This Santa Cruz-based outfit formed in the mid-1970s, featuring Frank Gummersal, bassist Jon Hicks, drummer Carl Holland, Larry Ross, and pedal steel guitarist Doug Osburn. Looking like your standard early-1970s stoner band hey enjoyed some success on San Francisco's club circuit, even opening for nationally known outfits such as Kingfish and The Sons of Champlin. They also managed to score a contract with the small California-based Renegade label and released "Hellbound Highway" in 1975, a rural rock album in the style of Dead meets the Eagles variety.
The opening title track has a beautiful psychy lead guitar hook and great melody throughout.This is mellow country rock with great steel guitars and the appropriate tuneful vocals,with the occasional fuzz guitar putting in a welcome appearance. Back in 1975, a bunch of dudes from Boulder Creek, California, found themselves in a recording studio and decided to make a rural rock album of a sort of Dead-meets-Eagles variety. The result, Hellbound Highway, an obscure private pressing made its appearance on Renegade Records the same year, but as only about 100 copies were pressed, very few have experienced the delights of this laidback recording.
Some of the songs are terrific, particularly the opener and title track, with its psychy lead guitar hook, a clever twist in the chorus and a great melody, and the side-closers are both outstanding. In between, we're treated to some mellow country rock of the Outlaws variety, with some excellent steel guitar and some highly appropriate and surprisingly tuneful vocals, and the occasional fuzz guitar putting in a welcome appearance."
Tracks
1. Hellbound Highway - 4.42
2. Tantra Queen - 3.42
3. Pass The Bottle' - 3.46
4. Just One Quart - 3.58
5. Nobody On The Streets - 4.39
6. Stoned Cold Turkey - 3.58
7. Fallen Angel - 4.05
8. Tom Haley - 2.48
9. If I Had The Trength - 3.23
10.Hell In The Hills - 6.19
All Song by Larry Ross, Jon Hicks, Carl Holland, Doug Osburn, Frank Gummersal, Frank Andrick
Timbercreek
*Larry Ross - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Frank Gummersal - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Doug Osburn - Pedal Steel Guitar
*Carl Holland - Vocals, Drums, Clarinet
*Jon Hicks - Vocals, Bass
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the Free Text
Another fantastic pice of music,my favourite.Many thanks for this great and rare bands and for your great work to present to us such rarities...
ReplyDeleteDead-meets-Eagles? That's an easy hook for me to bite on - thanks marios!
ReplyDeleteI'm clueless about this album. What I get here is free education. Thanks Marios.
ReplyDeletewhat a great surprise today, thanks, i'll take sugar bear, ashes and timbercreek, cheers my friend
ReplyDeletej.m.
Bill Woody did not perform on this album and was not a member of Timbercreek at any time. I am Doug Osburn the one and only pedal steel player the group ever had, I am on the album tracks and in the pictures. The Bill Woody additions are fake and placed in areas that he can edit. Look at the actual album cover; he is not mentioned in credits nor is he photographed. Poser of the worst kind.
ReplyDeleteHi Doug Osburn,
ReplyDeleteI'm trully sorry about my mistake,
I made the corrections.
Thank you very much for your comment
and most of all thank you for your music.
Thanks Marios, I treasure the memories of my friends and the music we created. Having this false information posted defiled those memories and I really appreciate your actions. I am glad you like the music. It was a very special time, and the music is about as home made as you will ever hear. A great bunch of guys who I miss.
ReplyDeleteHello Doug!!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny but I just recently gave all my albums to UCSC radio station because i didn't have a phonograph to play them and this album was in that batch. I was hoping the album would be played once again. I am pleased to come across this site of yours. Actually, I have tried to track you down (internet) and get the latest news about your music career but had no luck because I spelled your last name wrong. We used to be close pals back in 1977-9 in SC. Sincerely, Pam Fash
I'm looking for Doug Osburn. I actually played with Timbercreek for a short while. Hicks brought me in on guitar to rough up the edges a little bit. Not too long after I dragged him back east for another musical project that went down in flames, and he blew out to Austin in the late `70s. Love to chat if I can only find you. jrubin999@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI have access to a case of Timber creek albums. If anyone interested leave comment.
ReplyDeleteThat’d be awesome. Cheers, Patrickcichy@hotmail.com
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.....Timbercreek - Hellbound Highway...UpDated.....
ReplyDeleteCarl Holland is my father in law and an exceptional soul and I know Frank too and cherish the memories. They're both busy rocking out in the afterlife now. It's so great to see interest in their music!
ReplyDeleteFunny how people remember things differently...
ReplyDeleteI remember Bill Woody playing in Timbercreek but that was before Doug replaced him. These guys really were Players! I've got an old CD made from some of the tapes with some songs that did not make to the LP. I sure have gotten a kick out of seeing these names again.
anyone interested in this period need to watch the rare video, "Chateau Leberte" of the great times that were had there. Timber Creek often headlined and I remember that the "Doobie Brothers" were often Timber Creeks warm-up band!
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