VA - Truckers, Kickers, Cowboy Angels - The Blissed-Out Birth of Country Rock, Volume 5: 1972 (2015)

In its assessment of rock music in 1972, 'Billboard' magazine noted the trend toward overblown rock, like Procul Harum with the Edmonton Symphony. Another trend was dubbed Teutonic Noise Rock, meaning Van Der Graaf Generator and Amon Duul. In sharp contrast, Country Rock was a return to elemental values in music. Melodic songs and minimal instrumentation, still performed with a counter-culture vibe.

That's what we have on this double CD. The Byrds were still around and still making great music, and were joined by the New Riders of the Purple Sage and other California acts like Ry Cooder, JD Souther, and Dan Hicks. Now the music was coming from other corners of the United States, including Nashville (J.J. Cale, the Scruggs brothers, Kris Kristofferson), Texas (the Flatlanders, Delbert & Glen), New York (Pure Prairie League, Chip Taylor), and Woodstock/New England (Bobby Charles, Jonathan Edwards). Two '50s rock & roll acts, the Everly Brothers and Rick Nelson, made exciting new music that was very true to 1970s country rock. And finally, a hippie group, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, successfully bridged traditional Country and Country Rock with their groundbreaking Will The Circle Be Unbroken.

This is what fans across the world have come to expect from Bear Family: genre-defining compilations, generously full CDs, in-depth notes, rare photos, and complete discographies. In short, a 360 degree musical experience. So spray some patchouli oil, light up an exotic cigarette (only where it's legal to do so, of course) and venture back to the dawn of the Seventies. From Los Angeles' vertiginous canyons to flat barrens of West Texas to Woodstock. The story is here told as only Bear Family can tell it!