Country Rock Perfection - This, Mason Proffit s last effort (originally released on Warner Brothers), showed a six-piece band with exquisite production values by Bill Halverson. The rocky road taken by this group over the years had paid off in good songwriting, good singing, playing and recording. Unfortunately the band would break up soon after its release, due to internal frictions and John Michael Talbot s Christian faith. He went on to be a successful guitarist/songwriter in the Catholic faith. His brother Terry also did a number of Christian albums after the breakup of Mason Proffit.Here they are at their rip-roaring best, blending acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, bass, drums and keyboards with a little fiddle and mandolin thrown in. Always keen on honing their craft, the Talbot brothers were never stronger here. Their next album to come would be an excellent effort, The Talbot Brothers.Mason Proffit reunited in recent years with a new recording through their website and including former members Tim Ayres, Bruce Creeper Kurnow and led by the inimitable Terry Talbot.
Welcome Back Ol Friend - Mason Profitt and Bareback Rider was my first real exposure to country rock (with maybe the exception of Poco). My girfriend, now my wife, was friends with a radio station dj who let her have some promo LP s occassionally. As far as I m concerned we struck gold with Bareback Rider back in the 1970 s. The songs harmonies are at a par with the Moody Blues and their content are both romantic and haunting at the same time. We wore that poor vinyl down to nothing and I can t wait to be reunited(I just ordered the CD)with the music that somehow transported me to the old west and even in my early 20 s, made me want to be a cowboy.
The reissue of a minor masterpiece... - ...and it s about time! For too long, all that was available by these guys was the Come And Gone CD, which comprised their first two albums. Mason Proffit (a band, not a person!) had always been plagued by sub-standard production qualities. Their previous album, Rockfish Crossing, just missed the mark. On this release, however, producer Bill Halverson finally got it right. Too bad it turned out to be their final album. Beautiful harmonies, great tunes (Lily shoulda been a HIT), and skillful musicianship (I think they were a 6 piece band by this time) make Bareback Rider a welcome re-issue. Recommended to fans of alt.country and folk/rock.
Quality Country Rock - Bare Back Rider is a Mason Proffit mixture of styles, but the basic sound has a definite country flavor. One song is very Christian, I Saw the Light, and another is quite political, Black September/Belfast, Both of these songs work. MP s musicianship and vocals are first rate on both of these songs. Two songs, Five Generations and Sail Away are primarily folk ballads that are laid-back enjoyable tunes. The rest of the songs, as I said before, are primarily country. As a general rule of thumb I do not like country music, but I love Bare Back Rider. Mason Proffit is often referred to as the best band that didn t make it. Perhaps their timing was wrong. I would say that country music is more popular today than it ever has been. I would think that this CD should get some airtime on local country radio stations. The first six songs on this CD are, in my opinion, great country songs. If you are a country music fan you should buy this CD, and then keep bugging your local country station to play some cuts from this CD.