The Sadies – Stories Often Told

Stories Often Told
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Stories Often Told

This quartet hails from Canada and (as often happens in rock and pop music) seems more American than most American bands (a la The Band and Neil Young).

If you’ve been thinking about putting together a spaghetti western film, call these fellas immediately. There are at least three cuts here that would make amazing music for such a movie. And one – “Lay Down Your Arms” – almost begs to have a script written just so it can be used in the flick.

Twangy guitars and majestic melodies dominate this wonderful instrumental. “Oak Ridges” is an incredible Lee Hazelwood-meets-Glen Campbell piece I’ve played about a million times.

Guitarists/singers Dallas and Travis Good have an incredible feel for this sort of thing. With guest Margaret Good, they’ve re-created the classic Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra sound from the ’60s on “A Steep Climb.” “Such a Little Word” is a killer country-rocker with classic pedal steel-type bends. It recalls the Byrds, circa Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
The only cut you might call a “rocker” is “Tiger Tiger.” It’s full-tilt boogie with screaming solos and rockabilly-style seventh-chord hammer-ons.

All told, there are four instrumentals here and six or seven vocals, and not a loser in the batch. If you like late-’60s/early-’70s country rock, you’ll love the Sadies. Add some eccentricity, and you have lots of fun.



This article originally appeared in VG‘s May ’03 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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