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 Come Sit By The River 3:34
- 2 Meet Me Over On The Other Side 2:10
- 3 The Likes Of You 2:07
- 4 Darby’s Castle alt version 3:52
- 5 Sit Down Young Stranger 3:15
- 6 It's Just Like Heaven 2:04
- 7 For The First Time 3:17
- 8 South Elm Street 2:13
- 9 Blue Ridge Mountains Turning Green 3:10
- 10 The Lonely Dancer 2:35
- 11 Riverboat Fantasy 2:09
- 12 God's Coloring Book 3:01
- 13 River Bottom 3:06
- 14 Coal, Black Gold Source Recording 2:15
- 15 The In Crowd 2:57
- 16 Electricity 2:19
- 17 I’m Lonesome Without You alt version 3:21
- 18 Loving Her Was Easier Than Anything I'll Ever... 3:20
- 19 Things in Life alt version 3:07
- 20 Honey Don't 1:51
