artist of the week: 1/7/13 willie nelson-the dry gulch triad

[dime in the gutter]

feature/artist of the week 1.7.13:

willie nelson: the dry gulch triad (1973-1975)

yes, i am going there.





might be many errors with regard to facts and figures here. apologies. make corrections, if warranted.

but in this case......

it's all about the vibe.

warning: i will make ridiculous statements of praise and glory in the name of willie nelson. he is, after all, a god.

willie nelson was not always one of the all time greats. for many years, he was "just" a very talented songwriter for others.....searching to find his own voice as a performer. willie had a very storied and documented run in nashville during the 60's. extreme success as a songwriter, yet completely unsatisfied as a artist. his genius was tough to hide, as dude wrote some of the all time country gold standards....crazy, hello walls, funny how time slips away and pretty paper......but somebody else was singing them. for all of this success.......in his mind, he was still a flop.

nelson worked it hard, but numerous attempts failed....nashville was not buying what willie was selling as an artist.

too slow. too sparse. too jazzy. too much snare. too much flamenco picking. too much gospel. too much production. too much non-production. too much revival. too raw. too nasally. too much swing. too much big band. too fractured. too much of the wrong kind of strings. too much brass. too many women.

too fucking complex and too fucking weird.

so, in 1972, willie "retired" from music back to austin, tx. the local hippy scene in austin suited willie perfectly. after gigging around for a few months and, surprisingly, finding fans who dug his distinct brand of music.......willie decided to un-retire. he got out of his record contract, formed "the family" and, at some point, was introduced to jerry wexler of atlantic records. he signed with atlantic and wexler agreed to help out with his next record. the rest, as they say, is history.

that's where this story begins.....back in texas, 39 years old, twice divorced and run out of town from nashville.

willie nelson starts digging his dry gulch.......


to be continued......

[bovine knievel]

Way to set the hook, dime!

Lookin' forward to more.

[dime in the gutter]

1973....well you can't make a record it you ain't got nothing to say.....

unlike neil young with his ditch trilogy, willie was not running from fame and expectations.....he was searching out his own vision and and redefining music as he went. he did not run into the ditch like shakey, but decided to dig his own. plus he had a david briggs (different dude, but same name, i think) on board. keep digging.

willie has a new deal with atlantic records that promises him complete artistic control over his music. he travels to nyc, nashville and memphis (sun studios) to record his debut record for jerry wexler, shotgun willie.

with a fat budget and lots of friends, willie set up shop in nyc to begin recording. his unique blend of jazz arrangements, folky influences and stoner culture produced one of the great country music albums of all time. free from the strict confinements of the nashville music biz, willie got down to work in quick fashion...recording most of the album in less than a month. simple, yet complex music driven by a visionary who did not fit any prescribed molds. a big part of this album (and one of willie's genius talents, as a whole) is his re-interpretation of several old time classics from a bygone era. with a tip of the hat and a nod to bob wills and others, nelson was inventing a new type of music.

the name itself....shotgun willie....was actually a nick name for willie. given to him by his daughter after he and his drummer "el diablo" (paul english) shot up his daughter's husband's truck. apparently, his daughter was involved in an abusive marriage. willie threatened the wife beating husband. wife beating husband came over to willie's house and shot up the windows with a .22 rifle. willie and paul (of me and paul fame) fired back with a double barrel shotgun, scaring off the bad guys and inspiring and album that created a new type of music fan.

taking ques from dylan, grateful dead and bob wills. jazz infused, folk music for stoners who are terribly bad at being faithful to women. empty, vacant sounding production allows the songs to be heard....but still kick ass picking. fonky bass lines. up and down. lots and lots of layers here. tweaks and twists of the studio nobs. perfect sounding record.

bunch of cool mother fuckers chipped in on this record. doug sahm and his band, waylon, jessi and of course, the family. the first salvo in a run of three all time great albums.

1. shotgun willie-memphis horns, grateful dead style picking and the kkk. pure gold...and most of it's true. (john t. ford was a brother-in-law). reported to have been written on the back of a maxi-pad wrapper.
2. whiskey river-written by johnny bush...willie made his own.....don't let her memory torture me.....sleepy pedal steel sounds like a train. bee spears bringing the funk.
3. sad songs and waltzes-telling his nashville story....and looking for silver linings within the destruction of his 2nd marriage. sparse. augie meyers on organ.
4. local memory-sums up all things great about willie's writing. questions and answers, strange syntax and lyrical loops. brilliant. sister bobbie on piano.
5. slow down old world-cry in your beer confessional. failure and acceptance all wrapped up with orchestral strings and spook pedal steel. beautiful.
6. stay all night-penned by bob wills. texas swing with flamenco guitar and hillbilly fiddle. looking back while moving forward. shake that ass.
7. devil in a sleeping bag-one of several tracks inspired by paul english. willie narrating an autobiographical tale with a shout out to kris kristofferson and rita coolidge. fuck yes. feeling that dead gratefully.
8. she's not for you-i am the only one who would let her act this way.......she's not for you.
9. bubbles in my beer-more bob wills. pure texas swing. heavy ray price influence.
10. you look like the devil in the morning 1 of 2 leon russell tracks. raindrops from augie meyers.
11. so much to do-morning after another break-up. my oatmeal tastes just like confetti....last night playing heavy on his mind.
12. song for you-leon russell. astounding in it's effect. sparse. completely unvarnished plea to his woman. so fucking good.

the record did not sell, but critics raved. willie went back to texas and re-organized the dripping springs festival in june of 1973. woodstock for rednecks. eventually it became the willie nelson 4th of july picnic.

willie was still digging that dry gulch...making his mark.






on to muscle shoals for a concept album.


to be continued......

[Iowan]

Right on, dimer.

All the Willie I have is compilation. Didn't know how many classics were on Shotgun Willie. In the past year I've become a junkie for pretty much anything tracing to that 1970's Austin/Luckenbach scene. Great write up thus far.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I think the first proper Willie Nelson album I ever bought was The Sound In Your Mind (1976) after being sucked into the vortex via Wanted: The Outlaws and Waylon's Honky Tonk Heroes. From there, it was a lot of backtracking including Shotgun Willie, an album one of my older brothers had on 8-track that I just had to have for myself. Willie's career is so wide and varied (not to mention prolific) that I think it's very easy to overlook certain aspects of it. Thanks, dime for shining a light on this era. In some instances, like "Whiskey River", I've come to prefer the live versions but it's always cool to hear to what they sounded like the first time around.

[dime in the gutter]

dry gulch indeed.

[Clams]

Dime is a genius.

[dime in the gutter]

the family....


bobbie nelson.
willie's older sister. member since birth. piano. breakfast cooker. still touring.


mickey raphael.
harmonica. member since 1972. still touring.


jody payne.
guitar. member since 1973. retired 2008.


bee spears
bass. member since 1968. died a few years ago. did a kick ass version of okie from muskogee.


paul "el diablo" english
drums. began playing with willie in 1955. retired 2010. i think his son is the drummer now.


willie nelson. still touring.



one from sister bobbie.




to be continued......

[3milelake]

Great stuff Dime. His brother played in his band for years I think as well, didn't know about the sister. Willie is a loyal man, gotta love that.

[bovine knievel]

Great stuff Dime. His brother played in his band for years I think as well, didn't know about the sister. Willie is a loyal man, gotta love that.

I am surprised you didn't know about Bobbie.

[Clams]

I saw Willie play live one time. It was in 2004 or 05 at a minor league baseball stadium in Charleston, SC. His band opened for Bob Dylan's band that night (I think it was a co-headlining tour). I sure am glad I got to see him.

[3milelake]

Great stuff Dime. His brother played in his band for years I think as well, didn't know about the sister. Willie is a loyal man, gotta love that.

I am surprised you didn't know about Bobbie.

He pretty much flew under my radar until about 7 years ago. I'm well familiar with the seminal albums, but I've never read up on him (other than Outlaw Country articles) or watched a documentary. I certainly noticed Bobbie in the original ACL & 4th of July you tubes, but I must have tuned out when he did the band member shout outs.

[dime in the gutter]

1974......

they said muscle shoals was too r&b for willie.....i said willie was too r&b for nashville. -jerry wexler

plus it was a flippin concept record. full on.

willie had recorded a few tunes from this record in a long ago, aborted session in nashville. his old label, rca, did not like them......nelson decided to re-record the tunes in muscle shoals with the swampers. entire album was cut in 2 days. unbelievable picking form the boys in alabama. somehow they both funk and pretty up the old shit kicking nashvegas sound. like these dudes were born within the record itself. banjos, fiddles, sloppy snare, harmonicai, pedal steel, lots of cool keys both piano and organ. it has long amazed me that this group of soul and rock and roll pioneers were so fucking good at playing dust in your eyes country music. stellar. willie also added layers of lush fancy pants strings. lots of cool shit to get lost in.

did i mention that it was a concept record? a challenging, hard to follow linear story from start to end. can you play that on the radio? dig a little deeper, son.

record tells the tale of a marriage break up. side 1 from the woman's point of view. side 2 told from the man's perspective. certainly, willie's admitted failings with women were central to his inspiration.

phases and stages...scenes that we've all seen before....let me tell you some more -a little trickeration and recurring lyrical cycle played between tracks. no dead air...only willie laying it down. continuous play.

side 1 (woman's perspective)
1. phases and stages (theme)/washing the dishes-sad, slow organ on top of barely there picking. weepy pedal steel and orchestral strings.
his old lady is tired of doing all his shit and he does not even try to hide his cheating ways.....washing his shirts and never complaining...except of red stains on the collar
2. phases and stages (theme)/walkin-dobro maybe. fat, funky walk the dog bass line. fiddle. pedal steel. wife thinks it over and decides to leave his ass.
after carefully considering the whole situation, and i stand with back to the wall.
walking is better than running away and crawlin' ain't no good at all
3. pretend i never happened-manolins. cheerful steel. sweet acoustic picking. giving him the kiss off. fuck you, dude.
just pretend i never happened, and erase me form your mind. you will not want to remember any love as cold as mine.
4. sister's comin' home/down at the corner beer joint-shake that ass hoedown. wife heads home to be with family and get her mojo back. she does.
down at the corner beer joint, dancing to the rock and roll....her jeans fit a little bit tighter than they did before
5. how will i know i'm in love again-self doubt and sorrow. grief. great violin and piano interplay at the end. melancholy.

side 2 (man's perspective)
6. bloody mary morning-straight up pickin and grinnin'. banjo. boogie. dude is getting his drunk on while flying out of town leaving his wife.
all the nightlife and the parties, temptation and deceit are the order of the day....
7. phases and stages (theme)/no love around-dude returns home and realizes he is alone. wait a minute....what the fuck, she's gone?
there weren't no love around
8. i still can't believe you're gone-heartbroken and yearning. why me? big fancy strings.
9. it's not supposed to be that way-bro is crushed. man tears. be careful what you're dreaming...soon your dreams will be dreaming you. more fancy strings and shit kicking too.
10. heaven and hell-honky tonk 2 step. no line dancing here. masterful steel.
11. phases and stages (theme)/pick up the tempo-country waltz. sing along and contemplative. pick up the tempo just a little and take it on home.....



sister's coming home/down at the corner beer joint

bloody mary morning

pickers and others credited on this record. swampers, too.....hood included.
willie – acoustic guitar, vocals
fred carter, Jr. – acoustic, 12-string, & electric guitars, dobro
pete carr – acoustic & electric guitars, dobro, background vocals on "pick up the tempo"
john hughey – pedal steel guitar
johnny gimble – fiddle, mandolin
barry beckett – keyboards
david hood – bass
roger hawkins – drums
eric weissberg – banjo on "down at the corner beer joint"
al lester – fiddle on "bloody mary morning"
jeannie greene – background vocals on "pick up the tempo"
george soulé – background vocals on "pick up the tempo"
mike lewis – string arrangements on "i still can't believe you're gone" and "it's not supposed to be that way"
jerry wexler – producer


astounding record that sold modestly and ended up being the swan song for willie at atlantic. after 2 phenom records, they did not renew his gig and shut down the country music division of the label.

maybe it was not meant to be.


to be continued.....

[blessedcurse]

Hat tip Dime....nicely done!

[cortez the killer]

Some great stuff here, dime. Learned a shit-ton of stuff. Always love a little context to sharpen the picture. Looking forward to your piece on Red Headed Stranger.

[blackwll]

So, did anybody on here go to the Willie Nelson July 4th Picnic where DBT opened at the Gorge in WA in 2007 during the Dirt Underneath tour (although I think this show was electric, not a good venue for acoustic music I bet)?

I used to have a picture of DBT playing there as my desktop (geek). Beautiful place, I have always wanted to go there for a concert. One of my best friends lives not too far away.

[dime in the gutter]

1975......

he cried like a baby....he screamed like a panther in the middle of the night.....

atlantic records decides not resign willie. he moves quickly to columbia records. he was ready to get back to work....

what to do now? how bout another concept record? murderous preacher on a jealous rampage to exact revenge on his cheating wife. that ought to sell. surprisingly it did. willie and the family captured a force of nature with this record. one of the great lp's of all time. gulch is fully dry with this album. against the grain and on his own.

entire lp is based on the song red headed stranger....a very old tune willie used to spin as a dj back in ft. worth. used that one track as the central theme to which he created an entire back and front story.

after a little ski vaca.....on the drive home, he wrote the red headed stanger lp. he drove and composed the lyrics. his 3rd wife transcribed as he laid it all out. when he 25+ hour journey was over he had the record written. got home, called up the family and headed to a studio in garland, tx.

knocked out recording in short order. record takes you to another time and place.....like it is being told out by a campfire or in a saloon or livery stable. sounds like it was captured contemporaneously with the events it depicts. lots of willie and sister bobbie playing back and forth. mickey raphael shines brightly. bro can blow.

i could go on and on about the artistic statement of purpose and vision....bla bla bla. you get the picture. a desert island record for me. one of the great lp's ever put to vinyl. when nelson turned the record over to columbia for release, they balked. what the fuck is this? where are the songs? what is with all these clips and snips of poems and sonnets? where are hits? what is there to sell? begrudgingly, they released it as it was......just as willie had it dreamed up. it became the biggest selling country record of all time. may still be today.

1. time of the preacher-how he loved her so dearly, he went out of his mind..... willie picks his ass of here. dude is an amazing guitar player.
2. couldn't believe it was true-straight up gospel. searching for strength.
3. blue rock/red headed stranger medley-they smiled at each other when they walked thru the door...and they died with smiles on their faces...
4. blue eyes crying in the rain-massive song.
5. red headed stranger-he's wild in his sorrow. the good rev is still killing.
6. just as i am-harmonica and willie setting the mood.
7. denver-wrote this one coming down the valley into denver. the bright lights of denver are shining like diamonds...like 10K jewels in the sky. preach finds love again.
8. o'er the waves-like it's coming out of an old, hand crank victrola.
9. down yonder-classic sister bobbie.
10. can i sleep in you arms?-perfectly captures all that is the willie nelson sound. all the good stuff here. spiritual.
11. remember me-old school. all those vows are broken now and i will never be the same except for memory. forgive me for what i have done.
12. hands on the wheel-willie's vox stands alone as one of america's great treasures. i found myself in you. more spook hamonica.
13. bandera-sad picking from a guitar genius.

collectively this album sounds like nothing ever recorded before or since. eclectic, vision, nerve, confidence and talent. weaving a story and a place in time.

with this triad of lp's, willie nelson recorded three of the most important country albums of all time. he redefined an entire industry. he created art that brought millions of new fans to the table. his weird, complicated songs struck a nerve that still rings today. and they were all of his own making. all hail willie nelson.


listen to that boy wail.


panty dropper.

dude has had many, many other career highlights. willie is now ubiquitous as one of the coolest cats on the planet. activist, zen master, author, actor and all around daddio....all well deserved and completely accurate. it all started with these 3 albums.

thus ends the dry gulch triad. a 3 year run of unparalleled productivity and quality. prolific, groundbreaking, uncompromising, wall busting and sea changing music.

willie nelson is a genius of the highest order. he is second to none. 40+ year career on how to do things the willie way. he won....we all won.

the dry gulch awaits.



the story continues.....

[rlipps]

Nice job Dime, really enjoying this. I used to stay with my late aunt almost every Friday night when I was 4 or 5 years old and she had tons of Willie records that we'd listen to. Great albums and some great memories.

[cortez the killer]

contemporaneously & ubiquitous

dime in the bubba? Fancy.

[dime in the gutter]

contemporaneously & ubiquitous

dime in the bubba? Fancy.

gotta dig deep when trying to put willie nelson into words.

btw, i stole ubiquitous from tc.

hope i used them right.

[beantownbubba]

As always, well done dime. I'm not the biggest Willie fan in the world, mostly due to lack of familiarity*, but Red Headed Stranger ... yeah, you caught it. Bowing in the general direction of the bayou.


yeah, yeah, i know, i know. I will. Really.

[bovine knievel]

you knocked it out of the park, dime. I have these on vinyl so I'll be spinning the gulch triad tonight. Great work.

[rawkshow]

great read man, i already had redheaded stranger but just recently my buddy gave me a lot more of his stuff & after reading all this background, i itching to listen to phases and stages. didn't know anything about him recording in muscle shoals.

[porkulator]

Great job,Dime!
I was lucky enough to see Willie a few years back at Mud Island.The opening act was Old Crow Medicine Show.Two things I remember about that show was Old Crow was about midway through Wagon Wheel, when Willies bus comes rolling in and basically pulls up right next to the stage.OC finishes,says thank you,walks off and Willie and the crew exit the bus and the show was on.He finishes,says thank you, waves to the crowd for a second or two,jumps back on the bus and they're outta there.I thought at the time (and still do),I have just witnessed a true American Legend.I'm glad we got to see him.In my 52+ years,I've had lots of opportunities,but just never had before.

[dime in the gutter]

thanks for the kind words everybody. enjoyed doing it. always learn new stuff when i do aotw.

lucky enough to have seen willie 4-5 times in my career. a few at festivals, and a couple just recently in a club. dude still brings it.

[cortez the killer]

[Smitty]

Willie, Leon, Doug, Waylon, etc

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I have the poster but not the movie. I'm not even sure if it's for sale anywhere but there are a lot of clips from it on the YouTubes.

[cortez the killer]

Dry Gulch Justice

[dime in the gutter]

Dry Gulch Justice

outstanding.

i like this one.

I ran for my truck and drove to the place where Steve and Lana lived and slapped Steve around,” Willie recalls. “He really pissed me off. I told him if he ever laid a hand on Lana again, I would come back and drown his ass.