Steve Young - No Place to Fall '1978

Tracks list

Issued in 1978, No Place to Fall is, regrettably, the second and last album for
RCA. Like its predecessor, Renegade Picker, Youngs ever-evolving music is
centered in the heart of outlaw country this time out, though there are, as
usual, interesting twists and turns. The band is stellar, with Buddy Emmons and
Buddy Spicher, Tracy Nelson, Jerry Shook, Dale Sellers, and a bunch of guitar
pickers, as well as drummer Kenny Malone, among others. The material is
noteworthy on many levels, not the least of which is Youngs decision to record,
for the third time, Montgomery in the Rain and Seven Bridges Road. Once more, he
reinvents both songs, fills them out, adds different textures and stresses, and
as a result, in the grain of his voice the meanings widen and deepen. The title
track was written by the late Townes Van Zandt, and Youngs read is damn near
definitive, with layers of guitars haunting the middle of the tune and his own
voice carrying the lonely edge of Van Zandts lyric into oblivion. In addition,
Young delves deep into Okie blues with a barbed-wire-and-whiskey cover of J.J.
Cales Same Old Blues, with stunning slide guitar work. But it is in the cover of
Mentor Williams composition Drift Away -- the multi-million-seller recorded by
Dobie Gray -- that Young offers his greatest surprise. This is a soul song,
performed by a soul singer originally, and here Young, while keeping the songs
intent essentially the same, transforms it into a country prayer. The same can
be said for his loose cover of Dylans Dont Think Twice Its Alright; Young
reworks the melody slightly while emphasizing different parts of the lyric as
the band fills in the cracks to bring an entirely new light to the song. No
Place to Fall failed ultimately to sell, but it did a great deal to bolster his
confidence as both a bandleader and as a producer. Young is a survivor, albeit
on the fringes; he is one of the few whose records are so consistent as to be
essential listening for anyone interested in late 20th century country music and
rock & roll.

01. Steve Young - No Place to Fall (4:02)
02. Steve Young - Montgomery in the Rain (1:24)
03. Steve Young - Dreamer (3:44)
04. Steve Young - Always Loving You (4:54)
05. Steve Young - Drift Away (4:33)
06. Steve Young - Seven Bridges Road (4:53)
07. Steve Young - I Closed My Hearts Door (4:56)
08. Steve Young - Dont Think Twice, Its Alright (4:09)
09. Steve Young - I Cant Sleep (3:45)
10. Steve Young - I Got the Same Old Blues (2:26)

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