Christian Parker, Patrick Cleary, Earl Poole Ball And Jay Dee Maness - American Cosmic Revival, Vol. 2: Miles From Nowhere (2026)

Country, rock and pop artists who perform cover versions or use outside songwriters for their primary source material are never respected as much as the stars who compose their own music, but classical and jazz musicians don't seem to be held to the same high standard. Their updated interpretations of the great composers or definitive jazz tracks are often praised. To me, that just isn't fair, especially when there are superb musicians who know how to properly deliver great songs from the past.

Christian Parker, Patrick Cleary, Earl Poole Ball and Jay Dee Maness specialize in celebrating the great recording artists and composers that made names for themselves in country-rock. Last year the foursome revived an entire 1968 LP, Back at Home, originally recorded and released by the late, great Gram Parsons' International Submarine Band of which both Ball and Maness were members.

Now the quartet is back with American Cosmic Revival, Vol. 2, twelve-songs first composed and/or recorded by mostly other Americana music legends long ago. They're performed with lovingly created country-rock arrangements that should be appreciated by the legion of Parsons fans and those who prefer their country to be genuine.

"Wheels," a Parsons and Chris Hillman track originally done by The Flying Burrito Brothers opens this set, but then the group expanded their horizons beyond the work of the infamous cosmic cowboy.

A Boudleaux and Felice Bryant composition, "Brand New Heartache" - an Everly Brothers standard - is here. A Bob Dylan song from Nashville Skyline, "I Threw It All Away" is a pleasant surprise. It keeps the spirit of the beloved Noble Prize winner but with better vocals. The quartet turns "Wild Horses" into even more of a country tune than The Rolling Stones' did. They also cover Rodney Crowell's "No Memories Hangin' Round" featuring some nice pedal steel guitar. Merle Haggard's "If We Make It Through December" is another winner.

The beautiful, jointly composed Gene Clark/Bernie Leadon effort, "Train Leaves Here This Morning" is from Eagles' 1972 eponymous debut, and in my opinion it's the most beautiful deep track the Southern California hall-of-famers ever laid down on tape. Leadon's vocal is smoother, but this slightly more upbeat version still carries the essence the writers intended, and that's a very good thing.

Parker said, "The project was created to celebrate and extend the musical legacy of these artists while bringing these songs and influences to a new audience."  The finished work definitely extends that legacy, but I hope the last part of that statement also becomes true so a whole new generation discovers how good the often-maligned country music genre can be.