People who witnessed those amazing shows still talk about how magical they were. Plans for a world tour with The Montgomeries as the opening act for Van were hammered out but never got off the ground. Further complicating hopes of working together was the decision in 1971 by Van to relocate to the West Coast. Meanwhile, bad management had let several good record deals fall through the cracks leaving the members of The Montgomeries restless to try other things. Sadly, the group disbanded never having recorded a single album although rare bootlegs of their live appearances and demos continue to be circulated by devoted fans, including their 1970 performance at the FILLMORE EAST.
Shortly after The Montgomeries called it quits, Jon started working for Albert Grossman at his newly constructed Bearsville Sound Studio. Originally envisioned as THE BAND’S personal studio, it quickly became one of the most popular places for many well known artists of the period to record.
The business manager of Bearsville was Jim Rooney who had previously run the famous Folk venue “Club 47" in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 60s.
Jim was a performer in his own right who had an affection for Bluegrass music. Jon and Jim often talked about how great it would be to get back to playing their own music instead of listening to everyone else’s. Finally, after months of informal “picking" sessions at one or the other’s house after work, they decided to get serious. Dave soon joined in and the group BORDERLINE was formed.
BORDERLINE was an ambitious challenge from the start. Each member represented a distinctly different musical orientation. Dave’s songs echoed the best of country western giants like George Jones and Merle Haggard, Jim was the bluegrass traditionalist, and Jon kept true to his blues, rock and jazz roots. As odd a collection of musicians as this might seem, the music they made together created a unique synergy of influences that managed to break new musical ground in its day. Getting all of these divergent styles to coexist was nothing short of miraculous. Based on the positive reports they were hearing from their A&R people, United Artists Records signed them in 1972. The three decided to record their first album, “Sweet Dreams & Quiet Desires" at Bearsville with an outstanding cast of supporting musicians largely drawn from the Woodstock area. Produced by Jim and Jon, the album featured mostly original material with a few traditional songs thrown in. Joining them were RICHARD MANUEL and GARTH HUDSON of THE BAND, JOHN SIMON, DAVE SANBORN, BILLY MUNDI, JIM COLEGROVE, BEN KEITH, NICK JAMESON, VASSAR CLEMENTS, and KEN KOSEK. It was released the following year on the AVALANCHE/UNITED ARTISTS label to international critical acclaim. Bob Sarlin writing in CRAWDADDY said, “If my first instincts are correct, BORDERLINE has managed to achieve a certain amalgamation of sound that a lot of people lately have been attempting... Through it all, the harmonies stay strong and the beat goes on and there is the unmistakable feeling that here is a band on its way... They will be a major group soon."
Even the press shy Van Morrison gave United Artists permission to quote his personal endorsement to promote the album. The record sold moderately well considering the fact they did only a handful of live performances. No wonder. It proved difficult if not impossible to get commitments from many of the musicians who had played on the record. So with prospects to fashion Borderline into a touring band diminishing, they instead focused their attention on making another album.
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