Description
Film score to Peter Fondas 1971 cult classic 1000 Only USA Vinyl.
One of the most in-demand session guitarists of the 60s, is probably best known for playing on several of Bob Dylans best records, including Bringing It All Back Home and Blonde on Blonde. He actually played with just about everybody in the late 60s folk-rock universeFred Neil, Joan Baez, Tom Rush, John Sebastian, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Odetta, Richie Havens and others. Langhorne performed live with Dylan at Newport, produced records for Ramblin Jack Elliott and was the real-life inspiration for Mr. Tamborine Man.
His crowning achievement however may be the soundtrack he composed for Peter Fondas directorial debut, The Hired Hand. Surprisingly, for such a seasoned veteran of the booming folk scene, this was Langhornes first solo record. Recorded in the garage of his Laurel Canyon home in 1969 using an Echoplex and a two-track Revox tape machine, the album features an assortment of period instruments from the old westfiddle, dulcimer, recorder, banjo, upright piano, harmonica and Langhornes National steel string guitar. The spacey, hypnotizing score was a perfect match for Fondas atmospheric western and along with Vilmos Zigmonds stunning cinematography and some top-notch performances from Warren Oates, Verna Bloom and poet Michael McClure, heavily contributed to the films underground success.
The movie was part of Universals semi-independent series in which the studio, hoping to score the next Easy Rider, turned five young filmmakers loose equipped with small budgets and complete artistic control. Sadly, The Hired Hand didnt go over so well with mainstream audiences (although American Graffiti, another Universal semi-independent feature, certainly did). Nevertheless, both the film and Langhornes score have lived on as cult classics. Cover Photo By Bryan Ruhe, Layout by Dylan Aycock.
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