Brewer & Shipley - Rural Space '1972/2017

Tracks list

Before Prairie Prince joined the Tubes and the Jefferson Starship, he was
helping out Michael Brewer and Tom Shipley on Rural Space, two albums after
their hit One Toke Over the Line. The project is at least consistent -- the type
and style of music one would expect from Brewer & Shipley, but whats most
noticeable on this odd collection of songs is that no progress is being made.
The duo produce themselves here after Nick Gravenites did such a great job on
the Weeds album, and the result is more like Chad & Jeremy gone hippy than what
the audience might expect from these two fine musicians. Have a Good Life is a
folksy Gregorian chant, while Blue Highway is a grooving coffeehouse sleepy
strum. Blue Highway was written by David Getz of Big Brother & the Holding
Company and credited also to a D. Gravenites, probably a misprint and most
likely a co-write from their former producer, Nick Gravenites. Its one of the
albums best tracks, and also the longest at close to six-and-a-half minutes.
Black Sky is a tune by Steve Cash, and the song would grace the self-titled
debut of his band, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, a year after this unveiling.
Jesse Winchesters oft-covered Yankee Lady gets a fine treatment here; its
excellent singing and playing, with the first side having a bit more life than
the second but with the notoriety of their hit record from early 1971, they
could have played the game a little better. More spark and creativity was in
order for a pair of folkies who found recognition, and the tune Where Do We Go
From Here is truly prophetic -- they were going in circles. The cover art doesnt
say much: a farmhouse and windmill on a stark plane with the modern logo flying
in the air among the clouds overhead. Its good music without direction, adequate
and not a bad listen years later, especially the strong Sleeping on the Way, but
at this particular point in time, they needed just a bit more.

Tracklist:
09 - Brewer & Shipley - Black Sky (3:41)
05 - Brewer & Shipley - Blue Highway (6:23)
07 - Brewer & Shipley - Crested Butte (3:24)
06 - Brewer & Shipley - Fly Fly Fly (3:08)
08 - Brewer & Shipley - Got to Get off the Island (3:14)
10 - Brewer & Shipley - Have a Good Life (2:31)
02 - Brewer & Shipley - Sleeping on the Way (2:19)
03 - Brewer & Shipley - When the Truth Finally Comes (2:35)
04 - Brewer & Shipley - Where Do We Go from Here (2:19)
01 - Brewer & Shipley - Yankee Lady (3:38)

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