Skip

Personnel: Skip Battin (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, bass); ClarenceWhite (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); Roger McGuinn (12-string guitar); Billy Mundi, John Guerin (drums); Spanky McFarlane (background vocals).
Audio Remasterer: Tony Poole.
A true Hollywood cowboy, Skip Battin writes songs in a country-rock style that frequently concern themselves with the silver screen, a tendency that turned up during his tenure in the Byrds on songs like "Citizen Kane" and that is apparent here on his debut solo album on songs like "Valentino." Battin's songwriting partner is the notorious Kim Fowley, and the backup band includes former Byrds Clarence White and Roger McGuinn, not to mention Spanky McFarlane of Spanky & Our Gang. Combined with Battin's nasal voice, the result is country-pop novelty music, good for an album track or two on a Byrds album, but hard to sustain for an entire LP. ~ William Ruhlmann