Rick Roberts: She Is a Song (1973)
High-altitude country rock that rocks harder than his first and reaches higher highs.
Kronomyth 2.0: Mountain mama (take me home, country road).
Down the road apiece from the second Manassas album you’ll find Rick Roberts’ second effort, She Is a Song. Many of the players of Manassas reconvene in Colorado for this recording: Paul Harris, Joe Lala, Al Perkins and, overseeing it all, Chris Hillman. George Grantham (Poco) and Kenny Passarelli (Barnstorm) round out this country-rock affair, which also features cameos from Rusty Young and Joe Walsh. Its country-rock pedigree assured, She Is a Song ups the ante from Roberts’ first record with better material and more of a rock & roll spirit behind it. Radio stations gave it a fair shake, but the album didn’t produce a hit and Roberts invested his future energies in Firefall. As a singer and songwriter, Roberts is too talented not to succeed. The similarities to Stephen Stills and Chris Hillman are sometimes striking, but Roberts is his own man. He writes songs about love (Sweet Maria, She Is a Song, Westwind), about life (Old Songs, Company) and about faith (The Captain). On this session, he kicks up a little more dust with synthesizers and, on “Sweet Maria,” the distinctive electric slide of Joe Walsh. The sum effect sounds a lot like the Flying Burrito Brothers, straddling country and rock. If the Byrds, Burritos, Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Manassas are staples in your musical diet, you’ll want to pickup Roberts’ first two records for the long haul as well. He’s good company for forty minutes and, like The Flying Burrito Bros, this album rewards repeated listenings. Sure, the third time you hear Glad to Be Goin’ you’ll recognize Bob Dylan’s “One of Us Must Know” as the inspiration behind it, but one of the charming things about Roberts is his willingness to share the spotlight. Joe Lala and Paul Harris are featured prominently in the mix, and Harris honors Stills and Paul Siebel by covering their songs. Of the Colorado country-rock albums I’ve heard, She Is a Song stands tall.
Original elpee version
A1. Westwind (3:39)
A2. She Is a Song (3:23)
A3. Lights (3:31)
A4. Four Days Gone (Stephen Stills) (4:13)
A5. Company (3:39)
B1. Sweet Maria (3:18)
B2. The Captain (5:04)
B3. She Made Me Lose My Blues (Paul Siebel) (2:16)
B4. Old Songs (4:10)
B5. Glad to Be Goin’ (3:50)
All selections written by Rick Roberts unless noted.
The Players
Rick Roberts (all other guitars and vocals), George Grantham (drums, chorus on B2), Paul Harris (piano, organ, ARP synthesizer), Joe Lala (congas and percussion), Kenny Passarelli (bass), Al Perkins (pedal steel guitar, electric lead guitar on A3) with Steve Fromholz (bass & vocals on A3, B2), Chris Hillman (chorus on B2), Joe Walsh (slide guitar on B1, ARP programmer), Rusty Young (dobro on B5). Produced by Chris Hillman; recorded by Bruce Hensal and Thom Caccetta; mixed by Rick Pekkonen.
The Pictures
Art direction by Roland Young. Front cover design & photography by Hagiwara-McGowan. Back cover photography by Bob Jenkins.
The Plastic
Released on elpee in December 1973 in the US (A&M, SP-4404).
- Re-packaged with Windmills on 2-for-1 CD in 2004 in the UK (Gott, GOTTCD016).
