Biography
During the middle and later portions of the 1960s, observers briefly speculated that Boston could emerge as the East Coast counterpart to San Francisco’s creative ferment; that scenario never unfolded, yet Earth Opera possessed as strong a claim as any ensemble to stand as the eastern equivalent of the Grateful Dead. Emerging from the urban folk revival of the early and mid-1960s, the group’s nucleus consisted of Peter Rowan, a guitarist and mandolinist who had previously performed bluegrass with Bill Monroe, and David Grisman, an accomplished mandolin player whose earlier credits included work with Siegel, Grisman, Rose & Lewinger. By the middle of the decade, even committed city-based folk musicians who catered to college listeners began absorbing influences arriving from Britain and California, exemplified by the Charles River Valley Boys’ Beatle Country and the Dillards’ Wheatstraw Suite.
In late 1967 Rowan and Grisman crossed the psychedelic divide first opened by the Beatles and their West Coast contemporaries, forming Earth Opera with John Nagy on bass, Paul Dillon, and Bill Stevenson on keyboards and vibraphone. The resulting sound gravitated toward the expansive passages of Anthem of the Sun rather than the strict parameters of Bill Monroe, although traces of bluegrass remained audible. Elektra Records, then capitalizing on the commercial breakthroughs of the Doors and Love, signed the band. Their debut album, produced by Grisman’s former colleague Peter Siegel and featuring Billy Mundi—formerly of the Mothers of Invention—on drums, represented the label’s most expansive release to date; its blend of folk and psychedelic elements echoed the music then emanating from San Francisco.
Although the self-titled LP failed to register on the charts, Elektra financed a follow-up, The Great American Eagle Tragedy. By this point Stevenson had departed, leaving a quartet. Nagy expanded his instrumental palette to include cello and mandocello, while Rowan took up tenor saxophone and Grisman played alto saxophone; additional contributors included John Cale on viola, Jack Bonus and Richard Grando on saxophones, pianist David Horowitz, pedal-steel guitarist Bill Keith, double-bass player Herb Bushler, and Bob Zachary on triangle. Despite the expanded personnel, the overall texture grew leaner and more transparent, rendering most tracks more approachable except for the ten-minute title piece. The album climbed to number 181 on the national charts, propelled by the number 97 showing of the single “Home to You” b/w “Alfie Finney.” Its cover art—a collage centered on a skull-like parody of the Presidential Seal—may have contributed marginally to this modest visibility by reflecting the prevailing mood of 1969.
Earth Opera nevertheless achieved little traction beyond Boston and disbanded later that year. Nagy subsequently established himself as a leading recording engineer and occasional session musician. Grisman and Rowan relocated to the West Coast, where both participated in Jerry Garcia’s short-lived bluegrass ensemble Old and in the Way; Grisman later appeared on the Grateful Dead’s American Beauty. Rowan joined the Blues Project offshoot Seatrain in 1970 in time to contribute to its second album and the single “13 Questions,” then formed Muleskinner alongside Clarence White, Grisman, and Seatrain alumnus Richard Greene. Rowan later pursued a solo career, while Grisman assembled the David Grisman Quartet and championed a fusion of bluegrass, jazz, and folk he termed “dawg music.” He also began scoring films in the 1970s, initially capitalizing on the post-Bonnie & Clyde association of bluegrass with crime pictures and car chases, supplying music for Big Bad Mama and Eat My Dust.
In 2002 Wounded Bird Records reissued both Earth Opera albums on CD. Their songs have appeared in anthologies documenting the so-called “Bosstown Sound,” and Elektra founder Jac Holzman cited the band among the late-1960s acts on his roster of which he remained proud in his book Follow the Music.
In late 1967 Rowan and Grisman crossed the psychedelic divide first opened by the Beatles and their West Coast contemporaries, forming Earth Opera with John Nagy on bass, Paul Dillon, and Bill Stevenson on keyboards and vibraphone. The resulting sound gravitated toward the expansive passages of Anthem of the Sun rather than the strict parameters of Bill Monroe, although traces of bluegrass remained audible. Elektra Records, then capitalizing on the commercial breakthroughs of the Doors and Love, signed the band. Their debut album, produced by Grisman’s former colleague Peter Siegel and featuring Billy Mundi—formerly of the Mothers of Invention—on drums, represented the label’s most expansive release to date; its blend of folk and psychedelic elements echoed the music then emanating from San Francisco.
Although the self-titled LP failed to register on the charts, Elektra financed a follow-up, The Great American Eagle Tragedy. By this point Stevenson had departed, leaving a quartet. Nagy expanded his instrumental palette to include cello and mandocello, while Rowan took up tenor saxophone and Grisman played alto saxophone; additional contributors included John Cale on viola, Jack Bonus and Richard Grando on saxophones, pianist David Horowitz, pedal-steel guitarist Bill Keith, double-bass player Herb Bushler, and Bob Zachary on triangle. Despite the expanded personnel, the overall texture grew leaner and more transparent, rendering most tracks more approachable except for the ten-minute title piece. The album climbed to number 181 on the national charts, propelled by the number 97 showing of the single “Home to You” b/w “Alfie Finney.” Its cover art—a collage centered on a skull-like parody of the Presidential Seal—may have contributed marginally to this modest visibility by reflecting the prevailing mood of 1969.
Earth Opera nevertheless achieved little traction beyond Boston and disbanded later that year. Nagy subsequently established himself as a leading recording engineer and occasional session musician. Grisman and Rowan relocated to the West Coast, where both participated in Jerry Garcia’s short-lived bluegrass ensemble Old and in the Way; Grisman later appeared on the Grateful Dead’s American Beauty. Rowan joined the Blues Project offshoot Seatrain in 1970 in time to contribute to its second album and the single “13 Questions,” then formed Muleskinner alongside Clarence White, Grisman, and Seatrain alumnus Richard Greene. Rowan later pursued a solo career, while Grisman assembled the David Grisman Quartet and championed a fusion of bluegrass, jazz, and folk he termed “dawg music.” He also began scoring films in the 1970s, initially capitalizing on the post-Bonnie & Clyde association of bluegrass with crime pictures and car chases, supplying music for Big Bad Mama and Eat My Dust.
In 2002 Wounded Bird Records reissued both Earth Opera albums on CD. Their songs have appeared in anthologies documenting the so-called “Bosstown Sound,” and Elektra founder Jac Holzman cited the band among the late-1960s acts on his roster of which he remained proud in his book Follow the Music.
Albums
