Chet Nichols - The CD, Waving Prairie

WAVING PRAIRIE
by Chet Nichols

WAVING PRAIRIE is the long-awaited follow-up release to Chet's
critically-acclaimed and ground-breaking album, TIME LOOP.

It is filled with many endearing songs. His imagery, melodies and unique guitar tunings really shine on these tracks. Besides, playing many of the instruments on this CD, Chet and producer, Stephen Barncard bring in the "Who's Who" of San Francisco's best players and musicians to back Chet up on several songs. There
are also many songs with just Chet and his guitar which show his real strengths as a songwriter, musician and singer and re-affirm Chet's reputation as one of the key contributors and premier examples of the singer/songwriters of the 60's and 70's.

Chet continues to this day writing, producing and creating great songs

Chet's song, "Waving Prairie", was recently awarded the Grand Prize in Broadjam.com's Folk Song Contest. This the title tune to this CD.

The Songs:

1. Waving Prairie 5:40
2. Lady, Oh, Lady 3:13
3. Lumbering Mountain 3:58
4. Kites In The Country 7:15
5. Cloud Show 5:00
6. Judas Spy 3:45
7. Old Friends 4:05
8. Backstage 5:02
9. Earth River 5:31
10. Snow Line 4:31
11. Hawk market 3:21
12. Paradise 3:14
13. Red Tide 5:14
14. Lady, Oh, Lady (reprise) 3:13

All lyrics & music by Chet Nichols.
Produced by Stephen Barncard and Chet Nichols
Engineered by Stephen Barncard.
Recorded at Wally Heider’s in San Francisco in 1973-74
Cover design & Cover Photo by Chet Nichols

Copyright 2001 by Chet Nichols & Magic Garage Productions
All songs Copyrights by Chet Nichols (ASCAP)
& Magic Garage Music (ASCAP).
All rights reserved.

You can listen to some of Chet's music by scrolling through the music player below and making a selection. Or you can listen to ALL of Chet's song in their entirety at Chet's music site. You can also purchase CDs and MP3 downloads at Chet's Music Site.

Click Here To Go To The Music Site.
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Here is a Music Player that you can use to listen to Chet's various CDs. If you like a song, just click on the "Buy" icon and you will be taken to Chet's music site at iTunes where you can purchase the song as a digital music file. Pick up a song, today.

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CD REVIEWS of WAVING PRAIRIE:

WAVING PRAIRIE - A Review

"After having read my TIME LOOP review, Chet Nichols sent me a copy of the follow up album, WAVING PRAIRIE. It was recorded in 1973 and 74, but just prior to the release Chet Nichols got caught in a corporate squabble between Kama Sutra's president and a new owner who had just bought the record company (full details here). This resulted in the record never being released, the most unjust treatment any recording can ever receive. To make matters even worse the new label owners would not let Nichols out of his contract but didn't allow him to record either. This effectively ground his carreer to a halt."

"Chet Nichols finally released WAVING PRAIRIE himself in 2008 on his own small label. As I expected in advance, the album doesn't touch me the same way TIME LOOP does. After all TIME LOOP quickly became my personal standard to which all classic singer-songwriter & folk-pop releases are now compared. James Tayor, Joni Mitchell, all of those far better known folk artists have to eat quite a lot of TIME LOOP dust. But even Nichols' own later material, including WAVING PRAIRIE, doesn't quite scale the same heights in my opinion."

"Nevertheless this does not mean WAVING PRAIRIE is a weak or a bland record. This is still signature (early) Nichols, but a bit mellower, a bit less dynamic, and maybe also a bit more (even more) introspective. The style hasn't changed. Apart from the addition of horns in a few songs and the slide guitar in 'Judas Spy' any of these songs could easily pose as a TIME LOOP track. It just wouldn't have been one of the standouts."

"Since I feel the vocal melodies on general have less instant appeal this means that the album doesn't have the same ability to captivate you from the start. WAVING PRAIRIE is more the kind of record that will grow on you over time."

"As far as instant impact is concerned the crescendo in 'Earth River' and the title song itself are still impressive. The title track especially, with that surprising almost Oriental vocal harmony in the middle (that sadly isn't repeated) and the ethnic drums and with its fluent and slightly intricate (almost progressive) structure, is quite breathtaking and deservedly won the "Best Folk Song Contest" at Broadjam.com."

"On a finishing note my guess is that if you enjoyed the TIME LOOP, WAVING PRAIRIE, will please you as well. In fact, I think WAVING PRAIRIE feels like a companion album to TIME LOOP. So if you don't know Nichols' music yet (which is most likely the case), go to his site and start with (the must have) TIME LOOP first."

...... Johan, Brussels

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Chet Nichols Performance Resume

Chet has performed as a solo "Opening Act" in concert with:
The Jefferson Airplane
Jethro Tull
The Grateful Dead
George Carlin
Steve Martin
POCO
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Big Brother & The Holding Company
Linda Ronstadt
B.B. King
The Charlie Daniels Band
Dan Hicks & The Hotlicks
Brewer & Shipley
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils
It's A Beautiful Day
Pacific Gas & Electric
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
Mary Travers
Country Joe McDonald
The Grassroots
Hot Tuna
Mason Proffit
Blue Oyster Cult
Southern Comfort
John Lee Hooker
Richard Pryor
John Denver
The Guess Who
Steve Goodman
The Mary Clayton Band
The Kansas City Philharmonic ... and more

He has worked in recording studios with:
Stephen Barncard (David Crosby)
Spencer Dryden (The Jefferson Airplane)
Nicky Hopkins (The Rolling Stones)
Dave Garabaldi (Tower of Power)
Pete Sears (The Jefferson Airplane)
Nick Gravenities (Big Brother)
Sal Marquez (The "New" Tonight Show Band)
The New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Jack Shoerer (Van Morrison)
Henry Lewie (Joni Mitchell)
Don Preston (Wings)
Bill Bradley (Madonna)

Chet's music is available at Broadjam.com, iTunes, Amazon,
eMusic and most Interent music sites.

Listen To Chet's Music :: Contact Chet

Great hair, Chet!

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