Wheatstraw Suite: The Dillards

What the Byrds did for country music—introducing it and giving it credibility with their audience—with Sweethearts of the Rodeo, the Dillards did for bluegrass with Wheatstraw Suite. If anything, in fact, Wheatstraw is more groundbreaking than Sweethearts: where the Byrds did little more than add a heavier rhythm section to their take on C&W, the Dillards successfully integrated rock and bluegrass instrumentation into something truly original.

[The other Byrds connection is Doug Dillard’s work with Gene Clark after Clark went solo, a collaboration that yielded such notable material as Train Leaves Here This Morning, both the best song the Eagles ever recorded and the template for their early sound.]

The Dillards are still best known to the general public as the backwoods Darling boys on the Andy Griffith Show. While those TV episodes showcased the Dillards’ skills with bluegrass standards, they also made the group look like forerunners of the Deliverance backwoodsmen. Little did I know that, after backing up Pa Darling, the Dillards went on to make the bluegrass Sgt. Pepper.

Nineteen sixty-eight was the height of psychedelia, with bands on both sides of the Atlantic trying to outdo the Beatles innovations during the Summer of Love. Just as Dylan opted out of the acid-rock race by going to the opposite extreme, the Dillards offered some of the most radical sounds of the day by introducing bluegrass to a rock audience.

The album’s sole concession to the era’s sonic experimentation is the brief opener, a solid acapella rendition of I’ll Fly Away, overlaid with a radio commodities report. Hey Boys, The Biggest Whatever, Little Pete and, especially, Bending the Strings do come close to the Dillards’ roots. Otherwise, Wheatstraw is a stunning synthesis of bluegrass and rock instrumentation, embellished with the kind of string arrangements that made violins a welcome addition to major rock bands’ albums.

Listen to the Sound is the centerpiece, an invitation to “listen to the sound of the old-time fiddle,” accompanied by subtle strings, sung in familiar homespun harmony. It’s a stunning slice of pop, about as far from traditional bluegrass as the Darlings were from Sinatra.

The other central tracks on the album: On (the too-brief) Single Saddle, the Dillards incorporate the clip-clop rhythm of western cowboy music on one of the cleverest, sweetest relationship songs of the 60’s. The ¾ Lemon Chimes is airy and lilting, without being lightweight, thanks largely to a somewhat mournful, suitably unpretty lead vocal. She Sang Hymns Out of Tune closes the album on a grace note that resonates long after it’s over, and is the ultimate realization of the Dillards’ blend of bluegrass instrumentation, harmony vocals, and tasteful pop strings. It is as effective a summation of Wheatstraw’s scope as A Day in the Life is to Sgt. Pepper.

They bring out the country influences that undoubtedly influenced Lennon and McCartney (or, most likely, just McCartney) to write I’ve Just Seen a Face, making it sound as if it could never have been played any other way. It’s one of the most successful Beatles covers ever, by anyone. Less satisfactory is their take on Reason to Believe, whose truncated verses sound choppy amidst so many other songs that flow so gracefully.

For anyone hearing this album for the first time, I envy you and urge you to savor it. Your next listen will be one of the fastest half-hours of your life.

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