This 1969 show at L.A.'s venerable Troubadour club was something of a coming-out party for the new country-rock sound of former rock-pop teen idol Rick Nelson. With his Stone Canyon Band—which initially included future Eagles bassist Randy Meisner and erstwhile Buck Owens steel guitarist Tom Brumley—Nelson tackles tunes by contemporary songsmiths Bob Dylan, Eric Andersen, and Tim Hardin, as well as giving Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" and his own 1961 hit "Hello Mary Lou" twangy reworkings. But "Easy to Be Free" shows off Nelson's songwriting chops, and in retrospect, his emergence as a country-rock pioneer makes perfect sense.

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