Valley Hi/Some Days You Eat the Bear and Some Days the Bear Eats You

by Ian Matthews

Overview

Ian Matthews recorded a pair of solid albums for Elektra during the early '70s: Valley Hi, produced by Michael Nesmith, and Some Days You Eat the Bear and Some Days the Bear Eats You, which was self-produced. While it may seem less obvious in 2004, at the time country-rock hadn't been completely co-opted by groups like the Eagles. When Nesmith and Matthews combined an eclectic singer/songwriter set list with country-flavored arrangements on Valley Hi in 1973, it sounded fresh and exciting. The element that sticks out most today is the high quality of familiar songs chosen for the album, including Steve Young's "Seven Bridges Road," Jackson Browne's "These Days," and Richard Thompson's "Shady Lies." The only element that dates the music here is the pop sheen that's been added to Matthews' fine tenor, creating a mismatch between the album's vocal and instrumental approaches. Perhaps this is the reason why Some Days You Eat the Bear balances out better overall. On lovely cuts like Danny Whitten's "I Don't Want to Talk About It," the steel guitar and fiddle have been traded for a more straightforward production that works better with Matthews' vocals. For a real comparison between the albums, all a listener needs to do is check out the two versions of "Keep on Sailing," the first with piano and dobro, the latter with pedal steel and saxophone. Even if the latter album gets the slight nod, both work together well as a package and provide a satisfying snapshot of a fine singer as he developed into a songwriter in 1973-1974. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/24/2017
Label:	Bgo
UPC:	5017261212726
Rank:	65466

Tracks

1. Keep on Sailing
2. Old Man at the Mill
3. Shady Lies
4. These Days
5. Leaving Alone
6. 7 Bridges Road
7. Save Your Sorrows
8. What Are You Waiting For
9. Propinquity
10. Blue Blue Day
11. Ol' 55
12. I Don't Wanna Talk About It
13. A Wailing Goodbye
14. Keep on Sailing
15. Tried So Hard
16. Dirty Work
17. Do I Still Figure in Your Life
18. Home
19. Biloxi
20. The Fault

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ian Matthews   Primary Artist,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar,Vocals
Red Rhodes   Dobro,Pedal Steel,Guitar (Steel)
David Lindley   Lap Steel Guitar
David Dickey   Bass
Joel Tepp   Harp
Richard Greene   Fiddle
Timi Donald   Drums
Michael Curtis   Mandolin
Michael Fonfara   Piano
Michael Nesmith   Guitar
Jeff Baxter   Pedal Steel,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Al Garth   Sax (Alto)
Byron Berline   Fiddle
Jay Lacy   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Danny Weis   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
David Barry   Organ,Piano,Keyboards
Danny Lane   Drums
Billy Graham   Bass,Fiddle
Bob Warford   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Brian John Cole   Pedal Steel
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Steve Gillette   Guitar (Acoustic)
Andy Roberts   Guitar (Acoustic)
Lyn Dobson   Saxophone,Sax (Alto)
Willie Leacox   Drums

Technical Credits

Donald Fagen   Composer
Don Gibson   Composer
Gene Clark   Composer
Andrew Thompson   Mastering
Walter Becker   Composer
Ian Matthews   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Assistant
Dave Richards   Arranger
Pat Thomas   Interviewer,Reissue Producer
Linda Thompson   Composer
Jesse Winchester   Composer
Richard Thompson   Composer
Randy Newman   Composer
Michael Nesmith   Composer,Producer
Terry Dunavan   Engineer
Danny Whitten   Composer
Tom Waits   Composer
Fritz Richmond   Engineer
Steve Young   Composer
Patrick Roques   Reissue Design
Pete Dello   Composer
Gary Hobish   Reissue Mastering
John Paul Endress   Photography
Robert L. Heimall   Art Direction
Brian D. McLaughlin   Design,Cover Photo,Photography,Cover Design
Christina Matthews   Assistant,Photography,Cover Design
Chris Matthews   Assistant
Bruce Atkins   Cover Art,Cover Illustration
Paul Slaughter   Photography
Traditional   Composer
Andy Roberts   Arranger
Jackson Browne   Composer