Brian Hyland - Country Meets Folk (1964/2018)

Teen idols faced a dilemma with the paradigm shift of the mid-'60s and the rising popularity of rock groups and singer/songwriters. They could make adult contemporary pop like Bobby Vinton, experiment with British Invasion sounds like Bobby Vee, or turn to country music like George Hamilton IV. Brian Hyland briefly followed Hamilton's lead with Country Meets Folk, but hedged his bets with the pop audience by putting the word "folk" in the title of what is mainly a country record. Hyland covers big country hits like "Act Naturally," "Folsom Prison," "The Blizzard," and "Open Pit Mine" as well as a handful of folk songs that were, in many cases, widely recorded among country artists. "The Blizzard" and "Open Pit Mine" use a banjo, but Hyland also dips into blues ("Baby, What You Want Me to Do") and rock ("Candy Man"). The backing group, the 21 Strings, doesn't refer to an orchestra but to a small combo of 12-string guitar, bass, and banjo. In retrospect, Country Meets Folk seems doomed from its inception, but it's interesting to hear Hyland attempt this kind of material.