Jerry Jeff Walker - Five Years Gone (1969)

Five Years Gone, originally released on Atco in 1969, might be one of the oddest albums from the '60s you will find in the country section of your local record store. More in line with contemporary singer/songwriters such as Danny O'Keefe, John Stewart, and even Neil Diamond, Five Years Gone is a forward-looking album rooted in late-'60s folk and folk-rock rather than popular country. Certainly the poetic but sometimes inscrutable lyrics owe more to Bob Dylan than any Nashville tradition, even though Nashville heavyweights including Weldon Myrick, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, and Charlie McCoy make up the band. Myrick in particular shines here, turning in some wonderfully haunting steel guitar lines. The late '60s and early '70s were an interesting time during which Atco released a number of seemingly uncommercial but ultimately enduring singer/songwriter albums, of which Five Years Gone is a prime example.~Greg Adams