James Burton - ...and on guitar (1978)

James Burton was born 21 August 1939 in Dubberly, Louisiana and began playing guitar at a young age, influenced by Chet Atkins, Elmore James and several others, using fingerpicks with a flatpick instead of the more conventional thumbpick. At the age of only 14 he became a professional musician, working club gigs and private parties, and in 1954 he became the youngest staff musician on the weekly radio show Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, where he grew up. The first record that he played on was 'Just For A While'/'You Never Mention My Name' by Carol Williams in 1956, and in addition to his work on the Hayride, he played in Dale Hawkins' band, with whom he recorded and co-wrote 'Susie-Q' in February 1957. While working with Bob Luman, he came to the attention of Ricky Nelson, who invited him and Luman's bassist, James Kirkland, to meet his parents, and Nelson's father Ozzie Nelson offered Burton and Kirkland a regular spot on his son's television show 'The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet'. Before long James was living with the Nelson family in Hollywood, and playing on Ricky Nelson's 1957 single 'Stood Up'/'Waitin' In School', and then on every Ricky Nelson record after that for the next seven years. By 1965, Nelson was only on the road one month a year and Burton got bored, so he accepted an invitation from TV producer Jack Good to become a regular on the weekly 'Shindig' show, and to recruit a group, which he called the Shindogs. While working with Nelson, he had hardly done any session work for others, but after his exposure following a year on Shindig, he was soon doing five or six sessions a day, sometimes seven days a week, recording with such varied acts as Merle Haggard, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, Judy Collins, the Everly Brothers and Johnny Mathis. In November 1967 he released his first album 'Corn Pickin' And Slick Slidin'', which was a collaboration with steel guitarist Ralph Mooney, and in 1969 he recorded the high point of his work with the dobro guitar, which he'd taken up in 1963, on Merle Haggard's tribute album to Jimmie Rodgers, 'Same Train, A Different Time'. In 1969, Elvis Presley asked Burton to be his lead guitarist and manage his band, to which he agreed, and so he moved to Las Vegas, remaining with Presley's touring band until the singer's death in August 1977. Through the last five years with Elvis, Burton also worked with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, and then after Presley's death he went on the road with John Denver and stayed with him for fifteen years, continuing to do session work, and playing with Jerry Lee Lewis's touring band in the early 1980's. There is an excellent anthology of his work out on CD titled 'James Burton: The Early Years 1957-1969', and so this collection seamlessly carries on from that, mainly concentrating on his work from the late 60's to the early 70's, and because he played on so many, many records during that period I narrowed it down even further by only selecting records on which he played his dobro guitar. As well as a slew of superb country tracks, this also includes the outro on The Beach Boys' 'Cabinessence', and some superlative work on Buffalo Springfield's 'A Child's Claim To Fame'. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 A Child's Claim To Fame (from 'Buffalo Springfield Again' by Buffalo Springfield 1967)
02 Mama Tried (from 'Roots' by The Everly Brothers 1968)
03 Poor Immigrant (from 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' by Judy Collins 1968)
04 Midnight Wind (from 'Closing the Gap' by Michael Parks 1969)
05 Little Piece In D (from 'John Hartford' by John Hartford 1969)
06 Song Of Sad Bottles (from 'Mark Spoelstra' by Mark Spoelstra 1969)
07 On The Natural (from 'My Griffin Is Gone' by Hoyt Axton 1969)
08 Living On The Corner (from 'Who Knocked The Brains Out Of The Sky' by 

                                                                                                           Eric Von Schmidt 1969) 
09 Cabinessence (from '20/20' by The Beach Boys 1969)
10 Snake Mountain Blues (from 'Our Mother The Mountain' by Townes Van Zandt 1969)
11 Hoboin' (from 'Rock Salt And Nails' by Steve Young 1969)

Disc Two
01 Makes You Beautiful (from 'Sings About People' by John Hurley 1970)
02 Apple Tree (from 'Slim Slo Slider' by Johnny Rivers 1970)
03 Topanga Canyon (from 'John Phillips (John The Wolfking Of L.A.)' by John Phillips 1970)
04 Big T Water (from 'James Hendricks' by James Hendricks 1971)
05 Train Of Life (from 'Someday We'll Look Back' by Merle Haggard and The Strangers 1971)
06 Sunstorm (from 'Sunstorm' by John Stewart 1972)
07 The Moon Is Stone (from 'Raised On Records' by P.F. Sloan 1972)
08 Streets Of Baltimore (from 'GP' by Gram Parsons 1973)
09 Boulder To Brimingham (from 'Pieces Of The Sky' by Emmylou Harris 1975)
10 Bet On The Blues (from 'I Want To Live' by John Denver 1977)
11 Song For The Life (from 'Ain't Living Long Like This' by Rodney Crowell 1978)
12 Come Early Mornin' (from 'Nicolette' by Nicolette Larson 1978)

Thanks to Martin for the suggestion.

Eric Johnson - ...and on guitar (1994)

Eric Johnson was born on 17 August 1954 into a musical family, studying piano with his three sisters at an early age, while his father was a whistling enthusiast. He started learning the guitar at age 11 and rapidly progressed while listening to the musicians that would heavily influence his future style, including Mike Bloomfield, Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Django Reinhardt, among others. At the age of 15, he joined his first professional band, the psychedelic rock band Mariani, and in 1970 they recorded a demo, which saw an extremely limited release, and which became a prized collector's item some years later. I've had a copy of this since around the late 80's, but never knew Johnson appeared on it, so I must dig that out again. After graduating from high school, he briefly attended the University of Texas at Austin, and later traveled with his family to Africa, returning to Austin in 1974, and joining a local fusion group called Electromagnets. They toured and recorded regionally but didn't attract attention from major record labels, and so disbanded in 1977, but the strength of Johnson's playing had attracted a small cult following to the group's early recordings and, decades later, their two albums were given wide release on CD. Following the Electromagnets' demise, Johnson formed a touring trio, the Eric Johnson Group, with drummer Bill Maddox and bassist Kyle Brock, and between 1976 and 1978 they recorded the 'Seven Worlds' album, but due to contract disputes it was not released until 1998. Unable to secure a new management contract, Johnson began working as a session guitarist for some well-known acts, including Cat Stevens, Carole King, and Christopher Cross, and it was Cross's producer David Tickle who recommended Johnson to Warner Bros. Records, who signed him to their label. In 1986 he released his actual debut album 'Tones', with a cover story in Guitar Player helping to promote the release, but although 'Zap' was nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, the album did not sell well, and Warner Bros. let Johnson's contract expire. 

Signing with indie label Cinema Records, distributed by Capitol Records, he released 'Ah Via Musicom' in 1990, and not only was he winning awards for his musicianship in the guitar press, but 'Cliffs Of Dover' won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. The session work took a back seat while Johnson recorded his next album, but being an admitted perfectionist, he recorded, mastered and then scrapped several completed tracks for the new album, which delayed its release for three years, on top of the three years he had spent touring, and 'Venus Isle' eventually appeared in 1996. Despite demonstrating Johnson's growth as a guitarist, songwriter, producer, musical arranger, and vocalist, it received mixed reviews and did not match the success of its predecessor, and as a result he was dropped from Capitol Records. While recording 'Venus Isle' Johnson formed a side project called Alien Love Child with vocalist Malford Milligan, and played sporadic shows around Austin, and positive fan feedback from the shows made Alien Love Child a permanent gig. Johnson eventually returned to the recording studio, releasing 'Souvenir' in January 2002 on his own Vortexan Records label, followed by 'Bloom' in 2005, on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label, and then releasing a new record every few years since then. This collection starts with one of his earliest gigs with jazz organist Jack McDuff, then takes in those late 70's guest spots with Cat Stevens and Christopher Cross, and quite a bit of work from the mid 80's to the mid 90's. I have to admit that I wasn't that familiar with Johnson's work, so this has been as much as a revelation to me as it might be to you. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 Rolling Stone (from 'The Fourth Dimension' by Jack McDuff 1974)
02 Circle Song (from 'Once Upon A Rock' by American Peddlers 1977)
03 Dancin' With Tears In My Eyes (from 'Pearls' by Carole King 1980)
04 Bad Brakes (from 'Back To Earth' by Cat Stevens 1978)
05 Minstrel Gigolo (from 'Christopher Cross' by Christopher Cross 1979)
06 Rise Up (from 'Long Time Friends' by Alessi 1982)
07 SA Stroll (from 'Tomás Ramírez' by Tomas Ramirez 1983)
08 Save A Little Time (from 'Pressure' by Pressure 1983)

Disc Two
01 Recover Gracefully (from 'Marc Anthony Thompson' by Marc Anthony Thompson 1984)
02 Distant Star (from 'Stand Up' by Steve Morse Band 1985)
03 Ballad Of Fast Eddie (from 'Street Language' by Rodney Crowell 1986)
04 Western Flyer (from 'Guitar Speak' by Various Artists 1988)
05 Ronda (from 'Inside Out' by Jay Aaron 1990)
06 Our Dreams (from 'The Urge' by Stuart Hamm 1991)
07 Keep Coming Back (from 'Rush Street' by Richard Marx 1992)
08 Lights Of Louisiana (from 'The Hunter' by Jennifer Warnes 1992)
09 Somebody Loves Me Now (from 'Read My Licks' by Chet Atkins 1994)

Thank to Don for the suggestion.