The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Uncle Charlie And His Dog Teddy (Remastered) (1970)

Tracklist

01. Some Of Shelly's Blues (Remastered 2002)
02. Prodigal's Return (Remastered 2003)
03. The Cure (Remastered 2003)
04. Travelin' Mood (Remastered 2003)
05. Chicken Reel (2003 Remastered)
06. Yukon Railroad (Remastered 2003)
07. Livin' Without You (Remastered 2003)
08. Clinch Mountain Backstep
09. Rave On (Remastered 2003)
10. Billy In The Low Ground (2003 Remastered)
11. Jesse James (Remastered 2003)
12. Uncle Charlie Interview (Remastered 2003)
13. Mr. Bojangles (Remastered)
14. Opus 36 (Remastered 2003)
15. Santa Rosa (Remastered 2003)
16. Propinquity (Remastered 2003)
17. Uncle Charlie (2003 Remastered)
18. Randy Lynn Rag (Remastered 2003)
19. House At Pooh Corner (Remastered 2003)
20. Swanee River (2003 Remastered)
21. Uncle Charlie Interview #2 / Spanish Fandango (2003 Remastered)
22. Mississippi Rain (Remastered 2003)
23. What Goes On (2003 Remastered)

The first album issued by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band after they had temporarily disbanded in 1969, this greatly expanded their pop audience, due primarily to the Top 10 hit cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles" (which actually wasn't a hit until early 1971). The group moved into a more accessible rock-oriented fusion of country, bluegrass, pop, and rock & roll, relying primarily on smartly chosen covers of tunes by the likes of Walker, Mike Nesmith, Randy Newman, and Kenny Loggins. Few bands had incorporated instruments more commonly associated with country and bluegrass, particularly mandolin and banjo, as comfortably into a rock setting prior to this release, and their well-crafted harmonies help put the songs over for those not-steeped-in backwoods sounds. It was an extremely diverse program for a country-rock album, too, moving from rustic instrumentals and snippets of tapes of elderly musicians performing rural Americana to the Buddy Holly cover "Rave On." The group were actually at their best, though, when doing softer, melodic pop tunes. "Mr. Bojangles" was a deserved huge success in that regard, but Nesmith's "Some of Shelley's Blues" and Loggins' "House at Pooh Corner" were almost as catchy and appealing.

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