Mason Proffit is a country-rock group from Chicago faturing brothers Terry & John Talbot. They are probably most well know for their FM radio classic "Two Hangmen"
Mason Proffit is a country-rock group from Chicago faturing brothers Terry & John Talbot. They are probably most well know for their FM radio classic "Two Hangmen"
CD Reviews
Long Time Listener
John C. Hanson | Canada, eh! | 04/12/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Their 2nd album also released as part of 'Come & Gone' which was released later. This disk is not my favorite, but I do enjoy listening to it when in the right mood. I can't say what that mood is; I just know that sometimes I just skip over it when it comes around on my player while other times I get lost in it. Speed-wise [foot stompability] it's about a 2 out of five. It's a song for deep, mature listeners, not idle console-stunned teens. It's a blend of rock, folk, country, gospel, and bluegrass - really. Its this blend which us fans really like but what everyone says kept them from making it big in the pop world. There's an earthiness and honesty about them you will find in no other band! Musically they are geniuses - silky smooth vocals, pounding drums [real drums!], driving base, lively banjo, whining fiddle, hauntng harmonica, twangy guitars, all blended into a musical mess ... err masterpiece: the distinction is hard to distinguish sometimes with this bunch :-) Enigmatic.
Song by song:
1. Michael Dodge ****
-very listenable, catchy tune, kinda sad and remorseful. Reminds me of old western B movies?
2. Hard Luck Woman *****
-one of my favorite country songs, not that I have many. Having worked in trucking, this really hits home - one of the best trucker songs ever recorded!
"I pulled my Diamond Rio into a truck-stop down the road,
I asked for toast and coffee, and the waitress told me no.
She said she heard about me and all the wrong I'd done,
About how I left my woman for the truckin' I'd begun.
Here today, eh. Gone tomorrow.
It's a hard luck woman taken to the truck lovin' man."
Classic!
3. Children *1/2
-listen to it once then delete it. It's too droopy and sad for me. Too much preaching. There are some parts that might be interesting for songsmiths.
4. Hokey Joe Pony ***1/2
-Jug band style. Cool, listenable song. Cocaine reference in there somewhere is kinda different for them.
5. Flying Arrow *****
-awesome song. Sad, sad, sad! In the vein of their other 'social commentary' and 'protest' tunes. It's a lament about the dying Indian Nation(s). A must listen, but don't play at dances.
6. Old Joe Clark ****
-the best rendition of this song I've ever heard, but I haven't heard many. I don't know the history of the song, but I've always assumed these were original MP lyrics. Maybe there's just a zillion obscure verses out there.
"Old Joe Clark walked downtown backwards, people asked him why,
He said 'I could go for one more drink while wavin' you goodbye."
Fun.
7. Good Friend of Mary's ***1/2
-their first 'worship' song? Very listenable. The story told by an aquaintance of Mary, I think.
8. He Loves Them **1/2
-very tough song to listen to. I suppose it has a place in the world, but that place is not my player. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad song, technically; in fact it's quite complex. The subject matter is the extreme opposite of what the Talbots are known for today, very juxtapositional in that regard.
9. Melinda ***
-possibly the strangest tune they've ever done. Haunting. Something I'd consider playing at a halloween party or before telling ghost stories to the nephews.
10. Let Me Know Where You're Going *****
-poppish tune with *cough* cool banjo riffs. A fine example of why they didn't make it big - great tune, unpopular performance -I like it.
11. Everybody Was Wrong ***1/2
-another darkish, sadish, haunting tune, I think about some Civil War dude, maybe about pollution - it's a hard song to follow. Not a great song but listenable. A nice guitar solo near the end which is rare for them.
Buy it!"
Johnny Mike Steps Out
Jack Murphy | Salt Lake City, UT USA | 05/29/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The cool thing about this album besides some of Mason Proffit's more trademark tunes such as "Old Joe Clark" and "Hard Luck Woman" is the explosion of John Michael Talbot's instrumental talent. Only 16 years old at the time, most tunes incorporate at least three instrumental tracks by the prodigy. However, the tight back beat by drummer Art Nash and bassist Tim Ayers shouldn't be taken for granted. Front man Terry Talbot if anything was always a bit too perfect for the genre, as compared say to the tortured voices of people like Neil Young of the period. Would have had the number one tune eventually, quit before they really started. Inspired many others who stuck with country rock vein and persevered."
Country rock
whitewolf | Austin Tx | 07/17/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is unbeliveable!!!!! It rocks but the lyrics gives you something to think about.I have both but I prefer One way produtions product which is entitled Come & Gone much better If you can get your hands on it..."
5 Stars For The Music, -100 Stars for Wounded Bird!
AudioObscurica | United States | 07/17/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I will say the same of this disc as I said of the "Wanted!" disc that Wounded Bird put out.
If you already own the "Come & Gone" disc, and are hoping that these Wounded Bird reissues of "Wanted!" and "Movin' Toward Happiness" will correct your woes, sorry.
The tracks on this disc are a DIRECT CLONE of the tracks on One Way's "Come & Gone" CD, issued 13 years ago at the time of this writing. That CD was a reissue of the LP of the same name, a double set issued in 1974 that feature the first two Mason Proffit albums. However, that CD was mastered from the LP master, which in turn, was a copy of a master, which in turn was mastered from copies of LP masters of the 2 albums which it contained. You do the math, we're easily talking 5 or 6 generations of signal loss & tape hiss here.
It's not that these albums were poorly recorded. Pull out your old (perhaps even beat-up) copies of them and even now you can hear a vibrancy in the mastering. Even if the tapes used for THOSE LPs were not in the best of shape today, a better mastering than what we have now would have been possible.
Another nit to pick: The "Come & Gone" CD, for all its faults, gave you 2 albums, for $13. Sound quality poor or otherwise, this is not much a loss in terms of investment. Here we have WB's discs of each of these separate albums which cost over $30 combined. So, is having the original cover art worth spending the extra near $20?
On the "Movin' Toward Happiness" disc, the compilers of the "Come & Gone" LP rearranged the track order on the second side of this album, and interrupted the segue of some tracks. WB simply cloned that CD, and reordered the songs as you or I would do with our PC without doing any actual editing whatsoever. They simply dumped the tracks into a CD burning program and re-ordered them, without actually EDITING at all. Transitions and segues just drop abruptly and the next song comes in with no gap whatsoever. The tracks were left as-is. The result is akin to the mix CDs you and I make.
Maybe one day, some overseas label will get it right, and you and I must decide if $40 a shot is worth it to get something of actual QUALITY. Can't you buy any decent American-made product anymore?"
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1