The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band-The Rest Of The Dream (1990)

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band are one of the legendary American folk and country rock bands, with over thirty studio albums to their name, some of which have won Grammy Awards. They have also been voted the best country band for years and have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Formed on the American West Coast in the late 1960s by Jeff Hanna (guitar and vocals) and Jimmie Fadden (drums), they have undergone countless lineup changes throughout their more than 50-year career. With a style that encompassed traditional American sounds such as folk, bluegrass, country, blues, and Cajun, fused with rock, they achieved their greatest success in the 1970s and 80s with songs like "Mr. Bojangles," "House at Pooh Corner", "I Saw the Light", "Dance Little Jean", "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)", "Modern Day Romance", and "Fishin' in the Dark", among many others. Likewise, some of their albums are considered masterpieces of country and folk, such as "Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy" (1970), "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" (1972), "An American Dream" (1979), "Plain Dirt Fashion" (1984), "Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two" (1989), and "The Rest of the Dream" (1990). Focusing on this last one, "The Rest of the Dream", Following the groundbreaking "Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 2", it was quite a challenge to replicate that success. The result was a solid return to genuine country rock, setting aside their roots with classic country, folk, and bluegrass songs. Here, they showcased their more approachable, accessible, and commercial side with a series of pleasant and catchy tracks like "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)", "Just Enough Ashland City", "Waiting On A Dark Eyed Girl", and "Blow Out The Stars, Turn Off The Moon". With these songs, they demonstrated that, in addition to their deep roots style, they could also easily create songs for the FM radio stations that broadcast the new country-pop sounds so popular in the late eighties and early nineties.