Best New Riders of the Purple Sage recording

I would say the 'best' from top to bottom is the first, NRPS, but if I had to pick one it would be Gypsy Cowboy. These guys actually put out a lot of recorded music but the first three albums were never equalled (in my opinion). Buddy Cage was/(is) an amazing pedal steel guitarist and to see them live was a lot of fun and sometimes an adventure. I had a buddy who was supposed to introduce the band before they came on. He spent an hour with them backstage and couldn't do it... Buddy Cage was incredible on stage and also did some nice stuff when he was with Ian Tyson and Great Speckled Bird @ 1970 if you can find it.

This band had a shelf-life of 3, possibly 4 albums. Start with the first 3 (NRPS, Powerglide, Gypsy Cowboy) then only wind into Panama Red. PR is a lackluster effort even though it contains their "hit".

My personal fav is Gypsy Cowboy. Wicked hard to find in the used record stores, not too easy to find on CD either.

And. . . if you get LP "The Best of" you also get a great album cover to stare at!

Agree with Ncarv - their first album. I would add, in my opinion - by a long way; but that's probably because of my affection for Jerry's pedal steel guitar work. Listen to it wail on "Dirty Business". Buddy Cage took over those duties on subsequent albums, and he's certainly a talent.

Regards,

The self-titled album is my favorite--super songs and reasonably well-recorded. There are some fun, sunny day driving tunes and a few well-rendered laid back titles like "All I Ever Wanted". Great bass guitar playing throughout with Jerry providing some nice pedal steel.

Panama Red is also a great record, but there is a persistent tape hiss that encroaches on the music and is hard to ignore.

Here is a case where the Joe Gaswirt remastered cd's clearly surpass the original vinyl recordings--better bass, crisper highs and a fuller sound. I'd suggest looking for these either new or used.

The first self-titled album has been released in a re-mastered version and has the best sound. There are some really good authorized "bootleg" releases of live concerts from a company called kufala.

IMHO, their first, self-titled album, is the best. It is one of my favorite albums and every song gets better each time you listen. I still listen to it relatively often. GREAT RECORD!
Of course, you could always pick up "The Best Of . . ." and get a good idea of their music.

NRPS self-titled, Powerglide and Brujo in addition to Bdgregory's selections.

I like Gypsy Cowboy best. Then Panama Red. Those are the only 2 I've heard.