Radio Sweethearts "New Memories" (St. Roch/Shoeshine Records, 1996)
A wonderfully homespun album which highlights the skills of the band, from the graceful, looping pedal steel to the deft, economical drumming. What stands out most of all, though are the warm, husky, surprisingly "American" vocals along with the matching strength of the songwriting. John Miller's originals such as the title track, "New Memories" and the weepy "Fallen Out Of Love Again" show a strong and sensitive understanding of country roots. Francis Macdonald's upbeat contributions, particularly the clever commentary on the genre, "Every Other Song" ("...every other song I hear/'s about drinkin' too much beer...") and the doleful "Lonely Footsteps" bring an indiepop sensibility into the mix, but with admirable subtlety. And of the handful of cover tunes, the best is a sweet take on the Freddy Fender classic, "Is Anybody Going To San Antone?" As an album, New Memories has rough-hewn edges, but in a very good, very un-Nashville way. Recommended!

Radio Sweethearts "Lonesome Blue" (Shoeshine/Spit & Polish Records, 2000)
The Sweethearts are back, with a slightly less raucous -- but no less rockin' -- set of harmony-rich honkytonk gems. Unlike New Memories, this album is all original material, and most of it's written by Glasgow's singing brakeman, John Miller. Miller's voice continues to amaze with its flawless, soulful American accent -- and as a songwriter, he ain't no slouch, either. The band's original lineup is intact here, along with special contributions by Alex Chilton (harmony vocals on about half the album) as well as "Little" Stevie Jackson, of the band Belle and Sebastian. A sweet album with DJ Joe Sixpack's seal of approval.

The Ranchers "Steel Guitar Sounds" (Emerald Gem Records, 1974) (LP)
An instrumental album by an early 'Seventies edition of Phil Brady's backing band... The tunes are mainly covers of American country classics, although they also squeeze in a version of George Harrison's "Something," for good measure. Alas, no info on the album's producer, or the individual musicians.

Bobby Ray "Something In The Ayre" (Tank Records, 19--?) (LP)

James Ray "Country Style" (Emerald Gem Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Tommy Scott & Tom Parker)

The Redbeards "Havin' A Ball" (Receiver Records, 1987) (LP)

Redwood "Live" (Zel-La Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Peter Coggins & Redwood)

Redwood "Listen To The Sound" (Sweet Folk And Country Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Allan Green & Joe Stead)

Red Wyng "Redwyng" (Emerald Gem Records, 1978) (LP)

Trevor Reed "Hayring Country" (1977) (LP)
(Produced by Trevor Reed & Ray Neave)
Recorded in Hull, UK, this features no steel or fiddles, but the material is definitely country, with covers of "Country Roads," "Lyin' Eyes," "Jambalaya" "Me And Bobby McGee" and several Dylan tunes.

Warren Reeves "Sings Country" (SRT Records, 1980) (LP)

Terry Reid "Seed Of Memory" (Bird Productions, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Graham Nash, Don Gooch, Mark Harmon & Al Schmidt)
Well, if you ask me, British folk-rocker Terry Reid (1949-2025) dodged a bullet when he turned down the offer to become the lead singer of the fledgling Led Zeppelin band: if he'd joined those arrogant cheeseballs, he might never have been able to pursue his own unique muse and make wildly imaginative, idiosyncratic albums like this country-flavored, genre-defying gem. Recorded in LA with a slew of top studio musicians, much of this album is defined by the rural-roots vibe imbued by country-rock pickers such as pedal steel players Ben Keith and Al Perkins, as well as David Lindley, who adds some sweet licks on slide guitar and violin, as well as the folkie sensibilities of producer Graham Nash, who had a long professional relationship with Reid, dating back to the waning days of The Hollies. This really is an extraordinary album, with a subtle southern-rock undercurrent that really does anticipate The Black Crowes sound of two decades later. (Thanks to The Washington Post's Geoff Edgers' combo obituary-reassessment of Reid's career which made that comparison...) An influential, well-liked rock auteur whose songs were covered by numerous top-tier artists, Reid never quite caught the brass ring himself and would up living a bit rough after years of hard-partying and not quite making it as a rock star. But the music remains, and it's pretty groovy... Maybe not every track is great --Side Two is too pop for me -- but the songs that are good are pretty darn good. Definitely worth checking out.

Ruby Rendell "Ruby Red Wine" (Attic Records, 1982) (LP)
(Produced by Attic Records)
The first(?) album by Scottish singer/multi-instrumentalist Ruby Rendell, who was very much under the spell on Emmylou Harris -- recording "Born To Run" and "One Of These Days," as well as the Tanya Tucker hit, "Delta Dawn," and Hank Devito's "Queen Of Hearts," which was an early '80s country-pop standard, notably in versions by Dave Edmunds and Juice Newton. Her backing band wasn't flashy, but they did okay despite fairly minimal production values: the group included Jim Anderson on accordion, Phillip Anderson (lead guitar and steel), Elaine Grieve (fiddle), Jim Marwick (drums) and Owen Tierney on acoustic guitar. (Worth noting: an entirely different set of musicians autographed the copy I found in a shop in Inverness, so she may have worked with a changing lineup of musicians...) Ruby Rendell born in Stronsay, Orkney and studied music in Stromness and Glasgow, played in local ceilidh groups with artists such as accordionist Alan Anderson, and later turned to playing American-style country music after finding work backing artists such as Jean Shepard and Kenny Serratt when they toured the UK, and even traveled a bit with Jean Shepard in the United States, including the chance to back Shepard at the Grand Ole Opry. Afterwards, Rendell formed her own band, and toured throughout the UK for several years. Eventually she got more of a "day job" as a school teacher, first as a music teacher at various schools in Orkney, and later started her own school in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. She has continued to perform and record in various bands and styles, with her most recent record coming out in 2023(!)

Rex Richards "Hi Ya! From Rex Richards" (1970-?) (LP)
(Produced by B. "Doc" Cohen)
A generally dreadful but delightfully kitschy set of lounge-pop vocals, from former Welsh rugby star Rex Richards (1934-1989) who left the UK in the late 1950s and tried to make it big in Hollywood. In addition to acting in a few B-movies, he also tried his hand at a music career, showing a predilection for country music material, if not much sense of how to sing it. This set was apparently recorded live on a cruise ship, the M/V Freeport, with musical backing provided by "The Five Amigos," who are identified only by their first names: David, Larry, Mario, Orlando and Regal. The repertoire includes oldies from Elvis ("Teddy Bear"), The Everly Brothers ("Bye, Bye Love") and Hank Williams, as well as an oddly grafted-on version of the calypso/ska classic "Shame And Scandal." Richards tunelessly brays out all the lyrics, accompanied by a small pop combo that makes zero effort to inject any twang at all into these oldies but goodies. There's no date on the disc, but he does (painfully) cover "Proud Mary," which was first a hit for Creedence Clearwater in 1969. Also on the menu are 'Sixties chestnuts such as "Gentle On My Mind" and Roger Miller's "King Of The Road," which along with the monophonic(!) sound mix makes me think this was released on the earlier end of the spectrum, possibly as early as 1969-70. At any rate, it's pretty cringeworthy.

Rex Richards "Rex Looks East And West" (197--?) (LP)
(Produced by Don McKay)
More country-pop classics, sung in an odd, show-band fashion by Welsh-born Rex Richards. One again, he's recording on a cruise ship -- which I guess was his bread-and-butter in the early 'Seventies -- and once again he's plowing through mostly country material, tunes like "For All Good Times," "He'll Have To Go," "Kiss An Angel Good Morning," and "Green, Green Grass Of Home," even a cover of the novelty recitation "Deck Of Cards." There are also several soft-pop anthems of the era, like "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" and "I Believe In Music," with backing aboard The TSS Mardi Gras by the Mike Harris Orchestra. Richards tries to shoehorn a "country and eastern" concept into his act, with the "eastern" part meaning his Welsh roots, though I'm not sure how songs like "Welcome To My World" and "Why Me Lord" fit into that scheme... maybe if you credited them to Eyddyy Ayyrnyyolfd and Kryys Kryystofferffyon? At any rate, approach this one with caution.s

Tony Richards "Keep It Country" (Zip Records, 1976) (LP)

Tony Richards "Country Corner" (Outlet Records, 1978) (LP)

Ben Lee Rivers "Sunshine In The Snow" (Tank Records, 197--?) (LP)

The Riversiders "If The Shoe Fits" (Raven Records, 19--?) (LP)
(Produced by Malcolm Ransom)

Rodeo Times "Leaving Louisiana" (SRT Records, 1981) (LP)

Rodeo Times "Riding The Road" (Marina Records, 1982) (EP)
This four-song, seven-inch EP seems to have been the swan song for the Rodeo Times band... Tony Ferguson, Phil Greeneth, Pete James and Steve Smith were joined by fiddler Drew Taylor and steel guitarist Mick Byrne, previously of Julie Byrne's band, The Nashville Cats. In addition to a Buddy Holly cover, there are three originals, including two from Peter Dunton, a psychedelic rocker from the early 'Seventies who felt the pull of country twang a bit later in life... However, Dunton himself was not in the band.

Roger And Judi "Roger & Judi" (Real Records, 1976) (LP)
A solo album, of sorts, from fiddler-guitarist Roger Churchyard, a longtime member of Great Britain's folk and bluegrass scenes who was also a founding member and producer of the group Orange Blossom Special, with whom he recorded a couple of albums. He's joined by singer Judi Churchyard, who I assume was his wife, and who seems to have only recorded on this album. Along with several singalong cover songs like "Love Is Strange," "Petticoat Junction" and "Your Good Girl Is Gonna Go Bad," the album includes some Roger Churchyard originals, such as "The Last Of The Swingers" and "When I Played My Fiddle." Mr. Churchyard, who passed away in 2015, also did session work on a number of folk, pop, and folk-rock albums through most of the 'Seventies.

Chet Rogers "The Rhinestone Cowboy" (Chevron Records, 1979-?) (LP)
A budget-line, cheapo-label set, mostly devoted to Glen Campbell covers... I can't shake the feeling that these tracks may have been issued earlier under a different name, but I haven't had the time to track that hunch down. Maybe someday.

Jimmy Rose & The Country Pie "By Request" (Contour Records, 1971) (LP)
Singer Jimmy Rose and guitarist Phil Brooks were a folk-country duo from Blackpool who filled out their sound with a small rhythm section for this album. The repertoire is a mix of vocal numbers -- songs like "California Bloodlines," "Love Song Of The Waterfall" and "Sixteen Tons" -- and instrumental showcases such as "Orange Blossom Special" and "Sleep Walk."

Judy Rose "A Girl Nobody Knows" (Westwood Records, 1978) (LP)

Rother Valley "Country Reflections" (Arny's Shack Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Tony Arnold)

Bryan Rudd "Basically Country" (Tank Records, 197--?) (LP)

Ian Russell "Sing Something Sinful" (Lucky Records, 1970-?) (LP)

Ron Ryan "A New Country Bag" (Lucky Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Gordon Smith & Roger Jeffrey)

Ron Ryan "My Way Of Life" (Lucky Records, 197-?) (LP)

Ron Ryan "I Like It ...Country Style ...With Ron Ryan" (SRT Records, 1973-?) (LP)
(Produced by George Bellamy & Dave Richardson)

Jim Ryder "Cowboys Stay In The Saddle Just A Little Bit Longer" (Crow Records, 1976) (LP)
(Produced by Tim Flaherty)
This British bronco buster may have been the same "Big Jim" Ryder who played in a few English blues and rock bands in the early 'Sixties... At any rate, he was in a country mode here, singing some outlaw-ish material (David Allan Coe's "Divers Do It Deeper," "Lyin' Eyes," "Willie, Waylon And Me") along with a slew of more traditional, mainstream country ("Muleskinner Blues," "Wabash Cannonball," "American Trilogy"). Couldn't find much info about Mr. Ryder himself, although my eyes popped open when I saw that Peter Frampton was playing lead guitar on this album(!) Turns out it's a different guy -- Peter J. Frampton, not Peter K. Frampton -- but he and some of the other guys on here, notably bassist Alan Crookes, drummer Martin Duffy and producer Tim Flaherty worked together in a series of bands throughout the '80s, recording as The Cliffsons and as Poacher, a group best known for recording a hit version of Oscar Stuart Blandemer's "Darlin'," one of the all-time great English country tunes. This disc seems to have a curious backstory as some sort of business promotion, with a note on the back cover proclaiming it "sponsored by Marcol Incentives and Industrial Gifts." (Your guess is as good as mine.) At any rate, this seems to have been a dry run for the Poacher band, but if anyone out there has more info on this country collective, I'm all ears.

The Ryders "The Longhorn Country Music Club Presents: The Ryders" (Zero Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by John Knight)
The duo of Chas Ryder and Val Ryder, backed by musicians in the studio band at Knight Studios in Helston, Cornwall, including bassist Ian Dunlop (bass), the mysteriously named "Ufi," on lead guitar, and drummer Nigel Uren. Though there are no composer credits, it's possible a couple of these songs might have been originals, although most are clearly covers of American country classics, including tunes from Merle Haggard, Porter Wagoner, Hank Williams... and of course there's the inevitable cover of the maudlin Marty Robbins weeper, "You Gave Me A Mountain." Blame that one on Elvis.

Hick Music Index