Not so odd odds ‘n’ sods from superb Americana collective

The Continental Drifters publicity often hung on the renown of the Bangles’ Vicki Peterson, the Cowsills’ Susan Cowsill and the dB’s Peter Holsapple, but the music and musicianship of this collective was deeper and broader than its three most famous members. Among its riches were multiple lead vocalists, stellar instrumentalists, the contributions of multiple songwriters and the forge of collective musical sensibility. The group’s formation in Los Angeles and relocation to New Orleans magnified that rich bounty of talent in a confluence that drew both from West Coast and Southern roots.

Omnivore’s two-CD set offers a wealth of rare material that will gratify the band’s many fans. Disc 1 features early material, including from their import-only debut, demos and alternate mixes. At times, the group’s early recordings sound like the Band plugging Little Feat’s instruments into Buffalo Springfield’s amps in a Los Angeles club built in Mississippi. But you can also hear the melodic echoes of the Bangles and Cowsills in Susan Cowsill’s mesmerizing “The Rain Song,” deep soul in Carlo Nuccio’s organ-lined “Here I Am,” and heart-wrenching balladry in Ray Ganucheau’s “I Didn’t Want To Lie.” This was a band with no shortage of excellent original material or musical imagination.

Disc 2 focuses entirely on the band’s way with cover tunes, collecting tracks from tribute albums (including their entire Listen Listen EP tribute to Sandy Denny And Richard Thompson), European imports and live recordings. Their taste in covers was both exquisite and broad, including material from obvious sources like Gram Parsons, Lucinda Williams and Neil Young, and less obvious sources, like Tommy James (Alive and Kicking’s 1970 hit “Tighter, Tighter”), Brian Wilson (Surfin USA’s brilliant, bittersweet album track, “Farmer’s Daughter”), and William Bell (a country-harmony arrangement of Otis Redding’s “You Don’t Miss Your Water”). Their multi-vocalist arrangements of “Dedicated to the One I Love” and “I Can’t Let Go” are dreamy and joyous.

Even in compilation form, with material drawn from across time, geography, lineups and projects, there’s a unity of purpose that holds this all together. It’s a testament to both the band and the collection’s producers, Pat Thomas and Cheryl Pawalski, that the group’s disparate musical interests fit together so easily and remain so timeless. The inclusion of live and cover material shows how the group’s versatility turned their shows from a mere recitation of studio material into a dynamic revue. This two-hour ten-minute collection includes a twenty-page booklet highlighted by fresh notes from the band members and detailed discographical data. This is an essential bookend to the group’s previously released albums. [©2015 Hyperbolium]

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