Shades of Time Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
For their third album for Columbia Records, the Pozo Seco
Singers underwent some serious changes: original member Lofton Kline was
replaced by Ron Shaw, yet on the cover of 1968's Shades of Time, only Don
Williams and Susan Taylor were featured, giving the impression they were Pozo
Seco (the Singers having being dropped from their name). The shifting lineup
was important but perhaps not as important as the instillation of Elliot Mazer
as producer. Mazer would later go on to make his name with his productions for
Neil Young, but his work on Shades of Time is an early indication of his
talents, as he not only helps assemble a good collection of folk-pop songs for
the group -- Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and "Spanish
Harlem Incident," Lennon/McCartney's "You've Got to Hide Your Love
Away," Ian Tyson's "The Renegade," the Everly Brothers'
"Bye Bye Love," and Claude Putman's "Green, Green Grass of
Home" are the standards, but the rest of the record contains good songs by
Raun McKinnon, Paul MacNeil, and Sonny Bono -- but gives them an appropriately
decorated and nimble production. Naturally, there are many trappings of the
time -- the earnest harmonies, the occasional harmonica or organ, the
understated yet insistent rhythms underpinning it all -- but part of the appeal
of Shades of Time is that it evokes 1968, but the album is more than a cultural
artifact; it has a sweet, gentle spirit that's quite comforting and
ingratiating. Real Gone's 2013 reissue - -the first time this album has seen
the light of day on CD -- adds a whopping 11 bonus tracks, all cut between 1967
and 1969. The first six are all produced by Bob Johnston and they're either a
little more forceful than Shades of Time -- Johnston emphasizes
four-on-the-floor rhythms, keyboards, and electric guitars on "Excuse Me,
Dear Martha "-- or softer in their approach. In other words, they're more
folk-rock, and they're appealing sonically even if the songs can sometimes be a
little calculated (that said, there's Tim Rose & Bonnie Dobson's
"Morning Dew," Doug Kershaw's "Louisiana Man," and "Tomorrow
Proper," one of Don Williams' first originals). The final five find Pozo
Seco recording original tunes with the assistance of legendary country producer
Billy Sherrill -- who, according to Taylor in the Real Gone liner notes,
provided very little direction in the studio, claiming he knew nothing about
folk music -- and even if the subsequent singles are a bit under-produced,
there are some gems here, particularly Taylor's "Creole Woman."
Tracklist:
1 Good
Morning Today
2 You Ain't
Goin' Nowhere
3 You've Got
to Hide Your Love Away
4 Green,
Green Grass Of Home
5 Hey Babe
Open Up Your Mind
6 You Better
Sit Down Kids
7 Spanish
Harlem Incident
8 Bye Bye
Love
9 The
Renegade
10 Gotta Come
Up with Something
11 Keep on
Keeping on
12 Excuse Me
Dear Martha
13 I Believed
It All
14 Morning Dew
15 It's All
Right
16 Louisiana
Man
17 Tomorrow
Proper
18 Remember
Susie (Loved Me So)
19 Creole
Woman
20 Leavin'
21 High on
Life
22 Till You
Hear Your Mama Call
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