Mason Proffit
Bareback Rider
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

1973 US original Santa Maria pressing housed in a "Uni-Pak" style gatefold. Corner bumps/small creases. Nice slice of Folk-Rock out of Chicago. “Mason Proffit's Second Major-Label Album And Fifth Album Overall Was Similar In Construction To Its Predecessor, Rockfish Crossing. Once Again, The Talbot Brothers And Their Supporting Players Turned In A Combination Of Effective Originals That Touched On Subjects From Romance To Politics With Some Enthusiastically Performed Country Covers, Notably A Version Of "Setting The Woods On Fire" That Sounded Like A Deliberate Attempt To Impersonate Jerry Lee Lewis And Featured A Furious Kazoo Solo. The Political Element Came Out In "Black September/Belfast," With Its Reflections On Northern Ireland And Vietnam. You'd Have Thought That Music This Impressive Could Get A Hearing, But Mason Proffit Appeared At A Time When Music Fans Were More Polarized Than Musicians, Not Only By Music But By Politics And Culture. Despite The Band's Evident Affection For Traditional Country Music, Their Left-Wing Political Stance And Status As Hippie Rock Musicians Meant They Could Never Be Accepted In Nashville. And Their Music Was Too Overtly Country For Them To Score A Pop Hit. Thus, They Were Doomed To Appeal Only On The Country-Rock-Oriented Los Angeles Club Scene And To Some Music Critics. Bare Back Rider Did A Little Better Than Rockfish Crossing Had, Even Scraping Into The Charts For A Couple Of Weeks, But That Wasn't The Level Of Success A Major Label Expected, And Mason Proffit Was Forced To Hang Up Its Spurs.” All Music Guide – William Ruhlmann