The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (album)
| The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | ||||
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| Studio album by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band | ||||
| Released | February or March, 1967 | |||
| Genre | Country/Country rock/Folk rock/Bluegrass | |||
| Label | Liberty | |||
| Producer | Dallas Smith | |||
| Nitty Gritty Dirt Band chronology | ||||
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| Allmusic |   |
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is the first album by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released in 1967. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (aka The Dirt Band) is notable for having many charting albums and singles. This album debuted on the U.S. Billboard Top Pop Albums on April 8, 1967, peaked at #161 and was on the charts for 8 weeks. The single "Buy for Me the Rain" b/w "Candy Man" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on 4/8/67, peaked at #45 on 5/6/67, and was on the charts for 7 weeks.
The album liner notes were written by Tiger Beat magazine Feature Editor Ann Moses. It focuses mostly on what the members look like, nicknames, and personalities. The type of information readers of Tiger Beat, teenage girls, would have been interested in.
The songs fall mostly into two very different styles. Half sound like songs of the 1920s, the other half sound like late 1960s laid-back rock. "Dismal Swamp" is bluegrass.
"Buy for Me the Rain" is one of the 1960s-style songs. It starts with guitar playing a fast, staccato pattern. This is joined by a violin playing long notes over top. Jeff Hanna sings lead. Someone else sings harmony on the second half of the verse, and a lower voice echos the last line of each verse. That last line is always a cautionary variation on "before it is too late". The first two verses propose buying things of natural beauty for each other, that cannot truly be bought, like the rain. The third verse says that happiness cannot be bought, and the final verse says that what we buy for each other is for "the living, it's no use to the dead".
"Euphoria" was written by George Remailly, and was recorded first by the Holy Modal Rounders on their debut album in 1964 and later by the Youngbloods on their album Earth Music in 1968. (The songwriting credits on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album erroneously name saxophonist and band leader Charlie Ventura and his piano player Roy Kral; their 1949 "Euphoria" is a different item altogether.) It is a fast song featuring lots of wacky laughter. The vocals sound like Jimmie Fadden, and he also plays harmonica on this. Someone else doubles the vocals in parts in a silly falsetto. Banjo and guitar provide the music.
"Melissa" was written by Jackson Browne years before his first record. The song is in the 1920s style. The tempo is lazy and the music features banjo, guitar, and snare drum. Kazoo present the melody, with a clickity clack percussion, at the beginning of the song and repeats at the break.
"You Took the Happiness Out of My Head" is also performed in the 20s style. The tempo is a little faster and banjo, guitar, and snare drum provide the foundation of the music. A harmonica is played over top of this and featured at the break. The lyrics are essentially "you broke my heart when you went away". The song ends with more wacky laughter.
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