Before Time Began
| Before Time Began | ||||
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| Studio album by New Riders of the Purple Sage | ||||
| Released | 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1968, 1969, 1985 | |||
| Genre | Country rock, experimental | |||
| Length | 37:57 | |||
| Label | Relix | |||
| Producer | David Nelson | |||
| New Riders of the Purple Sage chronology | ||||
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| Allmusic |   |
Before Time Began is the eleventh studio album and thirteenth album overall by the country rock group the New Riders of the Purple Sage. It was released in 1986 on the Relix Records label.
The first half of the album contains very early recording sessions by the New Riders. Some of the songs are performed by the original lineup of the band, which consisted of John "Marmaduke" Dawson, David Nelson, and three members of the Grateful Dead — Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart. The second half of the album contains experimental music created by David Nelson, called "The Backwards Tapes".
The first four songs on Before Time Began are from the New Riders' first studio session, at Pacific Heights Recording in San Francisco, California, in November 1969. This is the only known studio recording made by the band's original lineup. In the following two years, NRPS often performed as the opening act at Grateful Dead concerts. In 1970, Dave Torbert replaced Phil Lesh as the New Riders' bass player, and Spencer Dryden replaced Mickey Hart on drums.
The next two songs on the album are from an even earlier studio session, before the New Riders of the Purple Sage had formed. This session took place at Pacific Recording in San Mateo, California, on July 31, 1968. These tracks are credited to "Marmaduke and friends". According to the album liner notes, which were written by David Nelson, these are "two songs John [Dawson] cut in 1968 in San Mateo with the help of Garcia and some members of Doug Sahm's group," indicating that Jerry Garcia plays pedal steel guitar on these tracks.
Bob Matthews was the audio engineer at both studio sessions. Along with Betty Cantor, Matthews recorded many Grateful Dead concerts, and co-produced their albums Live/Dead and American Beauty. He also played bass at some early New Riders practice sessions before Lesh joined the band.
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