In Which We Want to Talk About Ian Matthews

by Molly Lambert

Kicked out of Fairport Convention for rocking too hard, Ian Matthews fronted a couple bands and then made three awesome California country-rock albums in the early seventies. Valley Hi is produced by Monkee Mike Nesmith. Ian self-produced his 1974 album, Some Days You Eat The Bear…Some Days The Bear Eats You.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse circa 1970. Danny Whitten‘s the sad haunted looking one on the left.

Matthews has a beautiful voice and impeccable taste in cover songs. He covers Crazy Horse’s Danny Whitten’s masterpiece “I Don’t Want To Talk About It” and one of my favorite songs from twee pioneers Honeybus. Also a great Steely Dan tune and the made-famous-by-Nico/The Royal Tenenbaums “These Days“, which I just found out Jackson Browne wrote when he was sixteen. Christ. I guess Conor Oberst started way young, but call me when he writes a song as good as “These Days.”

Ian Matthews’s pants are perhaps a bit too tight. Nice blazer though!

Ol’ 55 – Ian Matthews (Tom Waits cover): mp3

I Don’t Wanna Talk About It – Ian Matthews (Danny Whitten cover): mp3

These Days – Ian Matthews (Jackson Browne cover): mp3

Dirty Work – Ian Matthews (Steely Dan cover): mp3

Do I Still Figure In Your Life? – Ian Matthews (Honeybus cover): mp3

Tried So Hard – Ian Matthews (Gene Clark cover): mp3

Lots of great singer-songwriter-folk-country-seventies-rock downloads on my new favorite Japanese blog Time Has Told Me, authored by a genius who goes by the name Lizardson.

Backdoor Men/Peace Frogs

Lizardson also has an ALL DOORS BOOTLEGS music blog called Tightrope Ride. I feel the way about Jim Morrison and The Doors the way I feel about organized religion. It’s not Jesus I have a problem with, it’s his followers. Except replace “followers” with “Ray Manzarek.”

Okay, I guess he’s kind of attractive. But leather pants are ghey.

More prog, folk, psych, acid madness at the prolific Lost-In-Tyme, written by a global team of music dork e-super-friends.

PREVIOUSLY ON THIS RECORDING:

Alex and Molly presaged this morning’s sad Owen Wilson story.

Danish filled us in on what’s good in the Yay Area.

Tess and Alex suggested some seasonally appropriate reading material.

Molly Lambert is Senior Editor of This Recording. She is keeping a vigil for The Butterscotch Stallion.