"Night" is the unreleased solo album of Dickey Betts. For those of you familiar with The Allman Brothers Band's "Dreams" box set, you may already know Dickey was working on a record with Nashville producer Chips Moman. This album also features the track "Nancy", though this is a completely different version. I doubt this has anything to do with Chips Moman yet, but I could be wrong.
I have to warn you, this is not a great sounding copy. I don't know the source, but it's probably ripped from a poor quality cassette tape. The whole album is drenched in a heavy hiss. I couldn't remove it without wrecking the sound, so I left it as it was. I would love to have a better version, but I don't know if it's circulating. Any official release would be a definite improvement. Because of the quality, I'd say this is only interesting for raving mad Betts fans and Southern Rock scholars.
Musically this is very close to straight-up Country (Betts-style). I quite like the songs. This also has the song "Whole Lotta Memories", which can be found, in a live version, on the BHLT Geneva recording. Thanks to Mawos for providing the music. Great Southern.
10 comments:
I'm listening to it right now
and some tracks have better
sound than others, but
the average is fair. Thanks
for posting it.
Big thanks for this unreleased album.
Luc
Great find. Although it isn't the greatest quality (and certainly not up to your usual excellent standards)I don't think it's as bad as you describe. Great to hear this lost gem.
One song (Nancy) was released on the "Dreams" box.
Credits are:
Label: Arista
Producer: Dickey Betts & Chips Moman
Studio: Young 'Un Sound, Nashville
Recorded Summer 1981
Dickey Betts: guitars & vocals
Mike Lawler & Johnny Cobb: keys
Jerry McCoy: bass
R.E. Hardaway: drums
True, but that's not the same version. I'm not convinced who's playing on this...
Peach out...
Not the same version? Sure?
It's not the Dickey Betts I like.
I received a message from Robert Johnson (not sure which one yet, though probably not the one standing at the crossroads...)
Harley:
Thanks for responding. I think it's great that you are providing info on artists and writers that have definitely made major contributions to the world of music and, to many, have been overlooked. Dickey, of course, has been heralded for his ABB days, but the true spirit of his talent is quite prolific.
I have been a friend of Dickey's since 1976. I now live in Montana; but, at that time, was living in Sarasota, Fl. My brother and I were club performers when we met Dickey. It was then, in 1981, he asked us to perform on his project in Gnashville. Dickey had been writing alot, especially, in the country genre. He was bouncing songs off Hank Jr., Billy Ray Reynolds (from Waylon's band), Curtis Buck, Johnny Cobb and Mike Lawler, and others.
This particular project was for Clive Davis at Arista records. The ABB had, at that time, taken an indefinite hiatus and Dickey was looking for a new (solo) label. The original title of the album was Moonlight Magic, from Dickey's song. He was also pretty proud, as he should have been, of his song Nancy. We played these songs in the clubs quite a few times before going into the studio.
The first sessions were with Chips Moman at his studio in Gnashville, and after many hours there and a broken hand of Dickey's, the session moved across town to Chip Young's studio.
The original musicians were Danny Toler (acoustic and electric guitars), David "Rook" Goldflies (bass guitar). These two, incidentally, were players in Dickey's Great Southern Band. Bobby Emmons (Chips' partner) played keyboards. Vassar Clements (God bless him), of course, performed on fiddle. The drummer was one of Chips' studio guys...I think his first name was Spencer, but I can't recall his last. All I do remember about him, when he counted a song off you damn sure heard it.
Bonnie Bramlett was, for a period prior to this, singing with the ABB. So, she and my brother Bill and I sang background vocals. Also, Gary Stewart was at Chips' studio trying to finish up his Cactus And A Rose LP. So,since he was a good friend to us and a Florida boy, he sang on A Whole Lot Of Memories and played some electric guitar. I think he might have even done some slide work, too.
Apparently, the songs were going a little too country for Clive Davis and after a meeting between him and Greg Allman, the project seem to be put on the shelf and I think the ABB reunited and did an LP on Arista...if my memory serves me right.
I don't know the particulars of how the Moonlight Magic project came to be called Night, but I would guess that it was From Dickey's collaborations with Johhny Cobb and Mike Lawler. I haven't heard any cuts from what we did since 1981. If you could direct me to where I might be able to get a copy...I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks for giving me the chance to recall a good time from long ago. I hope you find some interest in it. RJ
And then Robert Johnson wrote:
...yes, that was us. Thanks for the download site. Hearing those songs again brought back some memories...most good. Those particular tracks were, to my recollection, scratch mixes from Chips Moman. Dickey was going to use them for edits and rewrites. As you can hear, they are; basically, rhytmn beds. The guitar work is pretty much secondary...not much lead work. Vassar's fiddle parts weren't nailed down, etc, etc.
That was the original tempo for the song Nancy; however, the bridge for the chorus was embellished. As for the quality of the download...it's hard to say. It's definitely generations from the studio copy. I have no idea where it might have come from.
Dickey, my brother and I, after that, just went on about our usual affairs. We pitched some songs...some to Charlie Daniels and a few to Brian Setzer. We did some music for a television project of Don Johnson's.
Don was filming a Fox "spin off" TV series from Kenny Rogers' movie Six Pack. I'm not sure what happened to that project...the next thing I know is he came out with Miami Vice.
As for me, on my own, I had a song Okeechobee Stew that did pretty well in the southeast. I did some TV stuff, and beyond that... I'm still playin' clubs and pitchin' music.
Anyway, keep up the good work! Thanks, RJ
I know someone asked you before if there was a way to hear or find Okeechobee Stew. Is there any way to get in contact with Robert Johnson and somehow buy a copy of the song.
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