/1979
Tracks 11
Label Ridge Runner
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Country Gazette produced one of its most wide-ranging albums with the making of All This, and Money, Too! At this point, the group featured Roland White and Alan Munde with new members Michael Anderson on bass and guitarist Joe Carr, as well as perennial guest fiddler Dave Ferguson, jazz guitarist Slim Richey, pedal steel guitarist Tommy Spurlock, and drummer Michael J. Dohoney, so it was clear the group was expanding its scope. In addition to traditional bluegrass and country favorites (for example, "Cotton Eyed Joe," "Gone, Gone, Gone," and "Why Don't You Tell Me So?"), the band detours into the realm of rock with the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and Western swing with "Old Fashioned Love," and also revisits earlier pieces by one of the pioneers in country-rock, the Flying Burrito Brothers, performing both "I'm Your Boy" (also known as "Hot Burrito No. 2") and "Devil in Disguise" (originally titled "Christine's Tune"). With White, Anderson, and Carr rotating the lead vocals and superb playing throughout the session, this somewhat obscure LP is well worth searching for. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
'Don't Give Up Your Day Job'
Release Date 1/1/1973
Tracks 12
Label United Artists
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Country Gazette's second studio album is a stunner. Highlighted by the likes of such great songwriters as Stephen Stills, whose "The Fallen Eagle" is on a par with Manassas' Graham Nash, whose "Teach Your Children" gets a great bluegrass treatment here, and Elton John, whose "Honky Cat" finds a home where it belongs, everything seems to work on Don't Give Up Your Day Job. Original tunes, the likes of "Deputy Dalton" and "Huckleberry Hornpipe," only add to this fine disc. With the help of such friends as Herb Pederson, Clarence White, and Leland Sklar, Country Gazette puts on an amazing array of music that tickles you in all the right places. It's no wonder these guys were looked upon as stars by bluegrass-crazy Europeans. Don't Give Up Your Day Job is as wonderful as it gets. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
'Traitor in Our Midst'
Release Date 1/1/1972
Tracks 12
Label United Artists
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The Country Gazette evolved as a sort of spin-off from the first edition of the Flying Burrito Brothers, with fiddler Byron Berline (doubling on mandolin), bassist Roger Bush, guitarist Kenny Wertz, and banjo player Alan Munde. Their debut record for United Artists mixed traditional bluegrass and country songs ("Lost Indian" and the Louvin Brothers' "I Wish You Knew"), a pair of rocker Gene Clark's songs ("Keep on Pushin'" and "Tried So Hard"), and original material. On a few tracks the group is augmented by the presence of guitarist Herb Pedersen, guitarist Chris Smith, and dobro player Skip Conover. The colorful album packaging is rather campy, but the music has held up very well in the decades which have followed, though the instrumentals are more memorable than the vocal numbers. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Out to Lunch marked the departure of fiddler Byron Berline, who left to found a new group called Sundance, and the return of founding member Kenny Wertz on guitar. Fiddler Dave Ferguson and pedal steel guitarist Al Perkins (a veteran of Stephen Stills' Manassas and the Flying Burrito Brothers) are listed as contributing musicians rather than working members of the group. Even without the presence of the outgoing Berline, the Country Gazette still succeed in delivering their unique brand of progressive bluegrass, mixing favorites from classic country and bluegrass ("Why You Been Gone So Long" and "Sunny Side of the Mountain"), along with relatively modern material by rocker Gram Parsons ("Still Feeling Blue") and Waylon Jennings ("Sure Didn't Take Him Long"). Banjo player Alan Munde is featured prominently in his lively instrumental "Uncle Cloony Played the Banjo (But Mostly out of Tune)." The group is in great form, though the gastric distress suggested by a photo of the band on this LP's back cover proved to be an omen; both Kenny Wertz and bassist Roger Bush departed for good following the making of this release. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
