Wounded Bird Records
2008
Rock N' Roll Again
About This Album
At the other end of the decade from Commander Cody's influential early records, the 1977 threat to Rock 'n Roll Again is very short on sidemen associated with the original version of the group. What is presented as the "new" Commander Cody band is in turn long on sidemen drawn from the same pool that fed various versions of New Riders of the Purple Sage, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Starship. The bandleader here whips his extended lineup of players into much finer fettle than they had been or would be in the previous list of bands, all of which veered toward the casual and sloppy. "Pretty well tamed" is nonetheless how a fan of Commander Cody described this album in the scheme of things, since moments of tight, exciting synchronized instrumental interplay are likely to lead to passages that have all the momentum of a load-bearing wall. The production is somewhat graced by the presence of vocalist Nicolette Larson and her sidekick, Charra Penny, giving many of the tracks a strong female singing presence that works to coddle up the warmth of Commander Cody's own vocals. These sound darn good, it has to be said, even on some of the cornier material.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7)

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