From the late ‘60s to the mid-‘70s, American country music underwent an evolution of sorts.
As the music became more and more heavily influenced by a multitude of genres, it tended to stray away from the gunfighter ballads of old. Thus, many off-shoot hybrids resulted.
One such melding of sounds became known as “cosmic American music”, a term coined by Gram Parsons, former member of The Byrds and co-founder of The Flying Burrito Brothers.
Parsons was often attributed to being a major influence in the combining of rock and country music with the experimental folk and psychedelia of the day.
Cosmic Country attempts to bring together the big names that rode the cosmic country wagon. Unfortunately there are too many highly-polished honky tonk, predictive country cadences and not enough ‘cosmic’ originality.
Although, when it sways more towards the trippy side, this collection offers good insight into the art that was being created in the country music scene and its fringes during the period that also gave us disco.
There is plenty of cheese pocked with the odd genre-defining classic, such as “Sugar Magnolia” with its polyphonic layering and country-fried groove, and a boot scootin’ “Dance, Dance, Dance” care of Crazy Horse.
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While there are a few gems hidden between the twang, there is no real flow to the collection. If you are looking for an album to put on and take a journey with, then you’re probably better off finding a more thoughtfully curated playlist on a streaming service.
