Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: To a Western Sky
Company: Soliloquy
Catalog: --
Year: 1977
Country/State: Birmingham, Alabama
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4984
Price: $150.00
I know absolutely nothing about singer/guitarist Lee Farmer other than he was apparently living in Birmingham, Alabama when he recorded this excellent 1977 solo album.
Clearly a self-finance vanity project, "To a Western Sky" had quite a few things going for it. Among those attributes, Farmer had a nice voice that was quite commercial, was a capable guitar player, wrote some interesting material, and as the producer and arranger ensured that the album had surprisingly impressive sound quality for a private press release. While it wasn't the Pink Floyd-influenced masterpiece some dealer lists would have you believe, material like the title track and 'It's a Dream' included occasional Floyd-ish soundscape. A more apt description would place material like 'Tennessee' and 'No One Left I Can Talk To' in the moody singer/songwriter vein. Much of the set had a late night downer vibe to it that would probably appeal to lots of folks. Mind you the album wasn't perfect. The instrumental 'Loose and Easy' was more appropriate for a lite jazz album, 'Kingston Springs Hills' was a conventional country boogie number, while 'I Miss That Girl' wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Poco album (though it sported a nice acoustic guitar solo). Still, this was better than 95% of the sensitive/songwriter and real person crap you'll stumble across. And the guy was from Alabama to boot ...
"To A
Western Sky" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) To a Western Sky (Lee Farmer) - 6:05
2.) Tennessee (Lee Farmer - Jerry Pack) - 4:35
3.) Loose and Easy (instrumental) (Lee Farmer) - 3:40
4.) It's a Dream (Lee Farmer) - 4:40
5.) I Miss That
Girl (Lee Farmer) - 3:45
(side
2)
1.) Kingston Springs Hills (Jerry Pack) - 2:30
2.) What To Do (Jerry Lloyd - Lee Farmer) - 5:00
3.) No One Left I Can Talk To (Lee Farmer) - 4:00
4.) Funque (instrumental) (Jerry Pack - Lee Farmer) - 4:00
5.) I'm Giving You This Song (Jerry Pack) - 3:40