John Hartford

Aereo-Plain

Warner Bros Records WS1916 LP 33RPM 12" 1975 (Canada)

Shortly after being released in 1971, Aereo-Plain achieved cult status. Hartford enlisted such Nashville notables as guitarist Norman Blake, dobro player Tut Taylor, violinist Vassar Clements, and bassist Randy Scruggs to help out in the studio. The cult following of Aereo-plain though, has less to do with the music than with Hartford's quirky songs and even quirkier approach. "Boogie" is a mind-boggling song that includes grunts, foot stomping, and panting. Hartford seems to have no problem progressing from the old-time religion of "Turn Your Radio On" to the irreverence of "Back in the Goodle Days." This later song conjures up images of a future meeting between old friends at the city dump ("Oh you'll pass a joint/and I'll pass the wine") to relive their glory days. Hardly Bruce Springsteen. One of the attractions to this material is that Hartford seems to be in his element, just doing what comes natural to him. He also has quite a sentimental streak that never spills over to the sappy. "First Girl I Loved" is an unabashedly gentle song about trying to find your first love in every subsequent love. Romantic fiddle and mandolin greatly add to the melancholy mood. "Tear Down the Grand Ole Opry" is another love song, memorializing the Ryman Auditorium that would be abandoned in 1974. While Hartford would go on to make other great albums, Aereo-Plain signaled the full blooming of his eccentric talent. This is an essential album for any fan, revealing both his genius and the glory days of early '70s progressive bluegrass. [Rounder released a terrific album of outtakes from these sessions entitled Steam Powered Aereo-Takes in 2002.]

Tracklist
A1 Turn Your Radio On
Guitar – Norman Blake
Vocals – John Hartford, Norman Blake, Tut Taylor, Vassar Clements
Written-By – Albert E. Brumley
1:17
A2 Steamboat Whistle Blues
Banjo – John Hartford
Bass – Randy Scruggs
Dobro – Tut Taylor
Fiddle – Vassar Clements
Guitar – Norman Blake
Vocals – John Hartford
Written-By – John Hartford
3:23
A3 Back In The Goodle Days
Banjo – John
Bass – Randy
Dobro – Tut
Fiddle – Vassar
Guitar – Norman
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
3:38
A4 Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie
Bass – Randy
Guitar – John
Mandolin – Norman
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
2:40
A5 Boogie
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
1:12
A6 First Girl I Loved
Bass – Randy
Guitar – John
Mandolin – Norman
Viola, Cello – Vassar
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
4:32
A7 Presbyterian Guitar
Bass – Randy
Guitar – John
Written-By – John Hartford
2:01
B1 With A Vamp In The Middle
Banjo – John
Bass – Randy
Dobro – Tut
Fiddle – Vassar
Guitar – Norman
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
3:25
B2 Symphony Hall Rag
Banjo – John
Bass – Randy
Dobro – Tut
Fiddle – Vassar
Guitar – Norman
Written-By – John Hartford
2:45
B3 Because Of You
Guitar – John
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
0:59
B4 Steam Powered Aereo Plane
Banjo – John
Bass – Randy
Dobro – Tut
Fiddle – Vassar
Guitar – Norman
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
3:40
B5 Holding
Fiddle [Flat Pick] – Vassar
Guitar – John, Vassar
Vocals – John, Vassar
Written-By – John Hartford
1:46
B6 Tear Down The Grand Ole Opry
Banjo – John
Bass – Randy
Dobro – Tut
Fiddle – Vassar
Guitar – Norman
Vocals [Everyone] – John, Norman, Randy, Tut, Vassar
Written-By – John Hartford, Robert Taylor
3:26
B7 Leather Britches
Arranged By – John Hartford, Vassar Clements
Banjo – John
Fiddle – Vassar
Written-By – Traditional
1:58
B8 Station Break
Vocals – John
Written-By – John Hartford
0:15
B9 Turn Your Radio On
Guitar – Norman
Vocals – John, Norman, Tut, Vassar
Written-By – Albert E. Brumley
2:15

Manufactured By – Warner Bros. Records Of Canada, Ltd.
Distributed By – Warner Bros. Records Of Canada, Ltd.
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
Produced For – Sweet Jellyroll Productions
Recorded At – Glaser Sound Studios, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee
Recorded At – Electric Lady Studios
Published By – Stamps Baxter Music & Printing Co.
Published By – Glaser Publications Inc.
Copyright (c) – Stamps Baxter Music & Printing Co.
Copyright (c) – Glaser Publications Inc.
Copyright (c) – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Art Direction – Ed Thrasher
Engineer – Claude Hill, Warren Dewey (tracks: A1, B9)
Photography By [From The Daily Planet] – Peter Amft
Producer – David Bromberg

Mid-70's repress with palm tree labels.

All selections recorded at Glaser Sound Studios, Inc., Nashville, except "Turn Your Radio On" recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York

Vinyl is VERY GOOD (a couple small visible marks with minimal effect on play) in a paper inner sleeve, in a picture sleeve in GOOD condition (ringwear, edge wear, pen marks)

Note About Shipping To The U.S.
We are located in Canada, but have registered ourselves on eBay.com instead of eBay.ca because it gives us significantly better global exposure.  The problem with this is that eBay wants us to charge shipping appropriate to US, where media mail and other options make for fairly reasonable delivery costs. We tried it for a while but ended up losing money on shipping or having to cancel the orders because we couldn't afford to ship for those rates. To manage this we have set the US shipping to run a calculator based on an American location (we chose Plattsburgh as fairly close) and charging according to UPS pricing.  This avoids the cancellation issue, but appears to the buyer to be a prohibitive shipping cost and misrepresents the shipping as being only expedited. If you give us your postal code we will see if we can offer a more reasonable option, but generally we can get a single LP by air to most places in the continental US for $11, a few bucks less for ground.
Thanks for shopping Sir Helmitt,
Jeff Green, e-sales

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