Ernie Hagar "Swingin' Steel Guitar" (Sage Records, 1965) (LP)
Considered by many to be one of the finest pedal steel albums ever recorded... Hagar cut this album when he was living in Los Angeles, doing session work for the western-oriented budget label Sage Records, backed by a band that he called the String Dusters. Also on board was lead guitarist Jimmy Wright, who worked with Hagar on and off for several years...
The Allen Brothers Band "Live From The Sail Inn Lounge" (Arkay Custom Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Rich Krueger)
Ultra-authentic bar-band/lounge act country from this clean-cut California combo... The Allen brothers, Jack and Russ, were originally from Decatur, Illinois, moving to California in the early 1960s and forming their first band in '68, although it was put on hold for a few years while Russ Allen served a tour of duty in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Jack Allen and his wife Linda came up with the cash to purchase the Sail Inn Lounge, a bar in Santa Cruz, CA, which is where this album was recorded. You can really hear the ambience of the room, with happy, tipsy customers chat-shouting during the set and whooping their applause... The band was amateurish but sincere, mainly a guitar-based lineup with Hagar adding a few seemingly haphazard pedal steel licks in the mix. They played a few rock tunes -- Santana's "Evil Ways," a couple of Creedence covers ("Down On The Corner" and "Proud Mary," of course) and a semi-funky version of the Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman." Mostly though, they seem to have been devoted to country stuff, with versions of "Six Days On The Road," "Night Life," "Kiss An Angel Good Morning" and a lively version of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" where Russ Allen shows some real chops on the banjo. The Sail Inn Lounge changed hands (and names) several times before the property was eventually purchased by the county and converted into the Live Oak branch of the local public library... Although toddler storytime is probably the big show there now, I'm sure many a mellow night was spent at the old bar, back in the days.
Jan Bird "...Sings Down Home Sounds, With Ernie Hagar's Swingin' Steel" (Meagher Electronics, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Jim Meagher & Paul Smith)
Folkie singer-guitarist Jan Bird was originally from Weed, California and she'd moved to Monterey and was playing gigs at the Highlands Inn, in Carmel at the time she cut this album. Hagar backs her on pedal steel and dobro, as well as arranging the album, with banjo plunking by Bob Cameron, and guitar and bass by Russ Allen. Bird balances a few folkie tracks like "Last Thing On My Mind" and "Fire And Rain" against a raft of country tunes -- stuff "Heartaches By The Number," "Cold Cold Heart" and "It's Such A Pretty World Today." Interesting song selection, with a cool cast of characters from California's Central Coast.
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen "Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen" (Warner Brothers, 1975) (LP)
Larry Hosford "AKA Lorenzo" (ABC/Shelter Records, 1975) (LP)
A classic! Ernie Hagar worked with Santa Cruz songsmith Larry Hosford on his first two albums, adding some truly sweet twang to these catchy, essential albums. Hosford is one of the great alterna-country MIAs, and the songs from his two classic albums just scream out for a single-CD reissue. This album, in particular, is packed with great tunes, including "Taking Applications," "Kings and Queens" and "Wimmin's Got Me Swimmin" ("...in a pool of tears/my baby's got me started, but she won't shift my gears...the lights on Lover's Highway all say stop/if I had another beer, I'd pop its top"). If you ask me, Hosford's best songs were easily on a par with Harlan Howard's work from the late '50s and 1960s, demonstrating a wily understanding of the craft of the novelty song, mixing clever couplets with slice-of-life asides. Combined with his distinctly un-slick hick vocals, it's a winning package. Highly recommended.
Larry Hosford "Cross Words" (ABC/Shelter Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Dino Airali & Larry Hosford)
Another great, great indie country album. The gimmick with this record is a series of short acoustic bookends, crossword puzzle clues to words a relationship on the skids ("fight," "goodbye," "the end", etc...) In addition, there are several great Hosford originals, though the writing is a little bit denser than on the first album, and only a couple that are just plain outright catchy toe-tappers. A shame his Okie-billy ode, "Salinas" never made it onto LP, too... Plenty of great musicians on board as well, including a mix of Northern California locals and studio pros. Highly recommended!
Ernie Hagar "Steel Guitar Odyssey" (Mid-Land Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Dewitt Scott & Merle Sparks)
A swell set of steel guitar-based instrumentals, with a mix of country and pop standards, and one original tune ("Hi-Jinx") composed by Ernie Hagar. The arrangements sound lively and fresh, though not too avantnik or "out there." Hagar had a nice, bright tone with a distinctive feel... Of note in the backing band is guitarist Tony Gilkyson -- Terry Gilkyson's son, Eliza Gilkyson's brother -- who went on to co-found the classic '80s LA alt-twang band, Lone Justice, and also played guitar in X. Nice record.
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen "Lost In Space" (Relix Records, 1993)
A reissue of a 1975 radio performance featuring a classic lineup of the Commander Cody band...
Pedal steel guitarist Ernie Hagar (1938-2006) was originally from Ontario, Canada and appeared on various CBC radio and TV shows as a kid, before moving to California in the early 1960s, where he made a name for himself on the blossoming West Coast country scene. Hagar cut this album for the western-oriented budget label Sage Records, backed by a band that he called the String Dusters. In the early '70s, Hagar was living in California's central coast, near Salinas, where he played local club dates and did session work whenever it came along. He joined the Commander Cody Band in 1975 and later played steel on the first two Larry Hosford albums. Here's a quick look at his work...
