ECHO'S OF THE TROUBADOUR
John E. Beland | 03/19/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have to confess to once having a serious crush on Mary McCaslin. When I arrived on the scene in LA back in 67, Mary was the darling of the famed folk rock club The Troubadour. She was the poster girl for every young singer songwriting boy's fantasy.
She had the waify look and the long straight hair and could finger pick a guitar better than anyone I had ever heard before. But when Mary sang on that Troubadour stage she captured the hearts of everyone in the room and earned the respect of all the great players who frequented the club.
Mary McCaslin is one of the true unsung (no pun) pioneers of the LA folk rock movement of the late 60's. She, along with the Hearts and Flowers, The Dillards and Linda Ronstadt introduced a style of acoustic music never heard in Los Angeles before. She merged country, bluegrass and pop into her own fragile, sensitive style that was truly her own...not unlike what Alison Krauss does today, three decades after Mary introduced it to all of us at the Troubadour.
Get this CD. Learn the true history of California country rock and get to know who the real pioneers and inovators were. Before Gram Parson, Emmylou Harris and the Eagles uttered their first lyrics to an LA audience, Mary McCaslin and a handful of other Troubadour alumni had already blazed the trail and helped to open the door for them.
These recordings will melt your heart in their tender honesty and purity. They take me back to a very special place in time, when this girl captured my heart with her unbelievable talent.
John Beland
Flying Burrito Brothers
Austin Texas
www.johnbeland.com
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