line up 1 (1972)

- David Patton -- vocals, guitar

  supporting musicians (1972)

- Larry Brown -- drums, percussion

- Larry Carlton -- guitar

- Buddy Emmons -- pedal steel guitar

- Gib Guilbeau - violin

- Michael Lang -- keyboards

- Bruce "The Creeper" Kurnow -- keyboards, harmonica

- Lincoln Mayorga -- keyboards

- Bill Perry -- bass

- Maxine Willard -- backing vocals

- none known

Genre: country-rock

Rating: 2 stars **

Title:  Buckeye

Company: Wooden Nickel
Catalog: WNS 1005

Year: 1972

Country/State: Oklahoma

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: think vinyl pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: --

Price: $20.00

There's a ton of online information about David Paton. Just one problem; this wasn't the Scottish bass player David Paton (one "t"). This David Patton (two "t's") was an Oklahoma born American singer/songwriter.  It's odd how little information is available on this individual.  I've seldom encountered an artist with such a limited footprint.  I haven\'t devoted vast amounts of energy into researching him, but casual searches indicated there just isn't much out there.  Hopefully someone out there will have the story.   Anyhow, here's what I can tell you about this one.

Co-produced by Barry Fasman and Jim Golden, 1972's "Buckeye" was Patton's sophomore album for Bill Traut's short-lived Chicago based Wooden Nickel label.  Showcasing Buddy Emmons' pedal steel guitar and Gib Guilbeau on fiddle, about half of the album featured conventional country-flavored tunes.  There wasn't anything wrong with tunes like 'Hear the Whistle Blow', 'Goodbye to Goodbye' and 'Fool`s Hall of Fame' other than you had to be a country fan to appreciate them.  I wasn't so those efforts were lost on me.  Slightly better were a couple of swamp-rockers.  'Swamp River Queen' and  the goofy 'People In Dallas Got Hair' bore at least a passing resemblance to the Joe South and Tony Joe White catalogs.  The album's most atypical number, the opening ballad 'Her' was actually the best performance.  Nice keyboard melody and Patton's vocals wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Badfinger album.  Wooden Nickel floated a pair of promotional singles in ''People In Dallas Got Hair' and 'Her' but the parent album faded without as much as a whimper, followed in short order by Patton's recording contract.  All told it made for a proficient but unmemorable release.

"Buckeye" track listing:
(side 1) (Heads)

1.) Her (David Patton) - 3:33 rating: **** stars

The piano powered ballad 'Her' wasn't what I was expecting from an album billed as a country-rock set.  Showcasing some impressive Buddy Emmons' pedal steel guitar (which I originally took to be Larry Carlton on slide guitar), the track's always reminded me of George Harrison's 'Isn't It a Pity', or perhaps a good Badfinger tune.  Patton's multi-tracked vocals were quite sweet, though he struggled to hit some of the higher notes.  Not sure Barry Fassman's orchestration added much to the mix.

The tune was released as a promotional single in the US and a stock copy in Australia.

- 1972's 'Her' b/w 'Like Tonight' (Wooden Nickel catalog number SP 703)

2.) Hear the Whistle Blow (David Patton) - 2:20 rating: ** stars

Complete with Buddy Emmons pedal steel guitar and  Gib Guilbeau fiddle, 'Hear the Whistle Blow' found Patton offering up a bouncy country tune. Certainly proficient, but not exactly my taste in music.

3.) Lookin`Good (Larry Murray) - 3:18 rating: ** stars

'Lookin`Good' shifted back to Jimmy Webb MOR-styled ballad. Pleasant an easy to imagine the late Glen Campbell doing a cover of it.  The female backing vocals were merely irritiating.

4.) Goodbye To Goodbye (David Patton) - 2:12 rating: ** stars

Back to straight-ahead country. Lots of Emmons' pedal steel, though the acoustic guitar fade-out was markedly better.

5.) Swamp River Queen (David Patton) - 3:18 rating: *** stars

A funky slice of swamp rock, 'Swamp River Queen' wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Tony Joe White album.  Loved Bill Perry's rollicking bass line.

(side 2) (Tails)
1.) Dakota  (Larry Murray) - 3:08 rating: *** stars

Country, but with a slight swamp-rock edge.  Nice Larry Carlton lead guitar.  Extra star for the goofy lyrics - 'Dakota' the dancing bear.

2.) Like Tonight (David Patton) - 3:28 rating: ** stars

Standard life-is-tough-as-a-singer/songwriter acoustic ballad.  I found it hyper-sensitive and pretty dull.  The song also appeared as the "B" side of Patton's 'Her' 45.

3.) Los Angeles Leavin` (David Patton - John Walker) - 2:50 rating: *** stars

Another back to my country home breakup tune ...Admittedly this one wasn't half bad, though it was also a tune that would have been better without the haphazard orchestration.  The song also showed up as the "B" side to his 'People In Dallas Got Hair' 45.

4.) Fool`s Hall of Fame (David Patton) - 2:15 rating: ** stars

More country.  Enough said.

5.) People In Dallas Got Hair (David Patton - John Walker) - 2:40 rating: ** stars

Back to Tony Joe White-styled swamp rock.  'People In Dallas Got Hair' was also tapped as a promotional 45.

- 1972's 'People In Dallas Got Hair' b/w 'Los Angeles Leavin'' (Wooden Nickel catalog number 73-0109)

© Scott R. Blackerby February, 2024