line up 1 (1971)

- Bobby De Simone -- drums, percussion

- Ian Espinosa -- lead guitar, dobro, mandolin

- Michael Fondiler (RIP 1980) -- vocals, rhythm guitar

- Steve Fondiler -- vocals, bass

- Tom Snow -- vocals, keyboards

  supporting musicians: (1971)

- Mark Andes -- bass

- Matt Andes -- rhythm guitar

- The Bagatelle (Tom Snow)

- Dancer (Ian Espinosa)

- Ian Espinosa (solo efforts)

- Fondiler & Snow

- International Submarine Band (Tom Snow)

- The Pearly Kings (Ian Espinosa)

- Radio Active Cats (Ian Espinosa)

- The Red Roosters (Michael Fondiler) 

- Tom Snow (solo efforts)

- TV In Flames (Ian Espinosa)

- Western Union (Michael Fondiler) 

Genre: country-rock

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  Country

Company: Clean
Catalog: CN 600

Year: 1971

Country/State: Los Angeles, California

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ 

Comments: promo sticker on cover; white inner label

Available: 1

Catalog ID: --

Price: $25.00

This was a spur of the moment yard sale purchase. I'm not a big country music fan so a band named Country wouldn't seem like something I'd be interested in.  I didn't recognize any of the band members; any of the songs, or even the record label - Clean was a short-lived Atlantic affiliated subsidiary.   Was it worth the $4.00 investment?  Yeah.  Perhaps falls a little short of undiscovered classic, but 1971's "Country" is a laidback charmer.

This is another obscurity. The band was apparently spawned from the Los Angeles based duo Fondiler & Snow.  Michael Fondiler had been a member of The Red Roosters and then Western Union who morphed into Spirit.  Tom Snow had been a member of Gram Parson's short-lived International Submarine Band and the one-shot horn band Bagatelle.  The pair decided to expand to a full band line-up, recruiting drummer Bobby De Simone, guitarist Ian Espinosa and Michael's brother Steve Fondiler on vocals and, bass.  They were apparently managed by Michael O'Bryant who somehow attracted the attention of Atlantic's short-lived Clean imprint.

Largely produced by O'Bryant, "Country" featured a collection of twelve original tunes.  Co-written by Snow and Michael Fondiler, in spite of the band name, the album found the band exploring folk, pop, light rock and occasional country-rock niches.  I'll be upfront and tell you that with the exception of the Ahemt Ertegun produced rocker 'Killer', nothing here that will smack you across the face in terms of being special, or unique.  Again, overlooking the atypical 'Killer', none of the songs were super catchy, or something that was going to stick in your head for a long time.  Snow and Michael Fondiler were both competent singers. Their voices were pleasant, if their harmonies were occasionally a little ragged ('Beverly Glen').  The playing was uniformly professional, but so are tens of thousands of other bands.  Admittedly Espinosa livened things up whenever he was given a chance to slap a solo into the mix - that just didn't happen enough.  And in spite of all of those qualifiers, this is an album I really like.  Exemplified by tracks like 'Traveling Salesman', 'Going Away' and 'Fine and Easy' the collection reflected a low-keyed sense of charm.   It's like they knew the were good, but not flashy and never going to become megastars.  And they were okay with that, intending to make the absolute most out of their 15 minutes in the spotlight.  My choice for one of the album highlights (and a should've been a single), 'Love Quite Like Her Kind' sounded like prime America a good two years before America became massive stars. And then there was the dark and disturbing 'Killer' that sound liked CSN&Y had let Charles Manson into the band.  Talk about a jarring outlier ...  where in the hell did it come from?

"Country" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Beverly Glen (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 3:17 rating: *** stars

Opening up with some pretty Tom Snow piano, 'Beverly Glen' (the lyrics referring to a woman, not a place), was a sweet, lightly orchestrated ballad.  An 'Eleanor Rigby' styled tale of despair, the highlight came in the form of a melodic Ian Espinosa guitar solo.  The Snow and Fondiler shared vocals were a little strained and to my ears it made an odd choice for a single:

- 1971's 'Beverly Glen' (stereo) v/w 'Beverly Glen' (mono) (Clean catalog number 45-60001)

2.) Love Quite Like Her Kind (Steve Fondiler) - 3:11 rating: **** stars
Coming as a complete surprise, the a cappella opening sounded like something off a mid-career America album. The "group vocals" and abundance of la-la-la lyrics only underscored the resemblance to Dewey Bunnell and his crew.  In making the comparison I should point out the obvious thing - namely this album was released a good two years before America hit the airwaves.  The track also turned the spotlight on guitarist Ian Espinosa who responded with an amazing little solo.  

3.) Give My Best To Everyone (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 2:48 rating: ** stars

Powered by Espinosa mandolin, 'Give My Best To Everyone' was an old-timey flavored number.  I guess it was meant to showcase a "cutesy" factor by it didn't do much for my ears.

4.) Traveling Salesman (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 3:51 rating: **** stars

Exemplified by this pretty little ballad, I've struggled to figure out why I like Fondiler's dry, craggy voice so much.  Similarly, their "Joe Average" tales of daily struggles resonate with me.  Steve Fondiler's melodic bass line was a lesson in economy.  The song also appeared as the 'Beverly Glen' single's "B" side.

5.) Janie (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 2:30 rating: *** stars

The slinky, upbeat  'Janie' was an unexpected change in direction. Espousing life's simple pleasure, the song was quite commercial with nice Snow and Fondiler harmonies and one of  Ian Espinosa's nicer guitar solos.  Shame the song ended so abruptly.

6.) Going Away (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 3:00 rating: **** stars

Opening up with some pretty Snow piano, 'Going Away' was a stark, acoustic ballad showcasing his dusty, countrified voice.  The song also spotlighted Snow and Michael Fondiler's sweet harmony vocals.  Perhaps because is was so plain and stripped down, there was something mesmerizing in the performance.

(side 2)
1.) Fine and Easy (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 3:30 rating: *** stars

A pastoral country-rock flavored reflection on day-to-day life, 'Fine and Easy' was more in line with what I was expecting to hear from the band. Other than the rather obvious weed references, it wasn't anything special, but it was laidback, pleasant and the chorus was sweet.

2.) It’s All the Same (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 3:15 rating: ** stars

Another ballad featuring Snow's piano and vocals, the heavily orchestrated 'It's All the Same' was too fey for its own good.  Forgettable.

3.) Man from Alabama (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 2:34 rating: ** stars

The ballad 'Man from Alabama; was the album's most countrified performance.  The lyrics were dark and disturbing which was at odds with the jaunty melody.  Can't say it did anything from me.  

4.) Aragon Ballroom (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 3:37 rating: *** stars

The first couple of times I heard 'Aragon Ballroom' it reminded me of an early Elton John composition.  I'm not saying that's good, or bad.  

5.) Killer  (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow)- 3:51 rating: **** stars

"Can you see the killer with his axe ..."   What happened to the easy going country-rockers?   Produced by Ahmet Ertegun, the harpsichord powered 'Killer' was unlike anything else on the album.  With support from Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne members Mark and Matt Andes (Matt had briefly played in the precursor Country band American Rainbow), the song sported a much fuller rock sound that sounded like something off the first CSN&Y album.  The lyrics were certainly frightening, but it was easily the album's standout performance.

6.) Rock & Roll Heaven (Michael Fondiler - Tom Snow) - 2:25 rating: *** stars

"Are we on and everything?"  There are scores of rock and roll heaven songs.  Most suck .  Still, with a title like 'Rock & Roll Heaven' I was expecting a full out rocker.  Once again my expectations were dashed.  Instead you got a stark, melancholy acoustic track.  The song at least spotlighted the band's sweet harmony vocals.

With little support from their record label and growing problems with management, the band started working on a follow-on album.  Peter Asher signed on o produce a sophomore album.  Unfortunately Snow promptly quit in pursuit of a solo career.  The other members continued on finishing the album, but were dropped by Clean with the second album being shelved.  Written by guitarist Ian Espinoza who also seemed to sing it, the boogie-rocker 'Strange Arrangements' was subsequently released as a single credited to Espinoza:

- 1973's 'Strange Arrangements' b/w 'Strange Arrangements (Clean catalog number CN-60006)

Goodness knows why, but in 2013 the UK based Slipstream label reissued a remastered version of the album in CD format (Slipstream catalog number SSR0003).  The reissued included a previously unreleased Country tune ('Sylvie') and four tracks credited to 'Fondiler & Snow':

1.) Just A Thought 

2.) Please Michael 

3.) Aragon Ballroom 

4.) Salt Lake City

© Scott R. Blackerby July, 2024