Highway Call

Last updated

Highway Call
Betts Hwy Call.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1974
Recorded1974
StudioCapricorn Sound Studios, Macon, Georgia
Genre Country rock, Western swing
Length35:28
Label Capricorn
Producer Johnny Sandlin, Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts chronology
Highway Call
(1974)
Dickey Betts & Great Southern
(1977)

Highway Call is the debut album by Dickey Betts (under the name Richard Betts), of the Allman Brothers Band. [1] [2] It was recorded in 1974 in Macon, Georgia, at Capricorn Studios. Betts further develops the country sound that emerged on the Allmans' 1973 album Brothers and Sisters . Tracks include "Long Time Gone", "Highway Call", and the extended country jam "Hand Picked". Guest musicians include Vassar Clements on fiddle and Jeff Hanna on acoustic guitar. The album peaked at No. 19 on Billboard's "Pop Albums" chart in 1974. [3]

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Tom Hull C− [6]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

No Depression called the album "exuberant," writing that "Betts conjured a rollicking brew of bluegrass, western swing, and jazz." [9] The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that Betts's "hesitant vocals can't match the pace of his lightning fingers." [8] AllMusic said "Highway Call stands as the artist's finest solo moment, one that holds his true voice easily expressing itself far from the madding blues wail of the Allmans..." [4]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Dickey Betts, except "Kissimmee Kid" by Vassar Clements

  1. "Long Time Gone" – 4:31
  2. "Rain" – 3:40
  3. "Highway Call" – 4:26
  4. "Let Nature Sing" – 5:10
  5. "Hand Picked" – 14:20
  6. "Kissimmee Kid" – 3:13

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1974)Peak
position
US Top LPs & Tape ( Billboard )19

References

  1. "Dickey Betts | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  2. "Top Album Picks". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 24, 1974 via Google Books.
  3. "Richard Betts". Billboard.
  4. 1 2 Jurek, Thom (2011). "Highway Call - Dickey Betts | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 577.
  6. Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: First Card". Overdose. Retrieved June 26, 2020 via tomhull.com.
  7. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 21.
  8. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 56.
  9. "Richard Betts – Highway Call". No Depression. Retrieved March 7, 2021.