THE LONG RYDERS
Native Sons: Expanded 3CD Edition
In the Paisley Underground, the seeds of Americana are planted.
By Jon Dale
The Long Ryders: (l–r) Stephen McCarthy, Tom Stevens, Greg Sowders, Sid Griffin
© GREG ALLEN, EDSTASIUM
CHERRY RED
8/10
THERE’S nothing quite like pulling off acoup with your group’s first album, and with aguest appearance from The Byrds’ Gene Clark on Native Sons, The Long Ryders not only did just that, but they also made apretty clear statement of intent: this is the music we love, these are the songwriters we love, let’s place ourselves in that lineage. The relationship between Clark and The Long Ryders was mutually supportive, sharing bills, hanging out together, and thanks to producer Henry Lewy, abacking vocal on the Ryders’ “Ivory Tower”. “Gene Clark was kind to us, always,” Long Ryder Sid Griffin recalls. “The Long Ryders were told we sounded like The Byrds, so why not have areal Byrd sing on atrack?”