Ian Matthews
recorded a pair of solid albums for
Elektra
during the early '70s:
Valley Hi
, produced by
Michael Nesmith
, and
Some Days You Eat the Bear and Some Days the Bear Eats You
, which was self-produced. While it may seem less obvious in 2004, at the time
country-rock
hadn't been completely co-opted by groups like
the Eagles
. When
Nesmith
and
Matthews
combined an eclectic
singer/songwriter
set list with
country
-flavored arrangements on
in 1973, it sounded fresh and exciting. The element that sticks out most today is the high quality of familiar songs chosen for the album, including
Steve Young
's
"Seven Bridges Road,"
Jackson Browne
"These Days,"
Richard Thompson
"Shady Lies."
The only element that dates the music here is the
pop
sheen that's been added to
' fine tenor, creating a mismatch between the album's vocal and instrumental approaches. Perhaps this is the reason why
Some Days You Eat the Bear
balances out better overall. On lovely cuts like
Danny Whitten
"I Don't Want to Talk About It,"
the steel guitar and fiddle have been traded for a more straightforward production that works better with
' vocals. For a real comparison between the albums, all a listener needs to do is check out the two versions of
"Keep on Sailing,"
the first with piano and dobro, the latter with pedal steel and saxophone. Even if the latter album gets the slight nod, both work together well as a package and provide a satisfying snapshot of a fine singer as he developed into a songwriter in 1973-1974. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr.