AEREO PLAIN

Description

After writing Glen Campbell's mega-hit "Gentle on My Mind" and appearing several times on both Glen's weekly variety show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, John Hartford could have taken the showbiz route toward financial security and ease. Instead, the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist (and steam boat enthusiast) returned to Nashville from Los Angeles, signed a contract with Warner Bros., and began creating one of the most influential and groundbreaking albums not only in bluegrass but in modern country music as a whole. In 1971, Aereo-Plain brought together a true supergroup featuring fiddler Vassar Clements, dobro player Tut Taylor, guitarist Norman Blake, and bassist Randy Scruggs to perform a set of mostly original songs that sounded like nothing the bluegrass community had ever heard before. Fresh, irreverent, funny, and always—except for the hilarious Dr. Demento's favorite Boogie—melodic and played by an absolutely dazzling band, the songs of Aereo-Plain pointed to a new stylistic direction for bluegrass, which quickly became known as "newgrass"; as Sam Bush of the New Grass Revival says, "Without Aereo-Plain, there would be no 'newgrass' music." Our first reissue of this essential album on LP (the first in 50 years) sold as quickly as one of John’s banjo licks... We're bringing it back to stay on black vinyl this time. Includes lyrics and liner notes by Hartford expert Skip Heller!