Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther’s ‘Longbranch/Pennywhistle’ Is Getting Reissued
Nearly 50 years after its initial release, a collaboration between late Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey and his longtime songwriting partner J.D. Souther will get another shot at the spotlight. Longbranch/Pennywhistle will be reissued on Sept. 28.
First released in 1969, the album was made available earlier this year as part of the Frey box set, Above the Clouds: The Collection. It will soon be released as a standalone record for the first time on CD. It will also come out on vinyl. The set was produced by Tom Thacker, and remastered and remixed by producer and engineer Elliot Scheiner —who has previously worked with Eagles, Steely Dan and Toto — along with Souther.
Frey and Souther spent some time writing and recording together before splitting up when their record company shut down. Frey went on to co-found Eagles, while Souther mainly enjoyed a solo solo career, but they always fondly recalled their early days together.
Frey, a Detroit native, later recounted the day he first met Souther. “My very first day in California, I drove … to Laurel Canyon, and the first person I saw standing on the porch at the Canyon Store was David Crosby," he said. "He was dressed exactly the way he was on the second Byrds album — that cape and the flat wide-brimmed hat. He was standing there like a statue. And the second day I was in California I met J. D. Souther.”
Souther also had great memories of Frey, who died in January 2016. “[He] was my roommate, best friend, and first songwriting partner in Los Angeles,” he said.
“We knew we were onto something original, as are most young musicians, including our soon-to-be friends and collaborators Jackson Browne and Don Henley. But quite honestly, we were just trying to do our best work in a very competitive environment. If in doing that we evolved a new architecture of some sort, fine, but remember, we were all listening carefully to each other and to the giants before and among us. We listened to Miles [Davis], Hank Williams, Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Trane, Bach, Cole Porter, Tim Hardin, Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Carole King to name a few. We always said that if you want to make great music, you should listen to great music. This album was our freshman project."
Other music luminaries appear on Longbranch/Pennywhistle too, including rockabilly guitarist James Burton, slide guitarist Ry Cooder, Buddy Emmons on pedal steel, Wrecking Crew pianist Larry Knechtel, drummer Jim Gordon, bassist Joe Osborn and fiddler Doug Kershaw.
You can see the track listing below.
'Longbranch/Pennywhistle' Track Listing
1. Jubilee Anne
2. Run Boy, Run
3. Rebecca
4. Lucky Love
5. Kite Woman
6. Bring Back Funky Women
7. Star-Spangled Bus
8. Mister, Mister
9. Don’t Talk Now
10. Never Have Enough