Thankfully, the well of fantastic reissue finds is unlikely to dry up anytime soon; while we were somewhat familiar with the name Chris Darrow (if mainly through having once stocked Everlasting's 2009 deluxe LP boxset compiling his 1973 self-titled album and '74's Under My Own Disguise), this Drag City release of 1972's Artist Proof is a worthy official (and far less limited) introduction to the man's work—we're glad to have finally fully made its/his acquaintance!
"The history of rock and roll in the 1960s is filled with side trips and familiar names mixed together with more trips involving even more names, sometimes less known. One of those names still owed a piece of your mind is California picker, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris Darrow. Already a veteran of several bands and scenes on the L.A. landscape, Chris was a founding member of the west coast Kaleidoscope. He went his own way after the recording of their second album A Beacon From Mars to pursue music on his own terms...Chris' solo debut is a rich and powerful dose of California country rock, written almost entirely by Chris and played with grit and precision by a cast of great players." - Groove Attack Records
"Artist Proof is a coming together of young people testing their formative influences in the light of a new day, creating something different in the process, which is likely why the album feels so fresh! Back in print for the first time in 40 years and finally ushered into the digital realm, Artist Proof's debossed LP jacket has been carefully reproduced along with photos from Chris Darrow's archive, bringing back the time of a new feeling in American music in all its melodic, singular glory." - Drag City