Wilderness (C. W. McCall album)

Wilderness is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, a pseudonym of singer and advertising executive Bill Fries, released on Polydor Records in 1976 (see 1976 in music). As its title suggests, it focuses on subjects connected with nature, the environment and humans' impact on them. "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)", for example, is a statement on the environment's bleak-looking future and the effects of over-commercialization bordering on propaganda. "Crispy Critters", on the other hand, is the humorous telling of a true tale involving a group of hippies riding into a town and being forced away and threatened by the mayor.

Wilderness
Studio album by
Released1976
GenreCountry
Length33:37
LabelPolydor
ProducerChip Davis, Don Sears
C. W. McCall chronology
Black Bear Road
(1975)
Wilderness
(1976)
Rubber Duck
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Like most works credited to C. W. McCall, Bill Fries provides vocals, and all songs are written by Fries and Chip Davis.

Track listing

edit
  1. "Wilderness" (Bill Fries, Chip Davis) – 3:38
  2. "Jackson Hole" (Fries, Davis) – 2:39
  3. "Riverside Slide" (Fries, Davis) – 3:22
  4. "Crispy Critters" (Fries, Davis) – 2:50
  5. "Roy" (Fries, Davis) – 0:35
  6. "The Little Brown Sparrow and Me" (Fries, Davis) – 3:57
  7. "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'N' Roll)" (Fries, Davis) – 3:50
  8. "Telluride Breakdown" (Fries, Davis) – 2:08
  9. "Four Wheel Cowboy" (Fries, Davis) – 3:27
  10. "Silver Iodide Blues" (Fries, Davis) – 1:17
  11. "Columbine" (Fries, Davis) – 1:45
  12. "Aurora Borealis" (Fries, Davis) – 4:09

Personnel

edit
  • C. W. McCall - Vocals, Design
  • Ron Agnew, Almeda Berkey, Gary Morris, Carol Rogers, Jan Sheldrick, Kris Sparks, Sarah Westphalen - Vocals
  • Chip Davis - Vocals, Drums, Producer, Arranger
  • Milt Bailey, Jackson Berkey - Vocals, Keyboards
  • Ron Cooley - 12-String Guitar, Electric Guitar
  • Eric Hansen - Bass
  • Steve Hanson - Banjo
  • Dick Solowicz - Pots and Pans
  • Chris Stoval - Chimes
  • Mortimer Alpert, Bruce Bransby, Ruth Bransby, Dorothy Brown, Hugh Brown, Miriam Dufflemeyer, Ginni Eldred, Lucinda Gladics, James Hammond, Jean Hassel, Joe Landes, Gary Lawrence, Beth McCollum, Martin Pearson, Gertrude Phalp, Barbara Potter, Merton Shatzkin, Alex Sokol - Strings
  • Robert Jenkins, Willis Ann Ross - Woodwinds
  • Gene Badgett, Michael Berger, Frank Franano, Steve Miller, David Reiswig, Richard Scott, Jim Schanilec, Jim Shoush, Dan Strom, Don Swaggard, Bill Trumbauer, Stephen Wager, Mike Young - Brass

Additional personnel

edit
  • Don Sears - Producer, Engineer, Design, Photography
  • John Boyd - Engineer
  • Dudycha, Schirck and Associates, Inc. - Art Direction and Production

Charts

edit

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1976 Country Albums 9
1976 Pop Albums 143

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1976 "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'N' Roll)" Country Singles 19
1976 "Old Home Filler-up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe" Pop Singles 73
1976 "Crispy Critters" Country Singles 32
1976 "Four Wheel Cowboy" Country Singles 88

References

edit
edit