Description
Gently Flowing Feeling is the debut album by the American trio Albrecht, Roley, and Moore (Michael “Mike” Albrecht, Scott Roley and Alan Moore), released on White Horse Records in 1977, distributed by Windy Distributor Co. (Mike Albrecht and Scott Roley actually had released an album entitled Albrecht and Roley as a duo two years earlier.) The album was recorded at Riverside Studios in Bismark, North Dakoda; with Greg Nelson producing for Tri-Art Productions (except track A1 produced by The Col. And The Gang). Re-mixed by Ray Nenow, Randy Matthews, and Monty Matthews. Final mix by Travis Turk at Ironside Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. All songs written by Albrecht, Roley, and Moore except track B2 written by Greg Nelson.
Bigger budget this go-around which translates into strings! – on the ballads anyway. Ok, I’ll look past my pet peeve (only a handful of the album’s 12 songs get the orchestrated treatment anyway) and admit that this ain’t a bad album. Certainly more polished than Albrecht & Roley and rockier at times («Shotgun» and «Drink In The Soft Sound») though overall the sound is best described by the album title. Lotta names familiar here: Bob Hartman (Petra) contributes lead electric guitar, Al Perkins on pedal steel, and John Michael Talbot helps on acoustic guitar, banjo, and dobro. Fancy fiddle courtesy Tim Briggs. Pressed on white vinyl. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]
Al Perkins is a famed pedal steel player who had worked with Steven Stills. He was beginning to produce young artists and after hearing AR&M’s songs «Shotgun» and «Detroit» (brought to him by Terry Talbot) agreed to be a part of the bands next project.
He, along with the Talbot brothers, joined AR&M in Bismarck, North Dakota in the summer of 1976 to record the album Gently Flowing Feeling. The Tri-Mark Studios on the banks of the Missouri River was where the songs were cut. Tri-Mark had gained national notoriety for helping John Denver save an accidentally dropped track from one of his then recent recordings. The studio was AR&M’s first time in a state of the art facility.
A young first time producer from South Dakota named Greg Nelson arranged the music and produced the sessions. Greg included an instrumental piece, «Journey», which served as a prelude to Alan Moore’s song, «White Seagull». The strings were cut in Anderson, Indiana and several local musicians also played on the tracks.
The final mix was engineered and produced in Nashville, Tennessee by Randy Matthews. Randy added other musicians to several tracks including Bob Hartman, who would later join Scott Roley in the band City Limits. James Isaac Elliot, another future member of the Nashville based Scott Roley Band and long time friend, did the photography and cover art. Over the years James joined Scott on many song co-writes and helped him finish his IVP book on community development, “God’s Neighborhood”.
Whitehorse Records along with the Windy Distribution Company released and sold ten thousand copies of Gently Flowing Feeling with the first thousand pressed in white vinyl. Several additional runs in black vinyl were made along with the customary cassette and eight-track tapes.
[Scott Roley]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Take Me To The Comfort” – 2:16
A2. “Engaged” – 1:05
A3. “Further Up & Further In” – 3:33
A4. “Over The Next Horizon” – 3:27
A5. “Constantly” – 3:16
A6. “Lead Me Through” – 3:19
Side Two
B1. “Shotgun” – 2:45
B2. “Journey” – 1:32
B3. “White Seagull” – 3:55
B4. “Drink In The Soft Sound” – 2:58
B5. “To Keep Me Struggling On” – 3:50
B6. “Gently Flowing Feeling” – 2:07
Note: The first 1,000 copies were pressed on white vinyl. Several additional runs in black vinyl were made along with the customary cassette and 8-track tapes. Available on CD and as download at scottroley.com
CREDITS. Produced by Greg Nelson for Tri-Art Productions, except “Take Me To The Comfort” produced by The Col. And The Gang. Recording engineered by Bill Townsend, assisted by David Swensor. Recorded at Riverside Studios, Bismark, ND. Final mix engineered by Travis Turk. Remixed by Ray Nenow, Randy Matthews and Monty Matthews. Final mix: Ironside Recording Studios, Nashville, TN. Orchestration by Pinebrook Players Arranged and conducted by Greg Nelson. Illustration and album design by Chuck Strantz. Photography by James Elliot.
Musicians: Michael Albrecht (Vocals, acoustic guitar), Scott Roley (Vocals, acoustic guitar), Alan Moore (Vocals, acoustic guitar, bass). Additional musicians: John Michael Talbot (Acoustic guitar, banjo, dobro), Bob Hartman (Electric lead guitar), Jeff Knudsen (Electric lead guitar on “Constantly”), David Swenson (Electric lead guitar on “Constantly”, bass), Tim Briggs (Fiddle, electric lead guitar on “Drink In The Soft Sound”), Al Perkins (Pedal steel guitar), Greg Nelson (Electric and acoustic piano, bass), Stephen Alexandersen (Electric and acoustic piano, bass), Russ Daughtry (Bass), Steve Hanna (Percussion), Bob Gelotte (Percussion), David Ringenbach (Vibes).
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