SEALED LP: Matthews Southern Comfort: Later That Same Y

$

31

Matthews Southern Comfort: Later That Same Year

FACTORY SEALED LP

• Woodstock
• To Love
• And Me
• Tell Me Why
• My Lady
• And When She Smiles (She Makes the Sun Shine)
• Mare, Take Me Home
• Sylvie
• The Brand New Tennessee Waltz
• For Melanie
• Road to Ronderlin

• Carl Barnwell
• Robin Black: Engineer
• Roger Coulam: Piano
• Ray Duffy
• Tristan Frye: Vibraphone
• Mark Griffiths
• Gordon Huntley
• Tim Kraemer Arranger
• Andy Leigh
• Ian Matthews
• Keith Nelson Banjo

• Ian Matthews left Fairport Convention in 1969, and while the U.K.'s greatest folk-rock band was beginning to reinvent itself in a more traditional and very British direction, Matthews began digging deeper into the American influences that had marked his old band's first era. Later That Same Year, the second album from Ian's new group Matthews Southern Comfort (it was released in late 1970, a mere six months after their debut, hence the title), is a beautiful set of songs that splits the difference between West Coast folk-rock and early country-rock, with Gordon Huntley's pedal steel and Roger Coulam's lending an air of sunny sadness that dovetails beautifully with Matthews' silky tenor. Matthews wrote three of the songs on Later That Same Year, and they rank with the album's finest moments, especially the ethereal harmonies of "And Me" and the graceful simplicity of "My Lady," but Matthews also borrows some excellent material from American writers, including a cover of Neil Young's "Tell Me Why" that remains faithful while creating a languid mood of its own, a fine, poignant take on Jesse Winchester's "Brand New Tennessee Waltz," and two by Al Anderson, which date from the latter days of the Wildweeds before he joined up with NRBQ (and "Mare Take Me Home" and "And When She Smiles" show Big Al was already a songwriter of no small talent and Matthews handles both tunes beautifully). While country influences run all through the album, Matthews had the smarts not to try to emulate a Nashville production or arrangement style, and instead the album suggests the shadows of Tim Buckley or early Crosby, Stills & Nash while adding an English pastoral subtext all their own. After Later That Same Year, Matthews parted ways with Southern Comfort to record solo and later form Plainsong, but you'd never guess that this album was recorded by a band on its last legs -- this is subtle but confident music that comes from a handful of artists working at the height of their skills.

• During his stylistically diverse and often convoluted career, Iain Matthews (born Ian Matthews MacDonald -- he changed his last name in 1968 and then the spelling of his first name in 1989 to reflect his Celtic roots) has seen commercial success, major-label deals, and numerous bands come and go, and then come and go again, while always bouncing back in one way or another.
• After time spent with a couple of local bands (the Classics and the Rebels) in his hometown of Scunthorpe, he moved to London where he began his recording career in 1966 with the surf group Pyramid. The band recorded one single for Deram Records, but never really went any further and Matthews (then still known as Ian MacDonald) left after he was brought to the attention of Ashley Hutchings, who happened to be looking for a male singer for his new band Fairport Convention. He remained with Fairport for two albums, including the folk-rock classic What We Did on Our Holidays, before leaving during the recording of 1969's Unhalfbricking (his backing vocal can be heard on "Percy's Song") due to creative differences. By the time of his second and last record with the band, he became known as Ian Matthews, changing his name to avoid confusion with King Crimson's Ian MacDonald. Matthews soon signed with MCA Records for his first solo effort, Matthews Southern Comfort (1970), which featured former Fairport bandmates Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol. He eventually formed a band of the same name, recording two albums for MCA and scoring a number one U.K. hit with their version of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock." In November of 1970, at the height of the band's popularity, Matthews left, abruptly walking off-stage during a show in Oxford. Shortly thereafter, a deal with Mercury Records subsidiary Vertigo resulted in two of his best albums, If You Saw Thro' My Eyes (January 1971) and Tigers Will Survive (November 1971).
• Artistically restless, Matthews formed another band, Plainsong, with Dave Richards, Andy Roberts, and Bob Ronga. Both Roberts and Ronga had appeared on Tigers Will Survive. A contractual obligation with Vertigo for one more record led to the recording of Journeys From Gospel Oak. The finished product, which was completed in just five days, remained in the can until 1974, after being sold to Mooncrest Records. Free from his contract with Vertigo, Matthews and his new band recorded the loosely conceptual In Search of Amelia Earhart in 1972 for Elektra Records, before disbanding when the label refused to release the follow-up.
• Matthews then relocated to California, recording two more albums for Elektra, the Michael Nesmith-produced Valley Hi (November 1973) and Some Days You Eat the Bear and Some Days the Bear Eats You (July 1974). While both received their fair share of critical praise, neither did all that well commercially, and he was dropped from the label. Following a brief stint with Columbia, which yielded what may be his two weakest records (Go for Broke [1975] and Hit and Run [1976]), he reunited with Sandy Roberton, who had produced both Journeys From Gospel Oak and In Search of Amelia Earhart, for his next venture, 1978's Stealin' Home. Produced by Roberton on his own Rockburgh label, Stealin' Home surprisingly spawned Matthews' biggest U.S. hit, the Terence Boylan penned "Shake It" (number 13). Subsequent LPs failed to match the success of Stealin' Home and when Rockburgh went bankrupt, he was once again without a label.
• From the mid-'70s on into the '80s, Matthews dabbled in a number of different styles, from jazz-inflected pop to new wave, with varied results. Living in Seattle (he moved there in the late '70s), led to the formation of yet another band, Hi-Fi, who released two records to relative public indifference before splitting up. Once again solo, Matthews returned with the techno-pop Shook (1984), which was released only in Germany following PolyGram's decision to not market the album in Britain or the U.S. Frustrated by the decision, Matthews decided to call it quits after 18 years as a recording artist. This consequently led to work as an A&R man for Island Music and then Windham Hill Records, but a 1986 appearance at Fairport Convention's annual reunion festival rekindled Matthews' interest in performing. His retirement turned into merely a five-year hiatus, culminating with Walking a Changing Line (1988), an album dedicated solely to the songs of singer/songwriter Jules Shear.
• The late '80s saw another move for Matthews, this time to Austin, TX, where he worked on and off with Walking a Changing Line co-producer Mark Hallman. The next decade would be Matthews' most productive stretch since the late '60s/early '70s, with the release of five solo studio albums, as well as three with the reformed Plainsong, one with the band Hamilton Pool, and a handful of live recordings. It also proved to be his most fruitful period as a writer. The '90s also saw the release of various collections of odds and ends, including three volumes of rarities and unreleased material entitled Orphans and Outcasts.
• As the '90s came to an end, Matthews continued to stay busy, floating from project to project, recording on his own, as well as with others. Tiniest Wham was issued in early 2000, as was the Sandy Denny tribute Secrets All Told with the one-off band No Grey Faith. A collaboration with singer/songwriter Elliott Murphy (La Terre Commune) followed in 2001.

FINE PRINT

• All pictures are of the exact item being sold.
• This record came from a record store called "Phantasmagoria" which was located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Phantasmagoria went out of business in 1978. I purchased most of their leftover inventory some years later when I owned a new & used record store in Catasauqua called "Music Madness". Music Madness is still listed in the phone book if you want to try to contact me.
• Phantasmagoria used round colored stickers to indicate the price of the albums. They had a sign on the wall with the color sticker combinations for the customers to use so they knew the price of the albums. Most of the albums still have these stickers on them, and in some rare cases, the stickers are written on.
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• All uninsured and underinsured shipments are the responsibility of the buyer.
• I have started to add a $1.00 "handling fee" which is to help defray the cost of a new mailing box. This is approximately what I pay for them from BagsUnlimited. If you opt to have your record(s) shipped by Priority Mail, I will refund the dollar since the box from the Post Office is free. If you don't chose Priority Mail and you feel that the dollar is unfair, let me know so I can refund it. Upon refunding your dollar, I will package your album(s) in an "almost new" mailer which was used to send a record to me (yes, I'm a collector too).
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