Listening recommendations

[Phillip Leggett]

Hey folks!

Can I please get some recommendations for albums to listen to?

At the moment, I’m really into the Grevious Angel (Gram Parsons and Buddy Emmons) album.

I want to learn and get inspired, so anything would be helpful

Thanks in advance!

[Fred Treece]

I’d recommend using the forum search engine and typing in “essential pedal steel guitar recordings”.

But, it’s hard to resist adding personal suggestions, so here goes.

Emmylou Harris (Hank DeVito and Steve Fishell) - Anything mid-70’s to mid-80’s

Ricky Skaggs (Bruce Bouton/Lloyd Green/Weldon Myrick/Others) - same as above, especially “Highways And Heartaches”

George Strait (Paul Franklin/Others) - same as above

Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen (Bobby Black) - “Hot Licks Cold Steel & Truckers’ Favorites”

Poco (Rusty Young) - any of their first 8 or 10 albums.

Vince Gill & Paul Franklin - “Sweet Memories” and “Bakersfield”

Dire Straits/Notting Hillbillies (Paul Franklin) - “On Every Street”, “Missing…Presumed Having A Good Time”

[Bill McCloskey]

Lloyd Green:
The Big Steel Guitar
Cool Steel Man
Ten Shades of Green
Shades of Steel

Buddy Emmons:
The Black Album
Buddy Emmons Sings Bob Wills
Steel Guitar Jazz
Steel Guitar

Curly Chalker
Big Hits on Big Steel
More Ways to Play

David Wright:
David Wright on Bandstand

John Hughey
On and Off Stage

Julian Tharpe
Jet Age

Larry Bell
I've got Friends in Cold places

Maurice Anderson
Moods of Maurice Anderson Vol 1-4
Out of Nowhere
Sextet Sessions

Paul Franklin;
Just Picking

Tom Brumley
Tom Cattin'

Doug Jernigan
Uptown to Country
Skyhigh Steel
Doug and Bucky

Tom Morrell
How the West was Swung: many volumes

[John Larson]

Here are some I come back to often.

Live Albums/Recordings

Buck Owens & The Buckaroos - In Japan! (Tom Brumley)
Waylon Jennings - Waylon Live (Ralph Mooney)
Merle Haggard - Live in Austin, TX 1978 (Norm Hamlett)
Charley Pride - Charley Pride In Person (LLoyd Green)
Emmylou Harris - Last Date (Steve Fishell)
New Riders of the Purple Sage - Bear's Sonic Journals: Dawn of the New Riders of the Purple Sage (Jerry Garcia)
New Riders of the Purple Sage - Field Trip: Veneta, Oregon, 8/27/72 (Buddy Cage)
Dire Straits - On The Night (Paul Franklin)
Drive-By Truckers - Live From Austin, TX (John Neff)
Ray LaMontagne - Live At St. Luke's Church (Eric Heywood)
Son Volt - Live at Austin City Limits (Eric Heywood)
Cody Jinks - Red Rocks Live (Austin Tripp)
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Bear's Sonic Journals: Found in the Ozone (Steve Davis)

Studio Albums/Recordings
Johnny Paycheck - At Carnegie Hall (Lloyd Green) (Any of Paycheck's 60s output on Little Darlin' records with Lloyd on steel is worth a listen)
Merle Haggard - Swinging Doors and The Bottle Let Me Down (Ralph Mooney)
Buck Owens - Buck Owens (1961) (Ralph Mooney)
Buck Owens - Together Again (Tom Brumley)
Judy Collins - Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Buddy Emmons)
Tammy Wynette - Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad (Pete Drake/Hal Rugg/???)
The Flying Burrito Brothers - Hot Burritos! The Flying Burrito Brothers Anthology 1969–1972 (Sneaky Pete Kleinow/Al Perkins)
Thy Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo (Lloyd Green/JayDee Maness)
New Riders of the Purple Sage - Self Titled (Jerry Garcia)
New Riders of the Purple Sage - Gypsy Cowboy (Buddy Cage)
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - Lost in the Ozone (Steve Davis)
John Prine - John Prine (Leo LeBlanc)
Grateful Dead - American Beauty (Jerry Garcia)
Gordon Lightfoot - Summertime Dream (Pee Wee Charles)
Billy Joel - Piano Man (Eric Weissberg)
Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark (John Neff)
Son Volt - Trace (Eric Heywood)
Son Volt - Straightways (Eric Heywood)
Jeffrey Focault - Horse Latitudes (Eric Heywood)
Bill Frisell - Guitar In the Space Age! (Greg Leisz)
Cass McCombs - Catacombs (Greg Leisz)
Bon Iver - Bon Iver (Greg Leisz)
AF13, Suzanne Ciani, Greg Leisz - Milan (Greg Leisz)
Ray LaMontagne - God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise (Eric Heywood/Greg Leisz)
Ray Price - Night Life (Buddy Emmons)
David Allan Coe - The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy (Pete Drake/Lloyd Green)
George Jones - I Am What I Am (Pete Drake)
Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline (Pete Drake)
Vince Gill - Pocket Full of Gold (John Hughey)
Alan Jackson - Any of his 90s albums (Paul Franklin)
Keith Whitley - Don't Close Your Eyes (Paul Franklin)
Dwight Yoakam - Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room (Tom Brulmey)
The Desert Rose Band - first three studio albums (JayDee Maness)
Sturgill Simpson - High Top Mountain (Robby Turner)

[Phillip Leggett]

This is amazing and thank you very much everyone!

[ajm]

What is your goal for "listening"?

Personal enjoyment and/or inspiration and/or teaching?
It seems like the responders provided their favorites.
Which is Ok, except some or most of those recordings may be quite old and not "current".

Or
What to learn to be able to go out and play with a band?
Which goes along with: How long have you been playing?

[Fred Treece]

You could also investigate the 300 or so free video lessons available on YouTube, courtesy of the forum members who created and donated them to the Forum Beginners Lessons page.
viewtopic.php?t=329975

[Jack Hanson]

Here's a slightly obscure album circa 1977 that may be just a tad ahead of its time, and didn't make the cut on anyone's list above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=875Tg9Mv8Fg

[Douglas Schuch]

My favorite album for country steel guitar is, unfortunately, almost impossible to find on streaming sites these days: Bakersfield Bound by Chris Hillman and Herb Petersen, and featuring the pedal steel of JayDee Maness. If you haven't heard it, find a copy - you won't be disappointed.

[Jack Hanson]

My favorite album for country steel guitar is, unfortunately, almost impossible to find on streaming sites these days: Bakersfield Bound by Chris Hillman and Herb Petersen, and featuring the pedal steel of JayDee Maness. If you haven't heard it, find a copy - you won't be disappointed.

Agreed! Bakersfield Bound is a terrific album. JayDee is amazing (but we all knew that already).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59vsyCxg0hg