Steve Young - Seven Bridges Road (1971)

Steve Young is an American country music singer-songwriter.

It seems a crime that an underrated musician such as Steve Young's best album is apparently out of print, and if you do track it down there are at least three different versions of it floating around, each with different tracks due to various confusing re-issues.
The title track was originally released on his debut album for A&M Records, Rock, Salt & Nails. It had also been recorded by Joan Baez. His second album (on Reprise Records) had a new version of it. Perhaps this was because his first record had gone mostly unnoticed, and he felt like making a fresh start with his new label, and didn't want his best song to remain forgotten. But Young has re-recorded his own songs continuously throughout his career as he hopped from label to label (he would do "Seven Bridges Road" again in 1978), and this was just the start of it!
Also included on the album are his other two most well-known songs - "Montgomery In The Rain" and "Lonesome, On'ry And Mean". These two are best known through their covers by other more established country artists, the former by Hank Williams Jr. and the latter by Waylon Jennings. The Eagles also had a major hit with "Seven Bridges Road" in 1980.
The album itself is some first-class country music to rival his spectacular debut. However it sunk without a trace, and he was soon on to his third record label.
This is where it gets confusing. The album was re-issued by Blue Canyon in 1973, with a considerably different track listing. Presumably these new songs were recorded during the original sessions but became outtakes, which is odd as most of them are far superior to the ones on the original album. The 'new' songs included a version of Bob Dylan's "Down In The Flood" with slide guitar from Ry Cooder, and a stunning solo version of Terry Gilkyson's "Wild Goose". And then in 1981 another version was put out by Rounder Records, with a new version of the title track replacing the old one (bringing the number of versions of "Seven Bridges Road" by Young himself to four by that point!). And then there was the CD re-issue...
There are alot of versions of Seven Bridges Road to be found, but which is the best? That's actually a very tricky question, as despite the brilliance of the original, the reissues are arguably even better, and have far superior sound quality (there was definately some remixing happening along the way). But whichever version you listen to, Seven Bridges Road is surely Steve Young's best album and his crowning glory.

Rock, Salt & Nails (1969) <|> Honky Tonk Man (1975)
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NOTE - The version of the original album is obviously from a vinyl rip and isn't in the best of shape. The original Reprise record seems very hard to find, and I would love to get hold of a cleaner version if anyone can find it!