| Marshall Tucker Band: 'Where We All Belong', 'Searchin' For A Rainbow' and 'Long Hard Ride' Ł14.99 Each |
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| 'Where We All Belong' | 'Long Hard Ride' |
 The Marshall Tucker Band arrived at a crossroads on its third album, Where We All Belong. With two successful LPs already under their belt, the Spartanburg, SC sextet was on the verge of even greater popularity. Marshall Tucker’s eclectic brand of musical Americana had won them a fervent following as a touring act. Now—thanks to lead guitarist Toy Caldwell’s knack for hook-laden songwriting—they were edging closer to breaking into Top 40 radio. Where We All Belong gives a taste of both ends of the Marshall Tucker spectrum: the expansive jam band and the more tightly-focused recording act. Released in 1974 as a two-record LP, the album found the band refining its own distinctive brand of country-rock on the studio cuts. Anticipating the mass appeal of cowboy culture a few years later, Toy and his band adopted a bit of a Wild West attitude in their music. For all the prominence of pedal steel guitar and down-home lyric imagery in its tracks, though, Where We All Belong was far more adventuresome than most mainstream country music of its time. Balancing the well-honed studio cuts were the in-concert recordings that round out the album. The genre-spanning versatility and instrumental excellence of Marshall Tucker’s membership is caught here in all its unfettered glory. As a live act, the band had the power to drive audiences delirious with their soaring jams, as these recordings demonstrate. Track Listings 1. This Ol' Cowboy 2. Low Down Ways 3. In My Own Way 4. How Can I Slow Down 5. Where A Country Boy Belongs 6. Now She's Gone 7. Try One More Time 8. Ramblin' (Live) 9. 24 Hours At A Time (Live) 10. Everyday (I Have The Blues) (Live) 11. Take The Highway (Live) 12. See You Later, I'm Gone (Live Bonus Track) |
 It sounds like the plot of a classic Western saga: Six young men ride out of the South Carolina uplands seeking fame and adventure, dazzling crowds and creating a legend along the way. Actually, the above scenario describes The Marshall Tucker Band’s rise to mass popularity in the mid-1970s. Like true Sunday-matinee cowboy heroes, the band made it thanks to a restless spirit and a tender heart, blazing a country-rock trail for later artists to follow. Long Hard Ride, Marshall Tucker’s 1976 album, came on the heels of their first Top 40 radio hit, “Fire On The Mountain.” Striving to build upon this breakthrough, they delivered an album that mixed country, rock and blues into a distinctive whole. A good number of the tunes were radio-friendly numbers that reined in the band’s jamming tendencies. But the individual playing styles that made Marshall Tucker unique clearly shone through, making Long Hard Ride a worthy addition to their catalogue. Track Listings 1. Long Hard Ride 2. Property Line 3. Am I The Kind Of Man 4. Walkin' The Streets Alone 5. Windy City Blues 6. Holding On To You 7. You Say You Love Me 8. You Don't Live Forever 9. If I Could See You One More Time (Live Bonus Track) |
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'Searchin' For A Rainbow' |
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 Old
West dreams meet Southern memories in the tracks of Searchin’ for a
Rainbow, The Marshall Tucker Band’s fourth album. Released in 1975, this
song collection found the group refining its multi-faceted sound into an
appealing country-rock essence. Still present were the jazz and
blues-based elements that had always made Marshall Tucker a distinctive
unit. By dressing up their music in Western garb, the band found a way to
reach a huge new audience—all it took was a little “Fire On The
Mountain” to light the way.“We’d found a bit more direction on how to design songs for a record,” says lead singer Doug Gray. “Our record company Capricorn had always said, ‘Try to give us something that would work on the radio.’ We tried to do that, and at the same time please each other. We were known as a jamming band. This was the first time we really tried to give them Marshall Tucker’s interpretation of what a hit song was.” Helping to spur things on was “Fire On The Mountain,” the lead track off Searchin’ for a Rainbow. Released as a single in the fall of ’75, the tune reached #38 on the pop charts. A vivid, Old West, lyric-storyline combined with bluegrass-tinged instrumental licks and an ear-grabbing chorus brought Marshall Tucker its first Top 40 hit. 1. Fire On The Mountain 2. Searchin' For A Rainbow 3. Walkin' And Talkin' 4. Virginia 5. Bob Away My Blues 6. Keeps Me From All Wrong 7. Bound And Determined 8. Can't You See (Live) 9. It Takes Time (Live Bonus Track)
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