The first self-titled album has been released in a re-mastered version and has the best sound. There are some really good authorized "bootleg" releases of live concerts from a company called kufala.
The self-titled album is my favorite--super songs and reasonably well-recorded. There are some fun, sunny day driving tunes and a few well-rendered laid back titles like "All I Ever Wanted". Great bass guitar playing throughout with Jerry providing some nice pedal steel.
Panama Red is also a great record, but there is a persistent tape hiss that encroaches on the music and is hard to ignore.
Here is a case where the Joe Gaswirt remastered cd's clearly surpass the original vinyl recordings--better bass, crisper highs and a fuller sound. I'd suggest looking for these either new or used.
This band had a shelf-life of 3, possibly 4 albums. Start with the first 3 (NRPS, Powerglide, Gypsy Cowboy) then only wind into Panama Red. PR is a lackluster effort even though it contains their "hit".
My personal fav is Gypsy Cowboy. Wicked hard to find in the used record stores, not too easy to find on CD either.
I would say the 'best' from top to bottom is the first, NRPS, but if I had to pick one it would be Gypsy Cowboy. These guys actually put out a lot of recorded music but the first three albums were never equalled (in my opinion). Buddy Cage was/(is) an amazing pedal steel guitarist and to see them live was a lot of fun and sometimes an adventure. I had a buddy who was supposed to introduce the band before they came on. He spent an hour with them backstage and couldn't do it... Buddy Cage was incredible on stage and also did some nice stuff when he was with Ian Tyson and Great Speckled Bird @ 1970 if you can find it.
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