Drywater - Backbone Of The Nation (Reissue) (1973/2017)

first ever reissue of this massively cool & hideously rare 1973 rural pennsylvania private press jewel, originally released on the legendary RPC custom label in an edition of only 25 copies. this one might slip right by you on first listen, but there is a subtle brilliance buried in these grooves that’s captured the hearts of the lucky few who’ve had the chance to spend some time with the album... and once you’ve connected, there’s no turning back... like the very best of the upper echelon 60s & 70s private press benchmarks, ‘backbone of the nation’ is a crystal clear snapshot glimpse into a precise time & place, a unique moment captured, a lost reality preserved... small town working class teen ethos expressed with raw precision. zero hippie hangover or arty posturing here... the sound is essentially split between the two dominate modes of polarized male youth psyche : alternating moody, dejected, love scorned melancholy folkrock with wasted, howling, proto-punk garage fuzz brain fry... all together it’s a totally sincere lost in time vibe, delivered with gobs of naive charm & executed with almost zero resources. the album was recorded and mixed direct to tape in just a few hours, without overdubs or even the option to mixdown. you can hear the clearly unprepared recording engineer frantically flipping switches & tweaking knobs in a state of near panic as these kids tear furiously through a rapid fire album worth of original songs, always teetering on the edge of total collapse, yet never quite imploding. while the end results are, to say he least, very crude, the band pulls together a distinct and wonderful sound. underpinned by ken turcic’s dry, low, rubbery bass lines and greg cheplick’s wildly raw & cool drumming (he’s only 15 at the time) dennis cheplick (greg’s older brother) and jack sarvis trade off vocal duties, guitars licks, and writing credit. rhythm guitars chug excitedly, acoustic 12-string adds a sweet, chiming, folky texture, and sarvis switches between a great, slightly surf-tinged ringing reverb tone and frenetic fuzz figures. what really sets this one apart from the crowd, though, is a surprising sophistication lurking deep within. there’s real depth and staying power to the song writing that sneaks up on you with repeated listens, combined with the sort of subtly clever vocal and guitar arrangements that imply a band maturity well beyond their amateur exterior. a grower if ever there was one... and totally essential if the sound of “rural”, “real people”, and “garage” all in the same sentence peaks your interest...