Terry and the Pirates (Oh Boy, 1990s)

It's story time...

Back in the summer of 1995, when things were much simpler and I had just recently graduated from college, I thought that I had it made. I had just started what was for me a dream job. Even though I have few nice things to say about my alma mater, the University of Illinois (aka Screw of I), Urbana-Champaign did have a good number of record stores, including my place of employment, Village Green Records, which was located in the downtown district of the latter of the aforementioned twin "cities." (Don't bother looking for it now since it went out of business years ago.) At that point in my music-collecting life, I was obsessed with all things San Francisco circa 1965-1970, and my boss had numerous items in his inventory that satisfied my cravings. In some cases, I used my employee discount to purchase particularly coveted items. In others, I used the tape deck of the in-store sound system to make cassette copies of CDs and LPs that interested me. I remember listening to a lot of Quicksilver Messenger Service that summer, and I was determined to get my hands on anything that featured the work of one of my favorite guitarists, John Cipollina.

In the glass display case at the front counter of the store, my boss had several "import" CDs of mostly 1960s and 1970s rock bands, including this double-disc set by Terry and the Pirates, often referred to as the Oh Boy Bootleg. The spine of the CD case back insert identifies this as a John Cipollina release even though the cover of the booklet lists Terry Dolan as the group leader. So, not knowing who the hell Terry and the Pirates were at the time (other than a reference to the old comic strip) but seeing that there was involvement from Cipollina, I figured that this album would be at least worth copying. Man, was I right. For the next three years, this cassette was one of the most regularly played items on my Walkman and in the tape deck of my beloved 1992 Acura Integra (which I finally parted with last November - rest in piece in whatever junkyard you currently reside). Even though the Oh Boy Bootleg was probably intended for Terry and the Pirates completists, it served as my introduction to Terry Dolan and earned him another well-deserved fan.

Terry and the Pirates are one of the few post-1970 San Francisco groups that I like as much as bands from the city's earlier psychedelic heyday. Equally at home performing rock numbers or folk-influenced acoustic material, the various incarnations of this band represent all that is great about American music. The Oh Boy Bootleg collects demo material (Dolan solo and with group) and live performances most likely from the early to mid-1980s, which otherwise is a real low point in music history as far as I'm concerned. Some of these songs would also appear as more polished versions on other Terry and the Pirates releases. The first eight tracks are just Dolan and his acoustic guitar, though on some songs it seems to be treated with some sort of effects device. These selections include well-chosen covers such as Mance Lipscomb's "Sugar Babe," Tim Buckley's "Pleasant Street," and Bob Dylan's "I'll be Your Baby Tonight." (On the last number, you can hear a San Francisco Giants baseball game on TV or radio playing in the background. The announcer mentions former outfielder Jeffrey Leonard, MVP of the 1987 NLCS, whose 1981-1988 tenure with the team helps provide an approximate date for the songs on this collection.) Other tracks include folk material like "I Ride on Ol' Paint" and "Cuckoo" (part of the "Jack o' Diamonds" family of songs) in addition to originals like "Queen of Thieves," "Hard to be Soft," and "Big Divide," the last of which reflects Dolan's fondness for the Old West.

"Truer Than Blue" is a work of sublime beauty with a haunting flute as well as...is that a glockenspiel? On "So Who Asked You," you can finally hear the guitar of Cipollina with that distinctive vibrato. "I Can't Dance" and "Love's Made a Fool of You" are fine group performances of old standards. "Dog Mountain Blues" has appeared on other releases of dubious legality and showcases Dolan's exquisitely yearning vocals. "Maya," "Jesse's Song," and "I Wish I Were Your River" are live tracks possibly all recorded at the same show, which, from the sound of it, would have been a great gig to have attended. As the title indicates, track number 18 is Dolan's monologue wherein he explains the background of some of the songs. However, you'll need to crank up the volume to hear what he's saying. "Shadow of the Buffalo" continues Dolan's fixation on the Old West to good musical effect. The concluding five tracks highlight Cipollina's guitar pyrotechnics to varying degrees, especially on the two versions of "99 Rock," which sound like they could have been attempts at a jingle for a radio station or something similar.

Obviously, this is a rip from a cassette copy of a CD, so some of you may be concerned about the sound quality. My recollection is that the original source sounded a bit muddy to begin with, and I don't think the MP3 versions of these tracks are that much worse. This is a bootleg, after all. Despite the sonic limitations, this is music of a timeless beauty by a true American original. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.

Get their excellent album from 1980, The Doubtful Handshake, here.

1. Sugar Babe
2. Pleasant Street
3. Queen of Thieves
4. Big Divide
5. Cuckoo
6. Hard to be Soft
7. I Ride on Ol' Paint
8. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
9. Truer Than Blue
10. So Who Asked You
11. I Can't Dance
12. All in Your Mind
13. Love's Made a Fool of You
14. Dog Mountain Blues
15. The Beginning
16. Maya
17. Jesse's Song
18. Terry Talks About the Songs
19. I Wish I Were Your River
20. Writin' You a Letter
21. Shadow of the Buffalo
22. Brown Skin Monkey Bag - Verse 1
23. Brown Skin Monkey Bag - Verse 2
24. Jungle Love
25. 99 Rock #1
26. 99 Rock #2