Barry McGuire & The Doctor: Barry McGuire & The Doctor. CD

Legendary Singer-Songwriter Barry McGuire First Tasted Stardom as a Member of The New Christy Minstrels Before Scoring a #1 Solo Hit in 1965 with “Eve of Destruction”

But by 1971, Barry Was Miles Away from His Chart-Topping Protest Song Days Mentally, Artistically, and Commercially

Fueled by Copious Quantities of Illicit Substances, He and Guitar Prodigy “Doctor”
Eric Hord, Who Had Played Guitar for The Mamas and The Papas, Recorded Barry McGuire & the Doctor, by Far the Most “Out There” Album McGuire Ever Made

Produced by Lou Adler and Two of Barry’s Pals from The New Christy Minstrels, Nick Woods and Art Podell

Features Such Country-Rock Pioneers as Chris Hillman (Byrds), “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow (Flying Burrito Brothers), Byron Berline (Dillard and Clark), and Bernie Leadon (The Eagles)

Also Features an Uncredited Herb Alpert on “South of the Border”

Country-Rockin’ Jams with a Side of Blues and Psychedelia

The Album Did Not Sell a Lick, but Has Since Become a Bona-Fide Cult Classic, Recently Cited in No Depression as “A Lost Treasure of the Era”

Tom Pickles’ Liner Notes Features Lengthy Quotes from McGuire and Album Producer Podell

Rare Photos
Remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision

McGuire’s Last “Secular” Album Before Re-Emerging as a Christian Artist

Worldwide CD Debut

Who hasn’t heard “Eve of
Destruction?” Certainly no one who
lived through the Sixties. It’s one
of the most iconic protest songs of
the era, sung by one of the most
instantly recognizable voices of a
generation...Barry McGuire. But
here’s an album that came a wee
bit later—1971, to be specific—
that’s unlike anything McGuire had
done before or has done since.
Produced by Lou Adler and two of
Barry’s former pals from the New
Christy Minstrels (Nick Woods
and Art Podell,) Barry McGuire
and the Doctor was a freewheeling
collaboration with blues guitarist “Doctor” Eric Hord, so called because
of his wizardry on guitar. It was recorded at a dark time in Barry’s life when he was, in his words, “out of control.” There was a lot...a lot...
of white powder at the sessions, but in spite of that (and, perhaps, a
wee bit because of that) the album stands as Barry’s nest work in the opinions of blues/rock critics. Essentially a series of country blues jam sessions reminiscent of some of Fred Neil’s more outre work, the music
is a marriage of Hord’s artistry on blues guitar and McGuire’s storytelling charms. Hord had been lead guitarist for The Mamas and The Papas,
and his name carried weight among rock musicians in Los Angeles at the time; thus, the project attracted an all-star cast of country rock pioneers. Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke of The Byrds, “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow
of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Byron Berline of Dillard and Clark, and Bernie Leadon of The Eagles all played on the sessions. Even Herb Alpert (uncredited) added a haunting trumpet accent to one track, “South of the Border.”

Upon its release in November 1970, sales were dismal. Barry remembers, “The album got no airplay... Could be it was ahead of its time...could be it was too raw...too loose...” But, it generated the most positive reviews of Barry’s career. In a 2013 review, the No Depression website called it “McGuire’s best album and a lost treasure of the era... It
is a masterfully engineered series of live-in-the-studio sessions focused on Hord playing a variety of stringed instruments including slide and lap steel, while McGuire holds forth on his 12-string and some seriously earthy and passionate blues-harp. Songs like ‘Train,’ ‘Electric Train,’ and ‘Meet Me at the Bottom’ rock with a Piedmont feel that’s fresh and original.”

Barry McGuire and the Doctor captures a fascinating, if bittersweet, moment in Barry’s life, his last “secular” recording before re-emerging
as a Christian artist. While his memories of those recording sessions are still dark, even a bit frightening, the music that remains is anything but... providing reassuring evidence that there can indeed be something to this notion of silver linings. The liner notes, written by Tom Pickles, include an interesting chronicle of Barry’s career and behind the scenes recollections of the sessions from Barry himself and producer Art Podell, along with a bunch of rare photos. Remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision, this release marks a long-overdue CD debut for a true cult classic.