'Frisco Mabel Joy is a 1971 studio album by singer-songwriter Mickey Newbury. This was the second of three albums Newbury recorded at Cinderella Sound. The album includes the original version of "An American Trilogy", which Elvis Presley later performed in his Las Vegas shows with much success. "How Many Times " is a dramatically re-imagined version of a song first released on Harlequin Melodies, Newbury's RCA debut. Other standout tracks include "The Future's Not What It Used to Be", "Remember the Good", "Frisco Depot", and "How I Love Them Old Songs". The track "San Francisco Mabel Joy" was not initially part of the album, though it is included on some versions. ’Frisco Mabel Joy was collected for CD issue on the eight-disc Mickey Newbury Collection from Mountain Retreat, Newbury's own label in the mid-1990s, along with nine other Newbury albums from 1969 to 1981. In 2011, it was reissued again, both separately and as part of the four-disc Mickey Newbury box setAn American Trilogy, alongside two other albums recorded at Cinderella Sound, Looks Like Rain and Heaven Help the Child. This release marks the first time that 'Frisco Mabel Joy has been released on CD in remastered form, after the original master tapes were rediscovered in 2010.
Track listing
All songs written by Mickey Newbury, except where noted.
"San Francisco Mabel Joy" was covered by folk singerJoan Baez on her 1971 album Blessed Are....
John Denver recorded "San Francisco Mabel Joy" on his 1981 album Some Days Are Diamonds.
Elvis Presley made the song a part of his Las Vegas shows in 1972, and his version was included on live albums ', ', , and Elvis' 1972 documentary Elvis on Tour. The song is largely associated with Presley's interpretation, though in execution it is substantively different from Newbury's original version.
"Frisco Depot" was recorded by Waylon Jennings in 1972 prior to his breakthrough Lonesome, On'ry and Mean which included Newbury's "San Francisco Mabel Joy". Robert Forster included "Frisco Depot" on his 1995 covers albumI Had a New York Girlfriend. The song has also been covered by Roberta Flack and Ronny Cox.
Roger Miller recorded "Swiss Cottage Place" prior to the release of Newbury's LP.
Ronnie Milsap recorded a version of "The Future's Not What It Used To Be" in 1977.
In 2000 Peter Blackstock, the founder of No Depression magazine, organized a multi-artist tribute that recreated the entire album titled Frisco Mabel Joy Revisited. Artists that participated in the recording include Dave Alvin performing "Mobile Blue," Michael Fracasso's "Remember The Good," and Kris Kristofferson recording "San Francisco Mabel Joy".
Manowar included "An American Trilogy" on their 2002 album Warriors of the World
