posted 27 January 2000 07:41 AM         

The five tracks :
I Could Never Love You' - 2min 30secs
Alone In This World - 2min 09secs
Pain And Heartache - 2min 14secs
You're My Bright Day - 2min 03secs
Feelings Of You - 2min 38secs -
All by Johnny Meeks and the Detours 1969.
The Detours were at that stage:
Johnny Meeks - Vocals and Lead Guitar
Red Rhodes - Steel Guitar
Tom Brooks - Rhythm Guitar
Biff Adam - Drums
Don Holiman - Bass
Garland Frady - Acoustic Guitar.
*no-one is credited, but there's some nice tinkling piano on some of the material.

At first I thought these tracks were cut with Gene, but no!.
They were from an album that Johnny Meeks was recording for the Custom label in 1969, but the notes don't mention if it was ever finished, these five songs really show how good it must have been.

The songs not only represents classic Californian honky tonk, but the five song set is basically the soul mate to the glorious 1960's album by Gene Davis:

'My Kind Of World' Toppa 5670

which boasts very similar pedal steel and piano arrangements to the Johnny Meeks tracks on the Gene Vincent compilation.
The steel, although a little tamer on the Meeks material {Could it be Red Rhodes on steel?}, sounds very much in the same mould.

And was this group the 1969 Palomino Club band the Detours, well most likely yes.
Red of course led the Detours after Gene Davis left the Pal' in early 1966.
With Biff Adam, the Cass Brothers, Dennis Hromeck and Jerry Cole, Red cut the late 1960's album:

Red Rhodes & the Detours:
'Live At The Palomino' Happy Tiger HT 1003

The rest of the Gene Vincent comp is mainly live stuff with British groups from 1969 and 1971, with a rather confrontational 27 minute radio interview from 1969 where Gene constantly berates an interviewer who insists on correcting pretty much everything Gene talks about!.
If curious, find it and get someone to play tracks 8 to 12 for the Meeks/Rhodes Detours tracks.

[This message was edited by Jason Odd on 27 January 2000 at 07:47 AM.]

posted 27 January 2000 01:00 PM         

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posted 27 January 2000 07:54 PM         

Actually I'd heard that Johnny sang as an opener for Haggard when he was in the Strangers, and that he used to front Ricky Nelson's band on piano and vocals when they weren't touring and back in the L.A area. But I've never actually heard his vocals or piano playing before this.
He doesn't play any of his real hot stuff on the Detours material, but I've got Gene Vincent's 'I'm Back And I'm Proud' album which was cut in 1969 and Johnny pullsout these stinging rockabilly breaks!.
Red Rhodes plays some real nice dobro on the album to.