Description
Cosmic Cowboy is the fifth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Barry McGuire, released on Sparrow Records in 1978. The album was recorded and mixed by Wally Duguid at Buckskin Studio in Northridge, California; with Billy Ray Hearn producing. Tracks arranged by Mike Deasy. Strings arranged by David Diggs. Songs written by Barry McGuire and Mike Deasy.
The album track “Cosmic Cowboy” was among the Top Five Songs of 1979, according to CCM Magazine. “What Good Would It Do” was featured on Sparrow Spotlight Sampler, a multi-artist compilation released by Sparrow Records in 1978.
Certainly one of Barry’s more interesting albums, including some rather spacey lyrics, mostly written in conjunction with Mike Deasy. One can’t help but wonder what the duo might have had for supper the night before writing that kitsschy title track where swirling strings, whispering female bgvs and little synth meteors bask in wispy conservative elevator powder-puff psych splendor. «Flying Merry-Go-Round» has a catchy funk/jazz groove nurtured by some cool instrumental jamming that includes fuzz and wah-wah guitar. Elsewhere the ballads continue with the hyper-mellow-strings trend, but stuff like «The Presence» and «Face To Face» rock pretty solid, as does «Good News Shoes» (“kick the devil in his bad news blues”). Includes assistance from David Diggs (strings), Harlan Rogers (piano), Michael Omartian (synthesizer), Al Perkins (peddle steel) and a bunch of others. Cosmic cover art as well – a painting of Barry in space with rays of light emanating from his chest (you can get a T-shirt of it for $5.00 via the order form on the inner sleeve). [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/cosmic-cowboy/715546497)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Cosmic Cowboy” – 4:45
A2. “What Good Would It Do” – 3:21
A3. “The Presence” – 2:55
A4. “Walkin’” – 3:58
A5. “Flying Merry-Go-Round” – 4:03
Side Two
B1. “Mystery Of Life” – 3:08
B2. “Good News Shoes” – 2:23
B3. “My King” – 3:15
B4. “You An’ Me” – 2:40
B5. “White Swan” – 3:14
B6. “Face To Face” – 2:57
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by Sparrow Records. Later re-issued on CD.
Born in Oklahoma, Barry McGuire was a former member of the New Christy Minstrels edging 30 when, in September 1965, he scored his one and only No 1 single with the folk-rock protest classic «Eve of Destruction». Attacked at the time by both the left and the right, McGuire’s career never recovered and by the early 70s he was a washed-up drug casualty. Happily, that year he also moved to Hollywood and – finally! – gave himself to The Lord. Working with a group called Agape Force, an evangelistic ministry founded in California that released children’s albums of praise and worship, McGuire fell in with a Christian engineer called Buck Herring and soon found himself with a new record deal at the mighty Myrrh Records (then also home to Elvis’ ex-squeeze, Wanda Jackson) who were focussed on a particularly Top 40 friendly version of Jesus Rock.
Working within a roster that included God-Pop titans like 2nd Chapter of Acts and Randy Matthews, artists who toured incessantly because they honestly believed that’s what God wanted them to do, a clearly inspired McGuire he hit (relatively) big again in 1978 with the awesome ‘Cosmic Cowboy’, a blend of richly melodic pop, easy-strolling FM rock, noodle-doodle jazz-funk immensity and lashings (and LASHINGS) of gospel-themed lyrics. On the cover McGuire appears to reimagine himself as some sort of extra-terrestrial Christ character (complete with halogen heart, rippling six-pack and incipient baldness issues), but inside it’s stone-cold banger after stone-cold banger. «My King» is a super-lachrymose ballad with a country-soul bent that bigs Him up, «The Presence» is a funk-rock strut that bigs Him up, «Good New Shoes» is an appallingly up-front musical-theatre growl-a-long that, oh yes, bigs Him up, while the title track is an all-out classic, a heavyweight production masterpiece dotted with cosmic analogue synth whistles and a walloping great orchestra and, oh yes, it really, really bigs Him up. These days Barry, now 78, spends his time between California and New Zealand, but the big man upstairs is still there for him. “We have never known such peace, such assurance, such hope, such knowing, that Christ IS living WITHIN every heart,” he wrote on his blog a few years ago. Perhaps we’re not quite as close to that destruction as we were 49 years ago? [Rob Fitzpatrick, The Guardian, April 2014]
CREDITS. Produced by Billy Ray Hearn. Recorded and mixed at Buckskin Studio, Northridge, CA. Engineered by Wally Duguid. Mastered at Capitol Records. Tracks arranged by Mike Deasy. Strings arranged by David Diggs. Album Design by Stan Evenson. Artwork by John Lykes.
Musicians: Barry McGuire (Lead Vocals), Harlan Rogers (Piano), Michael Omartian (Oberheim Syntesizer), Fred Selden (Baritone Sax), Mike Deasy (Guitar), Al Perkins (Pedal Steel Guitar), Abraham Laboriel (Bass), Bill Maxwell (Drums), Fred Petry (Percussion). Background Vocals: Bili Thedford, Shirlie Matthews, Venetta Fields, Mike Deasy and Barry McGuire on track B5.
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