101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes 53: Mason Proffit ~ Bareback Rider

Mason Proffit ~ Bareback Rider
cover design by Peter Polumbi
reel-to-reel tape box cover

photo by Styrous®

I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes in addition to my 20,000 Vinyl LP collection I'm selling (see link below). Interested? Contact me by email please, not by a comment.

~ ~ ~

Mason Proffit was a folk rock band from Chicago, Illinois that released five albums between 1969 and 1973. Brothers Terry Talbot and John Michael Talbot played together in several local bands around Indianapolis, Indiana and later in Chicago. After their group Sounds Unlimited disbanded, in 1969 they formed Mason Proffit with a focus on the emerging blend of folk, country and rock that would come to be called country rock.

Mason Proffit ~ Bareback Rider
photo by Don Jim

reel-to-reel tape box box back

photo by Styrous®

In 1972, the band signed to Warner Bros. Records and continued touring, performing up to 300 concerts each year. Some of Mason Proffit's opening acts during that time included The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, John Denver, and Mac Davis.

Mason Proffit ~ Bareback Rider
reel-to-reel tape box box back detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Mason Proffit ~ Bareback Rider
reel-to-reel tape box box back detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Their live shows were high energy. And once, while jamming with The Scruggs Review, John Hartford and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Earl Scruggs called John Talbot "the best banjo player I've ever heard."

Mason Proffit ~ Bareback Rider
reel-to-reel tape

photo by Styrous®

This was the fifth and final album by the group with a smoking, barroom piano and banjo version of Setting the Woods on Fire.

Mason Proffit ~ Bareback Rider
reel-to-reel tape label detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Track list:

Side 1:

1 - Lily - 2:16
2 - Cottonwood - 4:15
3 - Setting The Woods On Fire - 2:53
4 - Dance Hall Girl - 4:49
5 - To A Friend - 4:09

Side 2:

1 - Stoney River - 3:46
2 - Black September/Belfast - 3:45
3 - I Saw The Light - 2:55
4 - Five Generations - 4:41
5 - Sail Away - 3:10

Personnel:

John Michael Talbot - Banjo, Dobro, Electric Acoustic Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals
Johnny Talbot - Banjo, Dobro, Acoustic Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel, Vocals
Terry Talbot - Fiddle, 12 String, Acoustic, Electric Guitar, Jew's-Harp, Percussion, Piano, Vocals

Bill Cunningham - Fiddle, Mandolin, Acoustic 12-string guitar, "Steel Drum" Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

Kinky "the Stinger" Schnitzner - Electric Guitar

Tom Radtke - Percussion

Tim Ayers - Bass
Johnny Frigo - Fiddle
Art Nash - Drums, Percussion
Ron Schuetter - Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

Jimmie Haskell - String Arrangement

Warner Bros - WST-2657-C - 1973

reel-to-reel listings on eBay

Styrous® - Saturday, March 22, 2014

~

20,000 Vinyl LPs Archive
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes Archive
MAIN MENU - Blog Articles

~