Lucero (Rock) - Tennessee

Artist:

Lucero

UPC:

661185001123

Description:

Lucero: Ben Nichols (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano); Brian Venable (acoustic & electric guitars, 12-string guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro); John C. Stubblefield (acoustic & electric basses); Roy Berry (drums, programming). Additional personnel: Clint Wagner (banjo, violin); Woogie Boogie (piano, organ); East Memphis (piano); Cory Branan, Red Burnside (background vocals). Recorded at The Zebra Ranch, Coldwater, Mississippi on August 20-23, 2001. Personnel: Ben Nichols (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano); Clint Wagner (banjo, violin); East Memphis Slim (piano); John C. Stubblefield (upright bass, electric bass); Roy Berry (drums, drum programming); Cory Branan, R.L. Burnside (background vocals). Recording information: Sam Phillips Recording Service (08/20/2001-05/20/2002); Zebra Ranch Studio, Coldwater, MS (08/20/2001-05/20/2002). Ben Nichols, leader of Memphis alt-country rockers Lucero, claims he had never heard of Uncle Tupelo back when he traded in his punk stripes for a more roots rock sound. While this may sound like typical rhetoric from upstarts trying to avoid being cast into the alt-country ghetto, Tennessee, the group`s sophomore outing, is strong enough evidence to back up that claim. Listening to this defiantly organic and strong release, one gets the sense that Nichols adopted a countrified sound simply because it seemed the shortest path to the heart. The album is packed with leather-tough Americana such as "Nights Like These," -- which is all guitar-crunch, rolling B-3 organ, and Nichols` hot-tar emotive rasp -- and the gliding, melodic country-rock of "Ain`t So Lonely." There are also plenty of ruminative, bruised numbers on the album, such as "Sweet Little Thing," which eventually bursts out of a stark verse to reveal a Replacements-style hear-tugging rocker. The songs get a big kick in the pants from Nichols` vocals; he`s a raw singer in the tradition of Steve Earle, Paul Westerberg, and Matthew Ryan. Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars -- who also happens to be the son of legendary producer Jim Dickinson (Big Star, Replacements) -- produced this album and added keyboards. ~ Erik Hage

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Sweet Little Thing
2. Slow Dancing
3. Nights Like These
4. Ain`t So Lonely
5. Old Sad Songs
6. Chain Link Fence
7. Fistful of Tears
8. Last Song, The
9. When You`re Gone
10. I`ll Just Fall
11. Here at the Starlite
12. Darby`s Song
13. Into Your Eyes

Album Information

Release Date:

09/24/2002

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Rock & Pop

Subgenre:

Country Rock

Label:

Madjack Records

Producer:

Cody Dickinson

Catalog Number:

5

Original Release Year:

2002

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.

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