Appaloosa - Now That I Want You (1969) Progressive Folk Band USA.

Appaloosa - Now That I Want You

1969

Album - Appaloosa


Singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Parker Compton co-founded the acoustic band Appaloosa with violinist Robin Batteau in the late '60s. Both musicians had been heavily influenced by the folk scene in their hometown, Cambridge, MA. Compton got his start singing in a Cambridge church choir before he and Batteau began playing the coffeehouse circuit together. As the 1972 press release for Compton's solo album, To Luna, told it, he showed up at producer Al Kooper's Columbia Records office in late 1968, hoping to show him his songs. Uninterested, Kooper told the kid (Compton was 18) to come back some other time. But a little while later, Kooper came in on Compton and Batteau performing for the office secretaries. Finally won over, Kooper recorded their demo, and within a year the newly signed musicians had released an album, the self-titled debut from their group Appaloosa. Also including bassist David Reiser and cellist Eugene Rosov, Appaloosa was joined in the studios by members of Blood, Sweat & Tears and by Kooper himself.


progarchives.com :
influential folk baroq...From the Boston folk scene, emerged John Parker Compton's band of Appaloosa, from which would also come Earth Opera (and its continuity Sea Train) and James Taylor. JPC (vocals & ac guitars) had formed an experimental duo with David Batteau and his cello that played a few gigs around Boston and Cambridge as they were still teenagers. The duo evolved with David's brother Robin taking over with his violin, before expanding to a quartet with the arrival of Eugene Rosov (cello) and David Reiser (electric bass) and opened for Tim Harding and played every Sunday afternoon at the Cambridge Common Music Concerts. Rosov and Batteau were Harvard students, while Reiser sat in with prominent jazzmen in Boston clubs.


The group popped down to NY to get an audition with the legendary Al Kooper, playing directly in his office and getting instantly a recording deal. The prominent Kooper (producer and musician with The Blues Project, Blood Sweat & Tears, Bloomfield and by then a solo artiste as well and too many sessions to list) was to produce their sole album.

This album was labelled as folk baroque (as was popular at the time), a term also applying to Donovan, Gordon Lightfoot, Tom Rush, Nick Drake, Bobbie Gentry, Tim Buckley, Phil Ochs, the Bee Gees, and Tim Hardin, and meant folk mixed with classical/symphonic music. Sadly the album got almost no notice, staying four weeks in the US billboard, peaking at 128, as these folk baroque albums were flooding the airwaves at the time. It would be Appaloosa's only album, the band splitting up when Compton, Batteau, and some friends drove out to California. John and Robin worked as a duo on Columbia for the Compton & Batteau in California album, with John doing his first solo album shortly afterward. To this day JPC is still active in the folk circles and reformed the group in 05, but nothing yet has come out of that.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Appaloosa
• Psych Folk
• USA Progressive Music
• 1960's

[bardobob]

Anyone know if there is any historical info., on the Web, about Appaloosa?

bardobob

[minutegongcoughs]

There certainly is but you have to keyword a lot.

[2utheo]

@birdarise

Robin was the violinist. I know as I played drums with them for their live dates. Years later, Batteau & Compton wrote a commercial for Chevy that was played for years. I expect they did well from all the royalties.

[2utheo]

I can't believe I stumbled across this!!! I was the "live" drummer for the group in the early 70's shortly after the album came out with Bobby Columby (of B,S &T fame) as the producer & studio drummer. Thanks for posting it.

[birdarise]

Robin Batteau, the cellist, has done some great music with David Buskin... look up Buskin & Batteau.

[NicoDraak74]

most underrated album of all time

[Vjazzmaster]

Whatever happened to Eugene? He was my camp director at Begelow Mountain music camp in Maine before starting Apple Hill in NH. I know that he started a water purification company. Great guy.

Old camper

[universuale]

This band's music is an example for all those who came along later, thinking they'd invented something new...( Oasis, Nirvana etc.etc.) This LP is still fresh after 40 years, amazing..! Let's see if these "modern" bands can stand the test of time?!

[chphtsn]

where can I find "In California"?

[belugaz]

Great album..Bought the CD on collectors choice...miss this kind of music

[bardobob]

Thanks!

I bought an album of theirs, on sale, for $1.00, at Woolworth's,I think it was, in the Ala Moana Shopping Center, in Honolulu, in 1973!

It ended up with an old girl friend but I thought their music was great. I'd appreciate it, if you could give me the Google inquiries you've used to find them.

Also, any idea, if their music is available on CD or othrerwise?