Arguably the most influential and long-lasting release of Sid Griffin’s career Native Sons is now re-released with the entire 10-5-6- EP added as well as three tracks fromt the abandoned 5 By 5 sessions at A&M Studios, the Long Ryders’ first three demos and the B-side Close To The Light, a completely different mix to the LP version. This is the LP which kickstarted Americana and put the “alt” into Alt-Country!

Final Wild Son/ Still Get By/ Ivory Tower/ Run Dusty Run/ (Sweet) Mental Revenge/ Fair Game/ Tell It To The Judge On Sunday/ Wreck Of The 809/ Too Close To The Light/ Never Got To Meet Her/ I Had A Dream/ Join My Gang (first of sixfrom tracks 10-5-60 EP)/ You Don’t Know What’s Right, You Don’t Know What’s Wrong/ 10-5-60/ Born To Believe In You/ The Trip/ And She Rides/ Time Keeps Travelling (first of three tracks from abandoned “5 by 5″ sessions) / I Can’t Hide/ Masters Of War/ Still Get By ( first of three tracks Radio Tokyo sessions, 1983) / 10-5-60/ And She Rides/ Too Close To The Light (b-side mix, UK only)

You can buy it here on sidgriffin.com via the links below or in the Sid Griffin Store with a host of other Prima Records releases.

“One of history’s unjustly neglected groups, the Long Ryders sprang from LA’s Paisley Underground scene and quickly moved from neo-psychedelia to a tough form of country rock. This Waylong Jennings cover from their debut full-length, Native Sons, is (newly reissued) alt-country before alt-country existed.”
Michael Hann, The Guardian

Buy it now:

£10 including P&P (UK customers)

£11 including P&P (Rest of world)

You can also buy Native Sons via amazon.co.uk or amazon.com and you can now also download Long Ryders releases on iTunes.

They were the number one Indie/Alternative band in the USA in the mid-1980s and if it wasn’t for The Smiths they would’ve held that crown in the UK as well. The Long Ryders are now seen as a primary ingredient in what is now alt-country or Americana and Sid Griffin & Co. are equally seen as THE link in the chain connecting Gram Parsons then with the Kings Of Leon now. NME cover boys with TV appearances in country after country and with a tour schedule which helped them hone the hottest live show to ever feature a 12-string Rickenbacker, glorious songs and punk energy they had it all!

For their first shows in seventeen years the Long Ryders proved they still had it as they tore the roof off London’s fabled Dingwall’s venue on the hottest night of 2004. Featuring a smokin’ solid hour of footage from that London show and with five extra songs filmed back in their 1985/1986 heyday this is the first authorised Long Ryders DVD and the closest and best way you will ever but ever get to see them!

You can order it here: 991.com and here: hmv.com

Barcelona 5 November 2004. Photo: Mike Kostek

The Long Ryders’ last European gig ever. Note Sid Griffin’s Lennonesque “Elvis Beatle” appearance (circa Revolver) and 1966 Gibson ES-345 guitar.

A Long Ryders’ rare version of Bob Dylan’s Masters Of War appeared on a free give away CD in Mojo magazine’s July 2005 issue whose theme was Dylan. Simultaneously Uncut magazine’s free CD had the Long Ryders’ And She Rides on it! And besides a DVD of live performance footage taken from their 2004 reunion tour there is also a separate Long Ryders Live 2004: State Of Our Re-union CD which was released on Prima Records late in 2007.

At midnight on Sunday June 13 VH2′s Americana cable TV show will start with the Byrds’ performing “Turn, Turn, Turn” while the second song will be the Long Ryders legendary video of “Looking For Lewis & Clark”. This program is repeated on Wednesday June 16 at midnight and VH2 say they plan to play the Long Ryders video on the show in the week after as well. Get your VCRs ready to tape!

Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel will also be shown on April 29 and May 2 at the Nashville Film Festival in Tennessee.

March 5, 2004 saw the initial BBC showing of Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel, the ninety minute documentary Sid has been working on for most of 2003. And the reviews have been incredible so far! A co-production between the German production company Spothouse and the BBC, this is the first of several planned film documentaries for Sid.

Early bass players included Des Brewer and Professor Barry Shank. Larry Chatman played on the band’s final US tour in 1987 but did not record with the Long Ryders although his picture does appear in the original Metallic B.O. cassette. (Shank is now a full professor at Ohio State University and Chatman now is Dr. Dre’s main personal assistant. Obviously leaving the band was a wise career move.)