Track Listing

1. Backporch Boy
2. There You Go
3. Invitation To The Blues
4. No Longer A Sweetheart Of Mine
5. Problems
6. Better Man Than That
7. The Old Cross Roads
8. Sugar Cane
9. After All Is Said And Done
10. You Done Me Wrong
11. Sace The Last Dance For Me
12. Are You Missing Me?
13. That's The Way It Is
14. You're Learning
15. Our Love It Don't Come Easy
16. Good Year
17. Backporch Boy (outro)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #120152 in Music
• Released on: 2002-06-04
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
When these two comrades of California roots music get together, sailing sparks always seem to follow. As a sequel to 1996's Bakersfield Bound, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen reunite with the hot-picking members of their legendary Desert Rose Band to find common ground between bluegrass, Cajun, honky-tonk, Tex-Mex, and country rock. Though neither is a hall-of-fame lead singer, their proficient, brotherly harmonies galvanize these excellent originals--six by Hillman, two by Pedersen--and standards by folks like Roger Miller, Ray Price, and the Louvin Brothers. And on their urgent version of the Monroe Brothers' "Old Cross Road" they really do sound like kin separated at birth. Though Hillman and Pedersen sing and play with a mastery conferred by 40 years in traditional and not-so-traditional country music, they haven't lost the passion or thrill of musical discovery. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews

go west young man!
Simply put, this is excellent country rock, bluegrass, folk music. Good picking is good picking and this is good pickin! This matches or exceeds other Hillman solo cd's and is as good as anything done by the Desert Rose Band. No songs really stand out, but taken as a whole, this is a quality listen. This is what quality music is all about. Too bad there isn't more out there like this...Enjoy.

Chris and Herb Return......and It's Been Worth The Wait!!!!
As the co-founders and driving creative force behind the late great Desert Rose Band, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen carved a niche in the country-rock scene in the late eighties and early nineties that has seldom been matched before or since. Given their impressive resumes and country roots that stretch back to the Byrds, Burritos, and Dillards, it was no surprise that Desert Rose was such a success. 1996's post DRB CD "Bakersfield Bound" was a wonderfully joyful homage to the Southern California country scene, and it's been a little disappointing listening to several intervening releases with the Rice Brothers that just don't measure up to the energetic vitality of that release.
But now comes "Way Out West" and, brother, it's been worth the wait! Every single track on this CD is a winner. Blugrass, Cajun, the Bakersfield sound.....they're all included here and the guys brought back some of the DRB alumni to play along just for fun. This is an absolute must purchase for every true country rock fan because, quite simply, they really don't make 'em like this anymore. Now if we could only get these guys to tour again!

Not Quite Impartial - But What The Heck!
If you've always appreciated the wonderful music recorded and performed by both Hillman and Pedersen over the years, then "Chris & Herb - Way Out West" is a must!

Chris and Herb have taken the best of their musical experiences and put it all together in this new album - If you loved the Burritos, the incomparable Desert Rose Band, and the "Bakersfield Bound" album, this new album is all that and much, much more - classic California County with a brace of Hillman-Steve Hill compositions and Pedersen songs performed by the masters of the genre.

Anything else, just buy the album, listen to the great songs, and read the liner notes! I'm sure you will agree.