Review – Rambles.net

In 1974, when he first decided to try to re-establish himself, Gibson recognized that, given his experience with record companies, he would be better off starting his own label, a move that is now standard among folk performers but was then a radical departure from the way things were done. Funky in the Country, the 1974 album he released on his own Legend Enterprises label, is a live set recorded at Chicago’s Amazing Grace. It features Gibson on 12-string guitar and John Guth on lead 6-string, although designating Guth as the lead guitar isn’t always accurate since both men step out front. With one exception, all of the songs are Gibson compositions.
The set gets off to a flying start with “Cindy Dreams of California,” a song that features some of the best acoustic guitar playing you will ever hear, as Gibson’s 12-string booms out chords and bass runs while Guth plays intricate solo patterns above Gibson’s rhythm. It’s an amazing song.
He then slows it down with the only song he didn’t write, Shel Silverstein’s “I Never Got to Know Her Very Well,” before picking it up again with a blues number. As the album progresses, you hear Gibson at his set building best, always varied in tempo and tone, but always with plenty of room for the musicians to cook, taking lengthy solos. Guth and Gibson play off of each other beautifully. It’s an amazing piece of work, one that I’ve been listening to consistently since 1974 without ever becoming bored by it.
The album drew rave reviews, with Billboard calling Gibson one of the finest singers in American folk history. Gibson set up a full schedule of shows and signings to kick off the album but, unfortunately, his first stop was in rehab. By the time he got out four months later, the momentum was gone.