

Having Black on board, in particular, was crucial to re-capturing the sound that characterized the Lost Planet Airmen.



Now dubbed the Commander Cody Band, the new lineup featured two key members from the Lost Planet Airmen - bassist Bruce Barlow and pedal steel guitarist Bobby Black. When he returned to the road, the Commander enlisted a new group to replace the Lost Planet Airmen. The band eventually splintered in 1976, after recording We've Got a Live One Here during their European tour that year.
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had no idea how to market the pro-hippie, pot enthusiasts who played a sassy blend of country-swing, old time rock 'n' roll and classic rockabilly material. Also, having recently recorded what was considered his first "solo" album, Midnight Man, Frayne was eager to showcase new material for a captive audience over the nationally syndicated King Biscuit Flower Hour, who recorded the performance.Īlthough they had attained a fair amount of success recording on the Paramount Records label (including a Top 40 hit with a re-make of the 1958 rockabilly classic, "Hot Rod Lincoln"), Frayne's previous big band group, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, had fallen on hard times after switching to a major label, Warner Brothers Records, in 1975. First off, it was the Manhattan coming out party for his new group, entitled simply the Commander Cody Band. This was an important show for Commander Cody (a.k.a.
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Older tunes sound rehashed rather than refreshed and filled with stoney wonder, and newer tunes such as "Two Triple Cheese," just don't measure up to the classics.Ĭody completists will enjoy this document of the Commander's 1980's work, but for those wishing full immersion into the original experience, the Airmen's debut ("Lost in the Ozone") or an earlier live LP ("Live From Deep in the Heart of Texas") are better picks.Commander Cody - vocals, keyboards Bruce Barlow - bass Bobby Black - pedal steel guitar, vocals Tom Flye - percussion Cisco G - saxophone Darius Javahler - guitar Fred Myer - drums Nicolette Larson - background vocals Charra Penny - background vocals But despite Cody's energetic leadership and an enthusiastic crowd, the magic of the early days is gone. Bassist Dave Brown is a solid replacement for Buffalo Bruce Barlow, and the rest of the players are certainly competent. This 1982 recording features a latter-day edition of the Airmen, and sports only Cody and guitarist Bill Kirchen from the original lineup. Two posthumous live LPs provide additional coverage of their California gigs, Texas honky-tonkin' and European tours. Before drifting apart in 1977, they released three live albums by the core lineup. The original band was also a superb live outfit. The Airmen flushed out earfuls of overblown progrock with twangy pedal steel, boogie woogie pianos and a wicked sense of cultural mayhem. Early songs, like "Seeds and Stems (Again)," mixed country sentiment with hippie lifestyle, and their covers (e.g., "Hot Rod Lincoln") introduced classics to a whole new audience. There was a time in the early '70's when the most unlikely hippie stoners could be found digging the hardcore twang and jumpin' jive of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.
