The Gems- The Gems (no label given): The Guess

I'm not sure which is more obvious: that this is a country record, or that it's from the 1970s. I admit, the encomium from Porter Wagoner seems hard to top, or even equal, and the outfits on the front cover are a wash (they're both very, very country and very, very, '70s). The back cover garb is more country than '70s, as it still looks like something anyone in Nashville might wear, which is remarkable for clothing from the decade that gave us the leisure suit.

But the front cover also shows medallions around the necks of three of the five players, and hair--head, facial, and chest--that could only have happened in the '70s. Plus, there's what what's inside the gatefold:

Astrology hit big with the hippies in the 1960s and, like their grooming choices (or lack thereof) and clothing styles, percolated out to mainstream society the next decade. Thus, the star sign gallery. I assure you, the Gems were following, not leading. Here's an early example, from Buffalo Springfield's first album in 1966. . .

. . .but it really flowered in the '70s. The Ohio Players, Skin Tight and Fire (both 1974):

I thought about forgoing the Skin Tight interior as it was little too risque, but really, if this is the worst thing you accidentally see on the internet today, you're lucky.

How about the Grateful Dead? Here's a page from the 1972 European Tour program.

And the Isley Brothers. 1974 again, Live It Up.

So yeah, that Zodiac spread? Pretty damn '70s. But there's another thing we have to consider. Take a closer look at that back cover. Do you see it? No, not the price tag that Goodwill attached with crazy glue because they're awful. The other thing.

That, my friends, is a powder blue plush frame for a mixing board. That's so '70s that it's worth the Wagoner note plus a pair of Johnny Cash affidavits notarized by Willie Nelson. If you could dig one of those up for your studio, hipster bands would book it solid for the next 800 years.

You will notice that there's no record label. I have a theory that they're big deal Nashville studio pros taking a rare shot at doing their own thing, and that this is a private press record (if I'm right, fuck you even harder, Goodwill). If I knew more about country, the names of the players might mean something to me, but despite a significant boost in said knowledge courtesy of Tyler Mahan Coe's amazing Cocaine & Rhinestones, I'm nowhere close to the league of people who'd know who those guys are.

With no label and no definitive year, it's tough to guess what kind of country this'll be. The best I can do is that if I'm right about them being studio pros, there will be pedal steel and a very full production; this is not stripped down roots or outlaw country.

Do you know who any of the band members are? Post below.