TCCDM Pulls One Out..."Wanted" - Mason Proffit (1970)

"Wanted" - Mason Proffit (1970)

     Mason Proffit and this album in particular have a bit of a cult following.  In the Midwest, anyway.  Thanks in part to KSHE radio playing "Two Hangmen" from their debut album.  Listeners requested this song on a fairly regular basis.  At least that's the way I got the story.   Mason Proffit, out of Indiana, was an early country rock band whose first album, "Wanted," became a kind of underground hit.  The album has a late Byrds, early Poco vibe, but with enough of a Mason Proffit dust-storm to call their own.  I enjoy country-rock from this period, and this album is no better or worse than the other good stuff, so if you are of the same mind, your ears will probably be right at home with this square.

     I see this particular album at almost every record show that comes around.  Always priced under a ten-spot, and still I skipped over it a dozen times.  It's an ambitious offering.  There is some rock dusted with country, and some country dusted with rock.  A wee bit of psych-fuzz to tickle the palate. And all with pleasant vocals and musicianship.  Better than I had hoped.  There were plenty of country-rock bands that flooded the market as the decade went on, but Mason Proffit was one of the early ones, and is worth a holler.

"Wanted" - Mason Proffit (back)

"Wanted" - Mason Proffit (inside gatefold)

Favorites include:
"Two Hangmen"
"Voice Of Change"
"Sweet Lady Love"

     The record is packaged in a gatefold with lyrics printed inside.  The vinyl was pressed on the independent Happy Tiger label.  This label is most notable for releasing two post-Van Morrison Them albums.  Happy Tiger shut their doors in 1971.  I found my copy for one or two dollars.  Low-dollar finds like this one make the more pricier records I want much easier to fork.  

     At the 1971 Grammy Awards, the year of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Let It Be," and "Deja Vu"...Mason Proffit's debut album, "Wanted," was nominated for Best Album Cover.  I'm still flummoxed that this small label was recognized at all.  The following year, Mason Proffit would sign with Warner Bros. Records.  The band slipped through the cracks in the scheme of things, but they still went on to record 5 albums.

Happy Tiger label

Cat #
HT-1009
SIDE A  DEADWAX
 I-70100  (MR)  △14723 (2)
SIDE B  DEADWAX
I-70101  MR  △14723-X (2)

"Voice Of Change" - Mason Proffit / "Wanted" (1970)

TRACKS:
A1  "Voice Of Change" 2:51
A2  "A Rectangle Picture" 2:19
A3  "You Finally Found Your Love" 4:20
A4  "Sweet Lady Love" 3:50
A5  "Stewball" 3:30
B1  "Two Hangmen" 4:58
B2  "Buffalo" 2:00
B3  "Walk On Down The Road" 2:54
B4  "It's All Right" 2:30
B5  "Till The Sun's Gone" 3:23
B6  "Johnny's Tune" 1:15

PERSONNEL: 
John Talbot - vocals, steel guitar, banjo, acoustic/electric guitars
Terry Talbot - vocals, electric guitar, 6 & 12-string acoustic guitar, Jew's harp, percussion
Tim Ayers - bass
Ron Schuetter - acoustic guitar, vocals
Art Nash - drums
Rick Durett - piano
ADDITIONAL:
Johnny Frigo - fiddle (A2)

Good stuff.

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