At a time when Bob Dylan was forging a new path for folk music that incorporated distinct rock elements, Gary Burton got the idea to mix country music and jazz together. It’s a great idea. Whether Tennessee Firebird delivers on that exciting promise is another thing. Burton wasn’t the first to find common ground between country/folk music and jazz; the moment the needle hits the vinyl Stéphane Grappelli comes to mind. And there are several tracks here that sound like a country band and jazz band playing at the same time, which is not the same as playing together. The marriage of country and jazz, as intriguing as it is, never really materializes on Tennessee Firebird. Instead, what you have here are a series of fun dates and awkward dates. The successful dates include Gone, Just Like a Woman, Faded Love, and Alone and Forsaken. Dylan fans will appreciate how Burton and his musical friends surface the rich melodies often hidden in Dylan’s music. But there are more than a few songs that scorch the middle ground between country and jazz. Tennessee Firebird sounds like a witches’ jamboree. I Can’t Help It feels drunk and drugged at the same time. Beauty Contest is just plain ugly. The remaining songs ignore the country-jazz experiment altogether. Walter L. is based in the blues rather than country (which might have proved to be the more interesting hybrid). Born to Lose is a solo piece for Burton. What I do hear on Tennessee Firebird is a stepping stone for the music of Pat Metheny. Maybe it was unrealistic to expect so many different musicians and instruments to crowd into the same studio without stepping on some toes, but the moments where the acoustic guitar and vibes dance together create real magic that would inspire a sorcerer’s apprentice years later.
A1. Gone (Smokey Rogers) (4:51)
A2. Tennessee Firebird (Gary Burton) (2:55)
A3. Just Like a Woman (Bob Dylan) (3:47)
A4. Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair (traditional) (1:51)
A5. Faded Love (Bob Wills/John Wills) (3:20)
B1. I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still in Love with You) (Hank Williams) (2:54)
B2. I Want You (Bob Dylan) (3:25)
B3. Alone and Forsaken (Hank Williams) (2:48)
B4. Walter L. (Gary Burton) (4:39)
B5. Born to Lose (Frankie Brown) (2:43)
B6. Beauty Contest (Gary Burton) (1:40)
B7. Epilogue (0:23)
CD reissue bonus track
A6. Panhandle Rag (Leon McAuliffe) (1:33)
Gary Burton (vibes, piano, organ), Chet Atkins (guitar), Kenneth Buttrey (drums), Jimmy Colvard (guitar), Ray Edenton (guitar), Buddy Emmons (steel guitar), Roy Haynes (drums), Steve Marcus (tenor and soprano saxophone), Charlie McCoy (harmonica), Bobby Osborne (mandolin), Sonny Osborne (banj0), Buddy Spicher (fiddle), Henry Strzelecki (bass), Steve Swallow (bass). Produced by Chet Atkins and Brad McCuen; recording engineered by Jim Malloy.
Photos by Tom Zimmermann.
Released on mono and stereo elpee on January 11, 1967 in the US (RCA Victor, LPM/LSP-3719).