Rock Archeologia

Marlin Greene - Tiptoe Past The Dragon (1972) 

Artist: Marlin Greene
Album: Tiptoe Past The Dragon
Label: Elektra Records
Catalog#: EKS-75028
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk, Soft Rock, Classic Rock
Format: FLAC (tracks+.cue)
Bitrate: lossless
Duration: 00:34:46

• Марлин Грин начал свою карьеру в качестве исполнителя и автора песен, заключив контракты с RCA (1957) и Philips (1962). Его игра на гитаре принесла ему уважение в Muscle Shoals, Алабама, где он работал с Queen Ivy и продюссировал песню "When a Man Loves a Woman" Percy Sledge. Грин играл на гитаре в этом и последующих хитах Percy Sledge. Состав исполнителей альбома достаточно интересен.

• Greene's is one of those names that is a reliable indicator for good tunes when it turns up on '60s soul and rock records, often in songwriting collaborations with iconoclastic Southern white soul men such as Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham and Eddie Hinton. I had no idea that Greene had ever done any solo recording; it turns out he actually recorded quite a few 45s in the late '50s and early '60s before moving to the other side of the studio glass.
• Tiptoe Past the Dragon dates from 1972, and was released on Elektra. By that point the label had largely moved away from the traditional folk and ethnic music of its origins, but was still releasing rootsy material by artists such as Paul Siebel and Mickey Newbury, whose albums have aged much more gracefully than many of Elektra's rock acts of the time. Greene's album fits comfortably in that canon.
• Dragon was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, and three of the studio founders -- drummer Roger Hawkins, bassist David Hood and keyboardist Barry Beckett -- are among the players. Eddie Hinton is also in the list of various studio hands here, along with one name that doesn't turn up in album credits too often: Larry "Gimmer" Nicholson. His acoustic finger-style guitar playing is often noted as a big influence on a young Chris Bell, who was hanging around at Ardent Studios in Memphis when Nicholson was recording a then-unreleased LP with Terry Manning. There are a couple songs here that do have that shimmering acoustic texture heard on Big Star's #1 Record.
• All the heavy hitters would be for naught if Greene didn't bring some songs, and he takes care of his end of the deal just fine. Tiptoe Past the Dragon maintains a laid-back country rock groove, and the often hippie-ish lyrics date the album to its era more than the much of the music does. There's nothing immediately gripping here; it's definitely an album that requires some repeated listens for its subtle charms to begin to take root. Greene's wife Jeanie also cut an album for Elektra right around the same time, and I'll be looking to track down a copy of that one after hearing Marlin's excellent disc. -

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 • Side One:
A1. Grand Illusion 02:58
A2. Masquerade Ball 02:56
A3. Jonathan's Dream 02:11
A4. My Country Breakdown 02:12
A5. Forest Ranger 03:03
A6. Gemini Gypsy 03:13
 • Side Two:
B1. Ponce De Leon 02:54
B2. Who's The Captain Of Your Ships Of Dreams 03:29
B3. Fields Of Clover 07:22
B4. Good Christian Cowboy 02:56
B5. Tiptoe Past The Dragon 01:15

     All songs recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios,
     Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with the exception of "Tiptoe Past The Dragon"
     which was recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California,
     and "Fields Of Clover" & "Grand Illusion" which were recorded
     at Quinvy Studios, Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
     Produced by Marlin Greene

Members:
Bass – David Hood, Jerry Masters
Drums – Fred Prouty, Lou Mullenix, Roger Hawkins
Guitar – Eddie Hinton, Larry (Gimmer) Nicholson, Marlin Greene, Wayne Perkins
Keyboards – Barry Beckett, Chuck Leavell
Steel Guitar – Leo La Blanc
Vocals – Marlin Greene
Written-By – Marlin Greene, Wayne Perkins

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