Sometime in the early to mid 80’s, Columbus’s McGuffey Lane
became a national touring band, leaving behind, for the most part, their days
playing bars, clubs, and college campuses. By the time that had happened their
concert sets were mostly filled with their own self penned songs, songs found
on their four national releases for Atlantic Records and currently available on
CD from Collector’s Choice. What got left behind at that time were all of the
wonderful covers they did of rock, country, and bluegrass standards, many of
which would go on and influence their own compositions, and that were very
popular with their earliest audiences. And even some of their own early
compositions that were crowd favorites got lost over the years.
The bands recent release “Legend of the Red Eye” harkens
back to those saloon-playing days, with seven covers of classic country and
rock gems and three original tunes from those days that have yet to make it on
a McGuffey Lane release. The album’s title is homage to Zachariah’s Red Eye
Saloon, ground zero of central Ohio’s live music scene at the time, and the
place that McGuffey Lane was considered for a time the house band.
The covers on the CD are mostly on the countryside, and
touch every decade from the 1950’s to the 1980’s. The disk opens with what has
been the band’s most popular cover over the years, their rendition of the New
Riders of the Purple Sage classic “Panama Red.” They then go back to the days
when members of the band performed solo or in pairs in the various Holiday Inns
and Ground Rounds of central Ohio with an almost perfect version of the John
Hartford penned Glen Campbell classic “Gentle on My Mind.” The most recent of
the country standards is next with Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road,” the mid
1980’s classic about a Vietnam era veteran who is the son of a moonshiner who
decides to harvest marijuana instead of running moonshine.
The three oldest covers come next, going back to the days
when the band members listened to the Beatles and Rolling Stones with their
friends all week, but then on Saturday night sat down with their parents and
grandparents and tuned in to the Grand Old Opry. Bassist Steve Reis channels
George Jones with a fine rendition of the classic “She Thinks I Still Care.” Then
they cover the great Texas songwriter Guy Clark with “Baton Rouge.” Then go all
the way back to the early 50’s with a version of “There Stands the Glass” that
Webb Pierce would appreciate.
The last cover on the CD is another long time live favorite
of the band and their audiences, the blue grass standard “Fox on the Run.”
Bassist Steve Reis’s vocals are perfect for this song, and the background
harmonies are pretty damn good too.
Intertwined amongst these classic covers are three original ‘Lane
songs that go back to the late 70’s, have been played live on and off for
years, but have never made a studio release; including Steve Reis’s “Cowboys
Like What Cowgirls Do”; and two John Schwab penned songs “Sing a Song” and
“Cowboy in the City.” All three will sound familiar to long time McGuffey Lane fans.
Like most bands going back forty years McGuffey Lane has had
some personnel changes. However, this current lineup has been together longer
than any other version including the original one, and with three original
members and four long time additions, is loyal to the true McGuffey Lane sound
of rock, country, along with just enough bluegrass. For more about McGuffey
Lane and “Legend of the Red Eye” visit www.mcguffeylane.com.
