Chris Hillman – Way Out West

No fuss, no mess, no struggle: This record of country duets is a simple, easygoing pleasure. And no wonder, as Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, both undersung heroes of the California country-rock scene, are longstanding country and bluegrass pickers who have worked together, on and off, over the course of nearly four decades.

They first met in the early 1960s, when Los Angeles native Hillman was playing with the Golden State Boys (a.k.a. the Hillmen), and the Berkeley-born Pedersen was in the Pine Valley Boys. Hillman, of course, went on to fame with the Byrds and the Burritos; Pedersen, played with David Grisman and bluegrass outfit the Dillards before backing such stars as Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and John Denver. In the 1980s, both men were part of the twangy “new traditionalist” country hitmaking group the Desert Rose Band.

Way Out West more or less picks up where their excellent 1996 duet album, Bakersfield Bound, left off. Hillman and Pedersen know their material and deliver it with genuine energy: The harmonies are crisp and bright, the melodies handsome, the picking stellar. Many of the songs are vintage gems given fresh, inspired arrangements, such as Doc Pomus’ “Save The Last Dance For Me”, the Louvin Brothers’ mournful “You’re Learning”, the haunting Charlie Monroe number “The Old Cross Road”, and Roger Miller’s magnificent “Invitation To The Blues”.

The covers fit organically alongside originals such as the melancholy “Good Year”, the invigorating “Our Love It Don’t Come Easy”, and “Better Man Than That”, a superb Hillman/Steve Hill composition that seems ripe for some Nashville star to pick up and cover. From its bouncy instrumentals to its introspective ballads, Way Out West is one of the finest country efforts of the year.