Psychedelic Country Soul

Psychedelic Country Soul
Studio album by The Long Ryders
Released	February 15, 2019 (2019-02-15)
Recorded	November 2017–January 2018
Studio	Record One (Los Angeles) Eight Palms Ranchero (Poway, California) Montrose Recording (Richmond, Virginia)
Genre	Roots rock folk rock country rock Americana [1][2][3][4][5]
Length	49:50
Label	Omnivore / Cherry Red
Producer	Ed Stasium
The Long Ryders chronology
Two-Fisted Tales (1987) Psychedelic Country Soul (2019) September November (2023)
Singles from Psychedelic Country Soul
"Greenville" Released: January 8, 2019 "Molly Somebody" Released: March 29, 2019[6] "Walls (radio edit)" Released: September 13, 2019[7]

Psychedelic Country Soul is the fourth studio album by American band the Long Ryders, released on February 15, 2019, through Omnivore Recordings in the US and Cherry Red Records in the UK.^[8] It is the band's first album in 32 years with Two-Fisted Tales their last release in 1987.^[9]

The first single from the album, "Greenville" was released on January 8, 2019.^[10] Two further singles, "Molly Somebody" and "Walls", were released in March and September 2019, respectively.

Background

The Long Ryders originally disbanded in 1987 but have periodically regrouped for brief reunions.^[11] The only new material released by the band since 1987 was the 2017 single, "Bear in the Woods".^[12] In 2017,^[13][14] the Long Ryders were offered a week's free studio time by Larry Chatman at Dr. Dre's Los Angeles recording studio, Record One. Chatman, who in the 1980s was part of the Long Ryders' road crew, had since become Dr. Dre's personal assistant, helping to oversee the studio.^[1] The band had hired Chatman as a roadie for several tours in the 1980s^[8] and made him the bass player when Long Ryder bassist Tom Stevens left the band before their final tour in 1987. Guitarist Sid Griffin: "For the last thirty years he has been telling me that he had never forgotten how kind the Long Ryders were to him when he was down and out in L.A. ... Larry kept saying, "I am going to pay you back."^[13]

Griffin and the band accepted Chatman's generous offer and secured the services of their last producer, Ed Stasium (the Ramones, the Smithereens, Living Colour, Jeff Healey Band). The band traded demos, agreed on the material and learned the songs at home before rehearsals in Los Angeles. A week of recording was then booked at Record One in November 2017. "We actually had to beg Larry for an extra day because we were not quite done," Griffin said. Additional overdubs were done at Stasium's Eight Palms Ranchero home studio in Poway, California in December and at Montrose Recording in Richmond, Virginia in January 2018. The finished recordings were then mixed by Stasium at his studio. Before the recordings got underway, Griffin was adamant that the band should not release a bad album, "If we had just three or four good songs, then we could put them out on an EP or on Spotify," he said. Griffin's concerns, however, were put to rest when the recordings were done. "I was just stunned how well things turned out," he said^[13]

Psychedelic Country Soul features eleven new Long Ryders compositions, all written specifically for the album,^[15] and a cover of Tom Petty's "Walls". "Every time I met him he was a great guy, very fond of the band," Griffin said, "so we thought we’d do a little song in his honour."^[15] Guests on the album include Debbi and Vicki Peterson of the Bangles on backing vocals, Dave Pearlman (Dan Fogelberg, Phil Everly, Hoyt Axton^[16]) on pedal steel guitar and Kerenza Peacock of the Coal Porters on violin.

Griffin has called Psychedelic Country Soul "the album we were always trying to make … each flavor which made the band unique is there be it C&W, rock 'n' roll, troubadour folk music, raw R&B, or out-there psychedelia."^[17]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[18]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
American Songwriter	[19]
Elmore	91/100[20]
Exclaim!	8/10[3]
Express	[21]
Maverick	[4]
Mojo	[22]
PopMatters	7/10[5]
Shindig!	[23]
Soundblab	9/10[24]
The Spill Magazine	8/10[2]
Uncut	7/10[25]
The Vinyl District	B+[26]

Psychedelic Country Soul received positive reviews from music critics.^[8][27] AllMusic felt that the album is "every bit as satisfying" as their earlier albums Native Sons and Two-Fisted Tales, and "within throwing distance" of their best album, State of Our Union.^[1] Country music magazine Maverick called it "a masterful return from one of the great names in country rock,"^[4] and PopMatters similarly called it a "triumphant return" and felt that the album is "as good as anything the Long Ryders released back when they were helping to invent what we now call Americana."^[5]

Exclaim! magazine wrote that the band "appear at the top of their game, with youthful aggression replaced by measured maturity."^[3] Louder Than War wrote, "Remarkably, not only does Psychedelic Country Soul stand up to its predecessors, it has a more cohesive sound ... and most of the songs here rank alongside anything in their repertoire." They concluded that "it’s evident that this is more than a return to form; it’s a highlight of their career."^[28]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Greenville"	Stephen McCarthy	4:26
2.	"Let It Fly"	Tom Stevens	3:49
3.	"Molly Somebody"	Sid Griffin, Steve Barton	3:39
4.	"All Aboard"	Griffin, Stevens	3:43
5.	"Gonna Make It Real"	McCarthy	3:26
6.	"If You Want to See Me Cry"	Griffin	3:08
7.	"What the Eagle Sees"	Griffin, Stevens	3:19
8.	"California State Line"	McCarthy	4:31
9.	"The Sound"	Griffin, Greg Sowders, Ed Stasium	3:58
10.	"Walls"	Tom Petty	4:39
11.	"Bells of August"	Stevens	5:04
12.	"Psychedelic Country Soul"	Griffin, McCarthy	6:08

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes.^[29]

The Long Ryders

• Sid Griffin – vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica
• Stephen McCarthy – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, Mellotron, bass (4, 11)
• Tom Stevens – vocals, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead guitar (4, 7, 11)
• Greg Sowders – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Ed Stasium – vocals, organ, synth horns, tambura, melodica
• Debbi Peterson – vocals (2, 10)
• Vicki Peterson – vocals (2, 10)
• Kerenza Peacock – violin (2, 6, 8)
• Dave Pearlman – pedal steel guitar (8)
• Miss Julia Wild – vocals (10)
• Charles Arthur – organ (10)
• Hoppy Nipkins – piano (12)

Technical

• Ed Stasium – producer, engineer, mixing
• Lola Romero – assistant engineer
• Adrian Olsen – overdub engineer
• Alexandra Spalding – assistant overdub engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• Greg Allen – art direction, design
• Henry Diltz – photography

Charts

Chart	Peak position
UK Americana Albums (OCC)[30]	2
UK Country Albums (OCC)[31]	4
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[32]	10

References

1. Deming, Mark. "Psychedelic Country Soul – The Long Ryders". AllMusic. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
2. King Dawit of Aksum (2019). "Spill Album Review". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
3. Teplyske, Donald (February 12, 2019). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
4. Dalton, Nick (April 4, 2019). "Album Reviews: The Long Ryders – 'Psychedelic Country Soul'". Maverick. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
5. Whitelock, Ed (February 13, 2019). "'Psychedelic Country Soul' Is a Triumphant Return for Americana Pioneers, the Long Ryders". PopMatters. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
6. "Molly Somebody – Single by The Long Ryders on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
7. "Walls – Single by The Long Ryders on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
8. Psychedelic Country Soul - The official Long Ryders website. thelongryders.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020
9. Swanson, Dave (November 1, 2018). "The Long Ryders Announce First LP in 30 Years". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
10. Graff, Gary (January 8, 2019). "The Long Ryders Return With Help From Dr. Dre: Listen to New Song 'Greenville'". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
11. Deming, Mark. "The Long Ryders – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
12. "The Long Ryders 'Bear in the Woods'". sidgriffin.com. April 18, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
13. Clarkson, John (April 24, 2019). "The Long Ryders interview". Penny Black Music. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
14. Chaligne, Craig (January 26, 2019). "Interview: Sid Griffin on the new Long Ryders album". Louder Than War. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
15. Duda, Marty (February 22, 2019). "Interview: The Long Ryders – Back In The Saddle Again". The 13th Floor. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
16. "Meet Dave Pearlman of Pearlman Microphones in Canyon Country". Voyage LA Magazine. 13 February 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
17. The first new studio album from the founders of Alt-Country since 1987. omnivorerecordings.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020
18. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
19. Horowitz, Hal (February 13, 2019). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
20. Lindblad, Peter (February 13, 2019). "Elmore Magazine - Album Reviews". Elmore Magazine. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
21. "Express Review". Express. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
22. "Mojo Review on the Long Ryders website". Mojo. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
23. Graham, Ben (2019). "Returning Legends". Shindig!. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
24. Zivkovic, Ljubinko (February 11, 2019). "Soundblab Review". Soundblab. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
25. McKay, Alastair (2019). "Studio return for classic lineup after 31 years". Uncut. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
26. "The Vinyl District Review". The Vinyl District. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
27. "Psychedelic Country Soul reviews on the official Sid Griffin website". sidgriffin.com. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
28. Cooper, Tim (February 25, 2019). "The Long Ryders: Psychedelic Country Soul – album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
29. Psychedelic Country Soul on Discogs. Discogs.com. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
30. "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
31. "Official Country Artists Albums Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
32. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2019.