STUCK IN THE VINYL AGAIN - NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE - THE ADVENTURES OF PANAMA RED

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Good morning faithful readers and welcome back to Stuck In The Vinyl Again. Today we remember Canadian born pedal steel guitarist, Buddy Cage, on what would have been his 76th Birthday. He died in 2020, just days before his 74th Birthday from multiple myeloma. As a session guitarist he played with Anne Murray, Bob Dylan, Brewer & Shipley, David Bromberg,  the Zen Tricksters, Great Speckled Bird, Robert Hunter, Terry & the Pirates, Tom Russell, The Chili Brothers, and others. He was also a member of California based country rock hybrid, New Riders Of The Purple Sage. He appeared on 10 of their albums, including their 4th LP, The Adventures Of Panama Red, which is our featured disc today.  The Adventures Of Panama Red was released October 1973 on Columbia Records and was produced by Norbert Putnam. It peaked at #55 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified Gold. "Panama Red" and  "Lonesome L.A. Cowboy" were released as singles. In what might be considered a cosmic coincidence, future NRPS bassist, Skip Battin (Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers) who would join the group a couple of albums down the road was also born on February 18th, however he was born in 1934. He passed away 2003, age 69.

"Panama Red" (Peter Rowan) – 2:47

"It's Alright With Me" (Dave Torbert) – 2:43

"Lonesome L.A. Cowboy" (Rowan) – 4:05

"Important Exportin Man" (Tim Hovey, Torbert) – 2:26

"One Too Many Stories" (John Dawson) – 2:54

"Kick in the Head" (Robert Hunter) – 2:30

"You Should Have Seen Me Runnin" (Dawson) – 3:01

"Teardrops in My Eyes" (Red Allen, Tommy Sutton) – 2:15

"L.A. Lady" (Troy Seals, Don Goodman, Will Jennings) – 2:13

"Thank the Day" (Torbert) – 2:23

"Cement, Clay and Glass" (Spencer Dryden, David Nelson) – 2:34

New Riders of the Purple Sage

John Dawson – guitar, vocals, lead vocals on "Lonesome L.A. Cowboy", "One Too Many Stories", "You Should Have Seen Me Runnin", and "Cement, Clay and Glass"

David Nelson – electric guitar, vocals, lead vocals on "Panama Red", and "Teardrops In My Eyes"

Dave Torbert – bass, guitar, vocals, lead vocals on "It's Alright with me", "Important Exportin' Man", "Kick In the Head", "L.A. Lady", and "Thank the Day"

Buddy Cage – pedal steel guitar

Spencer Dryden – drums, percussion

Additional Musicians

Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals on "Important Exportin Man" and "L.A. Lady"

Buffy Sainte-Marie – vocals on "You Should Have Seen Me Runnin'" and "Cement, Clay and Glass"

Norbert Putnam – bass on "Thank the Day"

The Memphis Horns, arranged by Norbert Putnam and the Memphis Horns

Production

Producer: Norbert Putnam
Recording engineer: Tom Flye
Associate engineers: John Stronach, Bobby Hughes
Sound engineers: Tom Anderson, Phil Brown, Bob Edwards
Remix engineer: Norbert Putnam
Cover art: Lore and Chris
Recorded at the Record Plant, Sausalito
Mixed at Quadrafonic Studios, Nashville