The Nashville Teens "Rockin' Back To Tobacco Road" 1966-1971

The Nashville Teens were part of the second wave of the British Invasion in the Fall of '64 along with the Animals, Kinks and Manfred Mann. Tobacco Road got a lot of airplay and sold well. At first they seemed like a group that would be really major but in fact, like the Honeycombs, they would end up as one hit wonders in America and score only one more hit in Britain (the weak Google Eye, a terrible choice for a follow-up). They began in Surrey in 1962 and got their name from an Everly Brothers song they were playing titled Nashville Blues and the fact that at that time they were all teenagers. Their manager, Don Arden got them an audition with up and coming producer Mickie Most (the Animals, Herman's Hermits, Donovan) and they soon had a recording contract, a hit single and appearances on all the pop music television shows......I suppose this CD is out of print now because the price is catching up with Repertoire's "Tobacco Road" compilation of the group's first album plus an EP and some bonus tracks. That's a shame because until recently it was the reasonably priced alternative. It's still a very interesting album to any fan of the group and shows how the band developed between 1966 and 1971. To be honest, the first album was very lightweight and didn't live up to expectations after hearing Tobacco Road. It's a mix of 50's style rock and roll (they had been the backup band for Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry on their U.K. tours), some light rockers and even Irving Berlin's How deep Is the Ocean given an almost unrecognizable blues-influenced treatment. Overall though, they didn't let John Allen's lead guitar rock out as it did on Tobacco Road. The bonus tracks are various singles released for the next few years.
So it's important to clarify what this CD is. Eight of the first twelve tracks are all from a recording made in Birmingham in 1966 for radio broadcast. Theses tracks were made by the original members. Though it still has its share of 50's rock-styled songs (Let It Rock, Chantilly Lace, Break Up) it also shows how much their sound developed over the period since Tobacco Road, which is included here in almost an identical version timed almost to the second with the original. They were a much heavier band by now and had really kept up with the latest sounds. I'm a Lonely One sounds much like Cream would sound by late 1967. Sundog seems more like a late 60's rock song than anything from 1966 with two extended lead guitar breaks. Widdicombe Fair's title might suggest an English folk tune that Fairport Convention might do but is more like something Led Zeppelin would do around 1969 or '70. There's even a Randy Newman song here, The Biggest Night of Her Life with a Harper's Bizarre-like vocal that's more of a curiosity; this kind of pop satire was more the province of Manfred Mann or the Kinks.
Ex Kay On LX is another hard rock number heavier than most songs were in 1967. They released their version of All Along the Watchtower a little before Hendrix with a vocal much like Dylan's on John Wesley Harding. Of course the Hendrix take is practically the greatest cover of another major artist's song ever done, so it's just as well their single didn't do much.The rest of the disc includes recordings made with session musicians in Hungary where they were one of the first Western rock bands allowed to appear and recordings made up to 1971. There recordings have only vocalists Ray Phillips and Arthur Sharp left from the original band.
This is a very listenable album that shows that the Nashville Teens had already developed a little ahead of the times as early as 1966 and that afterward they were a very competent rock band that would have fit into any rock concert even in the early 70's. I find it more enjoyable to listen to than their first album. Their main problem is also apparent here. Though they were a solid rock band they didn't develop a sound that was really their own. They were not derivative of any other particular artist but their sound was a general rock sound without being distinctively "their's". Still, they were a good band who deserved more hits than they had and this album will be a really pleasant surprise for any fan. (Shindig)trax:
01 Let It Rock/Rocking On The Railroad 02 I'm A Lonely One 03 Chantilly Lace 04 Break Up 05 Tobacco Road 06 Widdicombe Fair 07 Lawdy Miss Clawdy 08 Ex Kay On LX 09 Biggest Night Of Her Life 10 Last Minute 11 All Along The Watchtower 12 Sun Dog 13 Hitch Hike 14 Little Bird 15 Widdicomb Fair 16 Cherokee Indian 17 Train Keeps A Rollin' 18 Tennessee Woman 19 Fishhead 20 NY Mining Disaster 21 Half Breed 22 Day And Night
…served by Gyro1966...