After recording a pair of records each for Capitol and Warner Bros.,
John Stewart moved over to RCA, where he remained a bit longer. Issued in 1973,
Cannons was released just about the time the outlaw movement was cracking it in Austin with
Willie Nelson,
Jerry Jeff Walker,
Waylon Jennings,
Billy Joe Shaver,
Guy Clark,
Townes Van Zandt,
Kris Kristofferson, and the rest.
Stewart's music could not have sounded more out of place with the Texans. This was California country music that had been drenched in
Stewart's folk influences and his love of West Coast production. To that end,
Nick Venet, who had produced his records at Capitol, returned to
Stewart's side. He enlisted some of old friends such as banjo boss
Bobby Thompson, drummer
Russ Kunkel, harmonicat
Charlie McCoy, pianist
Hargus "Pig" Robbins, and backing vocalist
Buffy Ford. Some of the newer faces are what make the difference, however, and these include
Pete Drake on pedal steel and dobro,
the Nashville Edition on backing vocals, and guitarists
Waddy Wachtel and
Kelso Herston. The laid-back feel of the disc is a
Venet trademark, but
Stewart's in fine voice and lyrical form. The loopy melody of "Easy Money" that straddles the line between soft rock and honky tonk is an example as is the forlorn folky country of "Chilly Winds." "Road Away" is Southern California country at its finest. The title cut with its tender chorus and gentle melody line is gorgeous here but would have been better served if cut by
Marty Robbins or even
Conway Twitty. This is like
Jimmy Webb without the acid. "Lady and the Outlaw" is a nod to what was happening in Austin despite its high-on-weed spoken word intro. But here it is,
Stewart rolling out a tune that could have been written by
Jerry Jeff and sung by either
Steve Young or
Waylon. It's a hell of a way to close an album and makes the listener long for an entire record of tunes like this -- which came with
Wingless Angels the very next year.