Search - Redwing :: Redwing

Rockin Redwing

AL.W PITTMAN | anderson, in United States | 01/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Released in 1971, it's a great example of California rock of that time, on the Fantasy label, same one as CCR, their sound is a mixture of CCR, Quicksilver, a little bit of the Grateful Dead, it is raw rock and roll, like a super, super garage band, great licks and riffs, very good harmony, they wrote 10 of the 12 songs, back in 71', I was in my favorite college town record shop, this lp was played, I fell for it, bought it and over the years I have played it so much, hold it up to the light, you can almost see through it, Fallout records has done a great job of transferring to CD, "Redwing" is a real time piece!"

Long lost masterpiece of country rock

P. T. Will | Solvang, CA | 04/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The first and by far the best album from this Sacramento-based quartet, Redwing still stands up well as a solid classic in the then-nascent country-rock genre. The album caused quite a stir on its release, with Rolling Stone elder statesman Ralph J. Gleason writing the glowing liner notes and Rolling Stone magazine itself publishing a feature article ("Tales of Redwing") a few months later. But they were not able to develop a national following as their style morphed towards more sedate country styles on subsequent albums. This album stands out for its crackling guitar solo work, superb and economical rhythm playing and tight, no-nonsense arrangements. They remind more than a little of hi-energy Creedence (they shared the same producer at Fantasy) with seamless backing vocals reminiscent of "On the Border" period Eagles.



Having worn out several copies of the vinyl version of this release, I was delighted to find that it was finally transfered to CD. So, why 4 stars instead of 5? Well, it's clear that this transfer was made from a vinyl source rather than the original master tapes (no claim is made otherwise on the packaging). There are numerous tell-tale vinyl clicks and pops, and the high-end compression is the same as on the original record. So no remastering here.

I suppose it would be asking too much for such a relatively obscure album to be given the royal treatment with remix and remaster from the orignal tapes (and it would probably be impossible to pry them out of the Fantasy vaults anyway). But it would have been nice. Nonetheless. it's nice to have a competent CD transfer of this great album. Hopefully it will bring Redwing more of the recognition they deserve."