Shanked it!

The lineage between, say, Gene Clark and the Byrds, the Flamin' Groovies, Tom Petty, the Long Ryders and the Hanging Stars (to name but a few) is not hard to detect - you can see it from space. The dots that join all these jangly 12 strings is essentially what keeps guitar shops the world over in business.

Sid Griffin - front man of the aforementioned Long Ryders and subsequently the Coal Porters - is an eighth generation Kentuckian who has lived in London for the last 10 years. His knowledge of Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, Alt. Country (which he invented btw) and just music in general is pretty much unparalleled and he's a fantastic raconteur to boot; I'd like to meet Mr. Griffin. I think I'd also like to meet Barry Shank. Barry Shank was the original bass player with the Long Ryders who jumped ship before they got a record deal (to do a doctoral degree). But not before he'd written this gem. And it is a gem too.

The Long Ryders - Ivory Tower (1984)