Borderline - Sweet Dreams and Quiet Desires / The Second Album (Reissue) (1973/2013)

Composed of brothers Dave and Jon Gershen and Jim Rooney, Borderline was at the center of the fertile '70s Woodstock scene. And when we say the center, we mean the center; not only did Rooney manage Albert Grossman's Bearsville Sound Studio, where Sweet Dreams and Quiet Desires was recorded in 1972, but it seems like virtually every famous musician in a 10-mile radius played on the record, including Neil Young's favorite sideman Ben Keith, fiddlers supreme Vassar Clements and Ken Kosek, drummer Billy Mundi, saxophonist David Sanborn, Band producer John Simon on piano and Band members Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson (billed as "Dick Handle" and "Campo Malaqua," respectively) on keyboards. The reclusive Van Morrison even chipped in with a personal testimonial. So, how come most folks haven't heard of, much less heard, this record? Well, usually in these cases, it's the record label's fault; and considering that Borderline's Sweet Dreams and Quiet Desires came out on an imprint of United Artists, Avalanche, that only survived long enough to release a small number of records, it's a pretty safe bet that promotion of the album was nil. The story gets even worse for Borderline recorded a year later in 1973, The Second Album (featuring such sidemen as the Brecker Brothers and Amos Garrett) was shelved by United Artists and didn't even see release until 2001, when EMI Japan dropped a now out of print and very expensive CD mastered from the only audio source they could find, a copy of an old acetate. Both records are considered country rock classics, eminently tasteful and redolent of that mellow, wistful, early '70s Woodstock vibe and both see an American CD release for the first time on this Real Gone release. Even better, we found the thought-to-be-lost original two-track album master tapes for both albums and remastered them at Capitol Studios (the Japanese CD of Sweet Dreams released in 2000 did not use the original mix)! Throw in new notes by Richie Unterberger featuring quotes from the three original members and photos from Jon Gershen's private archive and this release is an essential missing thread in the Americana music tapestry.