River Bottom, the Country Gentlemen's 1981 release on Barry Poss's new Sugar Hill label, finds Charlie Waller leading what was effectively a third-generation Gentlemen lineup more than two decades after the band had launched in Washington, D.C. With Kent Dowell on banjo, Rick Allred on mandolin and baritone, and Ed Ferris on bass alongside Waller's steady rhythm guitar and warm lead, the program mixes the band's familiar progressive repertoire (Riverboat Fantasy, The In Crowd) with traditional gospel and country selections (Drifting Too Far From the Shore, God's Coloring Book). The album was among Sugar Hill's earliest bluegrass releases and helped establish the label as the natural home for the music's progressive wing through the 1980s.
Tracklist
- 1 Riverboat fantasy 2:05
- 2 God's coloring book 2:56
- 3 River bottom 3:03
- 4 Drifting Too Far From the Shore alt version 3:11
- 5 Coal, Black Gold Source Recording 2:15
- 6 The in crowd 2:52
- 7 Apple blossom time in the Annapolis Valley 2:56
- 8 Electricity 2:15
- 9 I’m Lonesome Without You alt version 3:21
- 10 Loving her was easier than anything than I'll ever 3:16
- 11 Things in Life alt version 3:07
- 12 Honey don't 1:49
