During the Clive Davis regime CBS/Sony unceremoniously dumped this album in 1971, couldn't be bothered to promote it yet were quick to reissue it on a vinyl twofer coupled with the superior followup album YOU WERE ON MY MIND, the duo's last joint project. Here at a pivotal point in the career trajectory of these artists (the irony of this Bear Family title, referring to a great country weepie on the sequel album, is not lost on Ian and Sylvia purists) is some of Ian's most assertively macho singing and songwriting and some of Sylvia's most ethereal backup and lead singing—check out the raunchier remake of "Summer Wages" (daringly restoring the word "hookers") or Sylvia's torch/jazz "Midnight" as proof. The unpromoted album tied into Ian's CTV series NASHVILLE NORTH, with the electrified and very commercial "More often than not" and "Some kind of fool" serving as intro and outro themes and Sylvia making ghostly and eldritch backup-harmony appearances (she later moved on to regular gigs on CBC Radio).The four bonus tracks are particularly interesting, since the arch-perfectionist Tysons rarely authorized the release of demos, outtakes or even live recordings. It was inevitable that hipsters Ian and Sylvia should playfully cover Mickey and Sylvia's "Love is strange," and this "Long beach," a topical companion to "Last lonely eagle," is a preliminary take on the British Columbia ecology song "Salmon in the sea," more sleekly perfected on the sequel album.On vinyl this was a self-titled release, the back cover promoting IAN AND SYLVIA WITH DAVID WILCOX, their newly recruited lead guitarist and mandolinist. Wilcox is featured impressively through the set (as Amos Garrett had been on GREAT SPECKLED BIRD), reappearing as GSB lead guitarist on YOU WERE ON MY MIND. The 11 core tracks were produced by John Hill, who also wrote the nifty strings charts, in sessions convened in Nashville, Manhattan and Toronto's Thunder Sound. The progressive Canadians had proudly returned to their roots, with the final album recorded entirely in Toronto and their solo followup albums also regularly laid down in the Dominion as Canadian-sourced projects.