Aereo-plain
Encyclopedia
Aereo-Plain is American
musician John Hartford's
groundbreaking bluegrass album released in 1971. It reached number 193 on the The Billboard 200 chart.
spirit of the '70s. Though Aereo-Plain sold poorly and Warner Bros.
decided not to promote Hartford's next release Morning Bugle at all, the album has been called the forerunner of the genre now known as "Newgrass
". Hartford subsequently asked to be released from his contract and later signed with Flying Fish Records
.
The other members of the Aereo-Plain Band were Norman Blake
, Vassar Clements
, Tut Taylor
, and Randy Scruggs
. Hartford instructed producer David Bromberg
to "let the tapes roll, we don't want to hear playbacks until you've put the master together."
Aereo-plain was reissued on CD in 1997 by Rounder Records
but has since gone out of print causing CD as well as LP
copies to command high prices. In 2002 Steam Powered Aereo-Takes
was released, which was a collection of outtakes and demos from the recording sessions for this album.
. On the original LP, the title is spelled "Aereo-plain" but the title of the song is labeled "Steam Powered Aereo-plane".
Music critic Robert Christgau
gave the album a B+ rating, writing "I must admit that Norman Blake's guitar, Tut Taylor's dobro, and Vassar Clements's fiddle complement Hartford with tact, wit, and sly razzmatazz. But I insist that it's Hartford's funny, quirkish songs, rather than his banjo, that save me from continued boorishness."
Stylus
magazine's 2006 review praised Hartford and the album: "It would be easy to call Aereo-Plain an 'Old Weird America' classic, but Hartford’s loves were never so static, and he seemed in on the joke besides. Shame, then, that the augurs of American music never smiled on Hartford the way he beamed on them.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician John Hartford's
John Hartford
John Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore...
groundbreaking bluegrass album released in 1971. It reached number 193 on the The Billboard 200 chart.
History
The music on Aereo-plain is a blend of traditional bluegrass musicianship, and the hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
spirit of the '70s. Though Aereo-Plain sold poorly and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
decided not to promote Hartford's next release Morning Bugle at all, the album has been called the forerunner of the genre now known as "Newgrass
Progressive bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. It is also known as newgrass, a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker. Musicians and bands John Hartford, New Grass Revival, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the...
". Hartford subsequently asked to be released from his contract and later signed with Flying Fish Records
Flying Fish Records
Flying Fish Records was a Chicago-based eclectic blues and country record label. It was founded in 1974 by Bruce Kaplan, former president of the University of Chicago's Folklore Society....
.
The other members of the Aereo-Plain Band were Norman Blake
Norman Blake (American musician)
Norman Blake is an instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 50 years Blake has played in a number of folk and Country groups...
, Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements
Vassar Clements was a Grammy Award- winning American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical...
, Tut Taylor
Tut Taylor
Tut Taylor is an American bluegrass musician.Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-picking style. Taylor was a member of The Folkswingers in the 1960s, who released three LPs; he recorded his debut...
, and Randy Scruggs
Randy Scruggs
Randy Scruggs is a music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13...
. Hartford instructed producer David Bromberg
David Bromberg
David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
to "let the tapes roll, we don't want to hear playbacks until you've put the master together."
Aereo-plain was reissued on CD in 1997 by Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
but has since gone out of print causing CD as well as LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
copies to command high prices. In 2002 Steam Powered Aereo-Takes
Steam Powered Aereo-Takes
Steam Powered Aereo-Takes is a collection of outtakes, demos and jam-sessions from John Hartford's groundbreaking 1971 album Aereo-Plain, released in 2002. The music is a blend of traditional bluegrass musicianship, and the hippie spirit of the 70's...
was released, which was a collection of outtakes and demos from the recording sessions for this album.
Cover
The cover features a bearded, long-haired Hartford wearing old style, aviator goggles, a distinct contrast from his previous appearance as a regular on The Glen Campbell Goodtime HourThe Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour was an American network television music and comedy variety show hosted by singer Glen Campbell from January 1969 through June 1972 on CBS. He was offered the show after he hosted a 1968 summer replacement for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour...
. On the original LP, the title is spelled "Aereo-plain" but the title of the song is labeled "Steam Powered Aereo-plane".
Reception
Aereo-plain has received high praise in retrospective reviews. Writing for Allmusic, critic Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. wrote "The cult following of Aereo-plain... has less to do with the music than with Hartford's quirky songs and even quirkier approach... One of the attractions to this material is that Hartford seems to be in his element, just doing what comes natural to him... Aereo-Plain signaled the full blooming of his eccentric talent. This is an essential album for any fan, revealing both his genius and the glory days of early '70s progressive bluegrass."Music critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave the album a B+ rating, writing "I must admit that Norman Blake's guitar, Tut Taylor's dobro, and Vassar Clements's fiddle complement Hartford with tact, wit, and sly razzmatazz. But I insist that it's Hartford's funny, quirkish songs, rather than his banjo, that save me from continued boorishness."
Stylus
Stylus (magazine)
Stylus is a print magazine devoted to fine writing instruments . It is published on a bi-monthly calendar and includes reviews of new pens and accessories, as well as articles about vintage pens, collecting, inks and paper...
magazine's 2006 review praised Hartford and the album: "It would be easy to call Aereo-Plain an 'Old Weird America' classic, but Hartford’s loves were never so static, and he seemed in on the joke besides. Shame, then, that the augurs of American music never smiled on Hartford the way he beamed on them.
Track listing
All tracks composed by John Hartford; except where indicated- "Turn Your Radio On" (Albert E. BrumleyAlbert E. BrumleyAlbert Edward Brumley was a shape note gospel music composer and publisher.Brumley was born near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905. Pre-Dustbowl Oklahoma was primarily made up of sparse agricultural communities; Brumley's family was no different. He spent much of his early life chopping and...
) – 1:22 - "Steamboat Whistle Blues" – 3:23
- "Back in the Goodle Days" – 3:34
- "Up on the Hill Where They Do the Boogie" – 2:43
- "Boogie" – 1:42
- "First Girl I Loved" – 4:35
- "Presbyterian Guitar" – 2:04
- "With a Vamp in the Middle" – 3:25
- "Symphony Hall Rag" – 2:48
- "Because of You" – 1:02
- "Steam Powered Aereo Plane" – 3:43
- "Holding" – 1:47
- "Tear Down The Grand Ole Opry" (Hartford, Robert Taylor) – 3:28
- "Leather Britches" (Traditional) – 1:58
- "Station Break" – 0:13
- "Turn Your Radio On" – 2:16
Personnel
- John HartfordJohn HartfordJohn Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore...
– banjo, guitar, violin, vocals - Norman BlakeNorman Blake (American musician)Norman Blake is an instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 50 years Blake has played in a number of folk and Country groups...
– guitar, mandolin, vocals - Vassar ClementsVassar ClementsVassar Clements was a Grammy Award- winning American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical...
– violin, cello, viola, vocals - Tut TaylorTut TaylorTut Taylor is an American bluegrass musician.Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-picking style. Taylor was a member of The Folkswingers in the 1960s, who released three LPs; he recorded his debut...
– dobro, vocals - Randy ScruggsRandy ScruggsRandy Scruggs is a music producer, songwriter and guitarist. He had his first recording at the age of 13...
– electric bass, vocals
Production
- David BrombergDavid BrombergDavid Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
– producer - Warren Dewey – engineer
- Claude Hill – engineer
- Toby Mountain – mixing
- Peter Amft – photography
- Sam BushSam BushSam Bush is an American bluegrass mandolin player considered an originator of the Newgrass style.- History :...
– liner notes