My family and I moved from the UK to Singapore in 1979. My father's employer paid for us to stay at 'The Seaview Hotel' while we settled into our new life in the Lion City. The hotel (which is now 6 blocks of 23-storey condominiums) was located in Katong on the East Coast of the island. At age 14, I revelled in the freedom Singapore had to offer. I roamed the vibrant city all day with a $5 note in my pocket. I could afford to eat exotic food, hang-out at McDonald's on Orchid Road, buy bootleg records at the markets or even take a taxi home if I need one... I felt like a real rock star!
I had soon mapped-out all of the record stores in the city. I would walk from one end of the city to the other dressed in my leather jacket and denim cut-off which was plastered in band patches. I would endlessly flip through racks of records in the anticipation of finding a new release by one of my favourite artists. Yes, my rock 'uniform' had to go. The sweltering heat of the tropics was not suitable for my 'heavy metal' image, from now on band t-shirts would to have to suffice!
Record store bargain bins always caught my eye, even though they were filled with the familiar flops. It was in a little record store in Katong Shopping Centre on Mountbatten Road where I spotted DON'T LOOK DOWN. I was intrigued by the album cover, I had never heard of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, they looked like a wild bunch of guys reminiscent of Lynyrd Skynyrd who I loved, and at $10 what was there to lose?
It wasn't until weeks later when we had moved into a house in Lucky Heights that I tentatively dropped the needle on my new find.
I was fairly disappointed with the first song, the band seemed a bit too 'middle of the road' for my liking. The second song was more of the same, I was beginning to realize why DON'T LOOK DOWN was in the bargain bin. But then track three "Giving It All To The Wind" grabbed my attention with its haunting harp and beautiful acoustic guitar introduction. The melody was sublime, the instrumentation heartwarming and the sweet vocals of Larry Lee resonated with my soul. I was transfixed with this song, which would reappear again and again during the course of my life. One occasion occurred while living in Central Queensland, Australia where I purchased a windsurfing DVD. The soundtrack included "Giving It All To The Wind" which had the same hypnotic effect on me. Not only was it like meeting an old friend again after many years, but the song transported me back to the tropics, back to Katong, back to my windsurfing days and back to the record player in our living room at Lucky Heights.
In 1982, after spending 11 years with the band, Larry Lee moved to Nashville to concentrate on his solo career. To be honest, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils had run out of steam, a revolving door of band members had changed the chemistry of their once loved laid-back Country Rock sound. DON'T LOOK DOWN remains one of my favorite Ozark Mountain Daredevils albums, a typical OMD patchwork of Country, Rock, Bluegrass and Pop. Clever little devils!
SONGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
- "Giving It All To The Wind"
- "Following The Way That I Feel"
- "Valencia Road"