TRACY NELSON - MOTHER EARTH

''Tracy Nelson/Mother Earth''
1972

1 The Same Old Thing/Lee 5:20
2 I'm That Way/Charles 3:09
3 Mother Earth (Provides for Me)/Kaz 2:20
4 Tennessee Blues/Charles 3:51
5 I Want to Lay Down Beside You/Drummond 5:18
6 Someday My Love May Grow/Kaz 4:23
7 (Staying Home and Singing) Homemade Songs/Charles 4:41
8 Thinking of You/Hiatt 4:07
9 The Memory of Your Smile/Rakes 3:27
10 I Don't Do That Kind of Thing Anymore/McMahon, Nelson 3:23

John Cameron Andrews/Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Karl Himmel/Percussion
Jack Lee/Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Backing Vocals
Andrew McMahon/Organ, Piano, Vocals (Background)
Steve Mendel/Bass
Tracy Nelson/Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Travis Rivers/Producer

Review by Richie Unterberger
The very title of this LP indicated a vagueness as to whether Mother Earth were still a group, or a vehicle for Tracy Nelson's solo career. It's a solid, if laid-back set of rock with strong country and soul flavorings, and a bit of gospel now and then. It sounds a little like Janis Joplin's final solo recordings, but more subdued, both vocally and instrumentally. The songs include three compositions by Louisiana swamp rock legend Bobby Charles, and an early effort by John Hiatt, "Thinking of You."

Biography by Greg Prato
The late-'60s/early-'70s blues-rock outfit Mother Earth was led by singer Tracy Nelson and issued several somewhat underappreciated releases during their time span. Nelson was originally from Madison, WI, and it was while attending the University of Wisconsin that the singer was discovered by producer Sam Charters and was eventually signed to a recording contract with the Prestige label. 1965 saw the release of Nelson's solo debut, the folk-based Deep Are the Roots, and when it didn't exactly burn up the charts, Nelson decided to relocate to San Francisco, with the hopes of forming a more conventional rock outfit. Shortly after arriving on the West Coast, Mother Earth was formed, which led to performances at the famed Fillmore West, opening for the likes of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Burdon. After an appearance on the soundtrack to the 1968 motion picture Revolution (which also featured the Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Steve Miller Band), Mother Earth signed with Mercury Records and issued a steady stream of releases until the early '70s.
These albums included 1968's Living with the Animals 1969's Tracy Nelson Country and Make a Joyful Noise, 1970's Satisfied, 1971's Bring Me Home, 1972's Tracy Nelson/Mother Earth, and 1973's Poor Man's Paradise, before Nelson pursued a solo career. Subsequently, Nelson earned a Grammy nomination in 1974 for the track "After the Fire Is Gone" (a duet with Willie Nelson) and continued to issue solo albums until the early '80s, when she became disillusioned with the direction that popular music was going in (although she did sing backup for Neil Young for a spell in the mid-'80s, including appearing with Young at the mammoth Live Aid concert in 1985). Nelson returned to music in the '90s, beginning with 1993's In the Here and Now, continuing to issue solo recordings (and in 1998, earned another Grammy nomination for the release Sing It!, a collaboration with Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas).

http://www.fileserve.com/file/VWRjGDs

MOTHER EARTH - ''Make A Joyful Noise'' 1969

Mother Earth
''Make A Joyful Noise''
1969
Wounded Bird Records

1 Stop the Train/Andrews, Arthur, Castille 3:23
2 What Are You Trying to Do/Neville 3:56
3 I Need Your Love So Bad/John 5:25
4 Soul of the Man/Sain 3:07
5 Blues for the Road/Andrews, Stallings 3:36
6 You Win Again/Williams 4:16
7 Come on and See/Arthur 3:12
8 Then I'll Be Moving On/St. John 3:22
9 The Fly/St. John 3:36
10 I Wanna Be Your Mama Again/Sahm 3:31
11 Wait, Wait, Wait/Neville 2:43

John Cameron Andrews/Guitar
Joe Arnold/Horn Section, Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
Bob Arthur/Bass, Vocals
Robert Arthur/Bass
Larry Butler/Piano
Sadie Cantrell/Vocals
Lonnie Castille/Drums
James "Curly" Cooke/Guitar (Rhythm)
Lady Corder/Vocals
Clay Cotton/Organ, Piano
Jack Drake/Bass (Acoustic)
Pete Drake/Guitar (Steel)
Ronnie Eades/Baritone, Horn Section
D.J. Fontana/Drums
Johnny Gimble/Fiddle, Violin
Ben Keith/Dobro, Guitar
Shorty Lavender/Fiddle, Violin
Gene "Bowlegs" Miller/Horn Section, Trumpet
Tracy Nelson/Keyboards, Piano, Vocals
Gerald Richardson/Horn Section, Trombone
Hargus "Pig" Robbins/Keyboards
Irma Routen/Vocals
Powell St. John/Harmonica, Vocals
Shalimar Samuelson/Musician
Boz Scaggs/Guitar (Rhythm)
Dale Sellars/Guitar (Rhythm)
Rev. Ron Stallings/Vocals
Aaron Varnell/Horn Section, Sax (Tenor)

Review by J.P. Ollio & Thom Jurek
Make a Joyful Noise is the follow-up to 1968's Living With the Animals. This time out, Mother Earth neatly divided their joint appreciations for rural and urban American music: à la the thematic "City Side" and "Country Side." The City Side is an R&B workout, powered by a robust horn section and the vocals of Rev. Ron Stallings on burning soul cuts such as "Stop That Train," Tracy Nelson's killer performance on Naomi Neville's cooker "What Are You Trying to Do," and sultry read of Little Willie John's babymaker "Need Your Love So Bad." The Country Side is more subdued, adorned by steel guitars and Powell St. John's quavering vocals on "I'll Be Moving On" and the strange "The Fly." Nelson's version of Doug Sahm's "I Wanna Be Your Mama Again" is her blues-country gospel version of Hank Williams' honky tonk nugget "You Win Again" (with a fine fiddle solo by Johnny Gimble). Some of the guest stars on this set include Boz Scaggs, Hargus Robins, Ben Keith, D.J. Fontana, and Pete Drake. Make a Joyful Noise remains an overlooked classic from the Warner Brothers catalog that finally saw CD issue in 2004 by Wounded Bird.

Biography by Greg Prato
The late-'60s/early-'70s blues-rock outfit Mother Earth was led by singer Tracy Nelson and issued several somewhat underappreciated releases during their time span. Nelson was originally from Madison, WI, and it was while attending the University of Wisconsin that the singer was discovered by producer Sam Charters and was eventually signed to a recording contract with the Prestige label. 1965 saw the release of Nelson's solo debut, the folk-based Deep Are the Roots, and when it didn't exactly burn up the charts, Nelson decided to relocate to San Francisco, with the hopes of forming a more conventional rock outfit. Shortly after arriving on the West Coast, Mother Earth was formed, which led to performances at the famed Fillmore West, opening for the likes of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Burdon. After an appearance on the soundtrack to the 1968 motion picture Revolution (which also featured the Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Steve Miller Band), Mother Earth signed with Mercury Records and issued a steady stream of releases until the early '70s.
These albums included 1968's Living with the Animals 1969's Tracy Nelson Country and Make a Joyful Noise, 1970's Satisfied, 1971's Bring Me Home, 1972's Tracy Nelson/Mother Earth, and 1973's Poor Man's Paradise, before Nelson pursued a solo career. Subsequently, Nelson earned a Grammy nomination in 1974 for the track "After the Fire Is Gone" (a duet with Willie Nelson) and continued to issue solo albums until the early '80s, when she became disillusioned with the direction that popular music was going in (although she did sing backup for Neil Young for a spell in the mid-'80s, including appearing with Young at the mammoth Live Aid concert in 1985). Nelson returned to music in the '90s, beginning with 1993's In the Here and Now, continuing to issue solo recordings (and in 1998, earned another Grammy nomination for the release Sing It!, a collaboration with Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas).

http://www.fileserve.com/file/amzPyPW

MOTHER EARTH - Living With The Animals - 1968

Mother Earth - Living With The Animals - 1968 - Mercury

Though Mother Earth is often remembered as a vehicle for Tracy Nelson, Living With the Animals is a true group effort, combining
memorable vocal performances with tight R&B-derived playing with excellent guitar work from Michael Bloomfield. Side one is a
showcase for Nelson's blues belting and piano, particularly on "Down So Low" and "Mother Earth." Not to be overlooked is the blues
shuffle "I Did My Part" and R.P. St. John's sardonic "Living With the Animals" and "Marvel Set," which features him on lead vocals.
Side two doesn't hold up quite as well, though there are stellar moments here as well, including "Cry On" and "Goodnight Nelda
Grebe," with fine horn section work and excellent Nelson vocals. Written and fronted by St. John, "The Kingdom of Heaven Is Within
You" is a brilliant closer; it's nocturnal, moody, and spacy and showcases beautiful muted trumpets and reeds with a gorgeous flute
Great late sixties Texas blues/R&B. There are some great musicians here. Mark Naftalin was the keyboardist for the Butterfield
Blues Band, and Powell St.John wrote for the great 13th Floor Elevators band.Tracy Nelson's powerful and clear vocals are a strong
point of this album. The last track, "Kingdom of Heaven" by Powell St.John is a great psychedelic flavoured song, and is a highlight of
the album. However, the entire album is great and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Mother Earth's 1972 s/t album, and Tracy Nelson's great
album, "Deep Are the Roots." Mother Earth's "Satisfied" album is @ MOTHERE/SFD

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

SIDE ONE

Marvel Group (St. John)
Mother Earth (Memphis Slim)
I Did My Part (Neville)
Living with the Animals (St. John)
Down So Low (Nelson)

SIDE TWO

Cry On (Toussaint)
It Won't Be Long (McFarland)
My Love Will Never Die (Dixon)
Goodnight Nelda Grebe The Telephone Company Has Cut Us Off (Caldwell/Nelson)
The Kingdom of Heaven (Is Within You) (St. John)

MUSICIANS

Makal Blumfeld (aka Mike Bloomfield), John Andrews - guitar
Bob Arthur - bass
Tracy Nelson - piano, vocals
Mark Naftalin - piano, organ
Barry Goldberg - organ
Jose Emilio Rodriquez III, George Rains - drums
Martin Fierro - tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flute
Frank Morin - tenor saxophone
Link Davis Jr. - alto saxophone
Bob Salisbury, Ron Taormina - baritone saxophone
Louis Gasca - trumpet
Spencer Perskin - violin
R. Powell St John Jr - harmonica, vocals
Shalimar Samuelson, Sylvia Caldwell, Losella Funque - backing vocals (members of The Earthettes)

SHORT BIO
The late-'60s/early-'70s blues-rock outfit Mother Earth was led by singer Tracy Nelson and issued several somewhat
underappreciated releases during their time span. Nelson was originally from Madison, WI, and it was while attending the University
of Wisconsin that the singer was discovered by producer Sam Charters and was eventually signed to a recording contract with the
Prestige label. 1965 saw the release of Nelson's solo debut, the folk-based Deep Are the Roots, and when it didn't exactly burn up
the charts, Nelson decided to relocate to San Francisco, with the hopes of forming a more conventional rock outfit. Shortly after
arriving on the West Coast, Mother Earth was formed, which led to performances at the famed Fillmore West, opening for the likes
of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Burdon. After an appearance on the soundtrack to the 1968 motion picture Revolution (which
also featured the Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Steve Miller Band), Mother Earth signed with Mercury Records and issued
a steady stream of releases until the early '70s. These albums included 1968's Living with the Animals 1969's Tracy Nelson Country
and Make a Joyful Noise, 1970's Satisfied, 1971's Bring Me Home, 1972's Tracy Nelson/Mother Earth, and 1973's Poor Man's Paradise,
before Nelson pursued a solo career. Subsequently, Nelson earned a Grammy nomination in 1974 for the track "After the Fire Is
Gone" (a duet with Willie Nelson) and continued to issue solo albums until the early '80s, when she became disillusioned with the
direction that popular music was going in (although she did sing backup for Neil Young for a spell in the mid-'80s, including
appearing with Young at the mammoth Live Aid concert in 1985). Nelson returned to music in the '90s, beginning with 1993's In the
Here and Now, continuing to issue solo recordings (and in 1998, earned another Grammy nomination for the release Sing It!, a

http://www.fileserve.com/file/J926ZPK   password:  aoofc

TRACY NELSON & MOTHER EARTH - THE BEST OF..

Janis Joplin may have gotten all of the fame and glory, but she was far from the only white female blues shouter to emerge from the San Francisco music scene of the mid-'60s; "The Best of Tracy Nelson & Mother Earth" is proof positive of that, providing an excellent introduction to one of the more sadly overlooked talents of her time and place. Despite any number of passing similarities to Joplin, Nelson sings with greater finesse; her style is more adaptable as well, capable of fitting comfortably into R&B, psychedelia, and pop ballads, all the while remaining grounded in classic roots music traditions. Highlighted by her perennial "Down So Low" - subsequently recorded by everyone from Linda Ronstadt to Etta James - this 17-track compilation also spotlights performances spanning from a wrenching cover of Little Willie John's "Need Your Love So Bad" to contemporary material like Steve Young's "Seven Bridges Road" and John Hiatt's "Thinking of You," offering a comprehensive overview of her earliest and most enduring work.

01. Down So Low
02. Cry On
03. Goodnight Nelda Greb (The Telephone Company Has Cut Us Off)
04. Mother Earth
05. Won't Be Long
06. Need Your Love So Bad
07. Soul of a Man
08. Satisfied
09. Ruler of My Heart
10. Temptation Took Control of Me (And I Fell)
11. Soul of Sadness
12. Tonight the Sky's About to Cry
13. I'll Be Long Gone
14. Seven Bridges Road
15. Tennessee Blues
16. Thinking of You
17. I Don't Do That Kind of Thing Anymore                                                                                       http://www.fileserve.com/file/C8VBDFg

TRACY NELSON & MOTHER EARTH - POOR MAN'S PARADISE

With their roots in blues, country and gospel, Mother Earth came out of Texas in the late 1960s but established themselves in San Francisco with Tracy Nelson's voice as their prime strength. Poor Man's Paradise was the seventh and last Mother Earth LP, jointly credited to Tracy Nelson and Mother Earth.

01. Poor Man's Paradise
02. Cruel Wind
03. When I Need You Most Of All
04. I Hate To Say Goodbye
05. You And Me
06. Jack's Waltz
07. I Can't Seem To Care
08. Going Back To Tennessee
09. Whatever I Am, You Made Me                                                                                                              http://www.fileserve.com/file/wsdWHcy  

TRACY NELSON - HOMEMADE SONGS & COME SEE ABOUT ME

Tracy Nelson really came into her own as a solo artist with these two LP's (now combined on one CD) in the late seventies and early eighties. Previous efforts on Atlantic and MCA were fine in their way but a bit strained. Here she sounds comfortable and strong. Apparently Flying Fish gave her the leeway that the bigger labels did not. What I didn't realize at the time was that after these efforts and a subsequent Direct-to-Disc release (Doin' It My Way -- words that Tracy lives by from what I know about her)she would virtually disappear for over a decade. That made these releases all the more valuable to me. The albums reflect her blues, country and folk influences. But most of all they present Tracy Nelson at her vocal best--strong, clear, emotionally rich singing that will make people who have never heard her wonder why she's not a superstar. It's hard to recommend any one TN release, but this one is a certainly a good intro.

In 1996, Flying Fish released Homemade Songs/Come See About Me, which contained two complete albums -- Homemade Songs (1978 and Come See About Me (1980), both originally released on Flying Fish -- by Tracy Nelson on one compact disc.

HOMEMADE SONGS:
01. God's Song
02. I've Been There Before
03. Ice Man
04. Summer of the Silver Comet, The
05. Tightrope
06. You Don't Need to Move a Mountain
07. She's Taking My Part
08. Friends of a Kind
09. Sounds of the City
10. Suddenly
COME SEE ABOUT ME:
11. Come See About Me
12. Done Got Over
13. Holiday
14. It's Growing
15. Walk Away
16. Tears
17. Hold on I'm Coming
18. See Saw
19. River's Invitation
20. You're My World
http://www.fileserve.com/file/3AUXURD