GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS TO RELEASE CAUGHT LIGHT LP OCT. 10
Venerable Toronto folk collective Great Lake Swimmers will release their ninth studio album, Caught Light, on Oct. 10 via Harbour Songs Inc./Pheromone Recordings. The group had previously shared the single “One More Dance Around The Sun,” and the album’s title track can now be heard below.
Caught Light is the follow-up to 2023’s Uncertain Country, and was recorded in just three days under the supervision of producer Darcy Yates (Bahamas) and engineer Jimmy Bowskill (Blue Rodeo). Great Lake Swimmers front man Tony Dekker said in a press release that he has “a newly found zeal for not being precious and being more direct.”
Describing the song “Caught Light,” Dekker added that it’s “the story of a skydiver who strays off course while in the air, and then takes stock of his surroundings while on the ground in unfamiliar territory. The ‘caught light’ of the song has multiple meanings, in that it implies the metaphor of a mirror reflecting one’s life back to one’s self; the photographic aspect of light being ‘caught’ on paper and creating a physical document of the ephemeral; and also the discovery of a lack or a low reservoir, being ‘light’ on what is needed to make meaningful sense of the predicament of being lost.”
Great Lake Swimmers will be appearing at the Filberg Festival in Comox BC on Aug. 2, and at the Clayoquot Sound Theatre in Tofino BC on Aug. 3 before they launch their cross-Canada “Ballads & Badlands Tour” in October. Full details are available at greatlakeswimmers.com/shows.
NEW JOHN PRINE REISSUE INCLUDES UNRELEASED “HEY AH NOTHIN”
This year marks the 30th anniversary of John Prine’s Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings, and the late singer/songwriter’s label Oh Boy Records is marking the occasion with a deluxe reissue out Sept. 12. The CD and digital versions of the reissue include the previously unreleased track “Hey Ah Nothin,” which can be heard below, along with alternate takes of “Ain’t Hurting Nobody” and “Quit Hollerin At Me,” acoustic versions of “All The Way With You” and “Humidity Built The Snowman,” and a demo version of “Lake Marie.” A 2LP vinyl version will also be available, but will not include the bonus tracks.
The original 14-track album was produced by Howie Epstein of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and was considered the official follow-up to Prine’s Grammy-winning 1991 comeback album The Missing Years. Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings features musical contributions from Epstein’s fellow Heartbreaker Benmont Tench, as well as backing vocals from Marianne Faithfull and Canadian rocker Sass Jordan, among others.
Although the album received mixed reviews at the time, “Lake Marie” has come to be regarded as one of Prine’s late-career masterpieces. Prine said of the song, “It’s an actual place along the Illinois-Wisconsin border. There’s an entire chain of lakes along there, small lakes, and I remember as a teenager growing up in Chicago, a lot of the teenagers would go to these lakes and in the summer time kind of get away from the city. Lake Marie was kind of just one that stuck out in my mind.”
NICK DRAKE’S FIVE LEAVES LEFT FULLY EXPLORED IN NEW BOX SET
Although he only made three albums during his brief life that tragically ended in 1974, Nick Drake‘s music has continued to cast a spell over succeeding generations of listeners. Fans will now be treated to a comprehensive exploration of Drake’s 1969 debut album Five Leaves Left in the form of a four-disc box set entitled The Making Of Five Leaves Left that presents all known recordings from the sessions, including demos and outtakes, accompanied by the album as it was originally released, and a 60-page book. The set is out July 25 via Universal Music Recordings.
In a press statement, the label said, “The Making Of Five Leaves Left is a project nine years in gestation. This authorised edition comprises over 30 previously unheard outtakes from the sessions. The lack of any previous anniversary-related set was due to the Nick Drake Estate’s wish that the listener concentrate on the beauty within the original studio recordings. However following the discovery of remarkable tapes from two new outside sources — plus a comprehensive re-ordering of the Universal tape library — Nick’s sister Gabrielle felt that now was the time to reveal the origin story of the album. This lovingly assembled set features studio out-takes and previously unheard songs that tell the story of how Drake’s debut album came to be released on Island Records in July 1969. The set includes Nick’s first ever session at Sound Techniques — found on a mono listening-reel squirrelled away over fifty years ago. It also contains the full reel recorded at Caius College by Cambridge acquaintance Paul de Rivaz, which had lain in the bottom of a drawer for decades, accompanying him and his family around the world.”
BUCKINGHAM NICKS TO GET FIRST OFFICIAL REISSUE SEPT. 19
Millennials around the world are rejoicing at the news that Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks made prior to the couple joining Fleetwood Mac, will be officially reissued for the first time on Sept. 19 via Rhino. Hints of the announcement came after Nicks made an Instagram post quoting the lyric “And if you go forward…” from the song “Frozen Love,” to which Buckingham replied on his Instagram, “I’ll meet you there.”
The reissue has been remastered from the original analogue tapes by Chris Bellman, with the album’s opening track “Crying In The Night” available to sample now. Buckingham Nicks was originally born out of demos the pair made while pursuring a record contract in Los Angeles. They eventually landed a deal with Polydor and recorded the album at Sound City Studios with producer Keith Olsen, who would go on to introduce them to Mick Fleetwood.
The subsequent Fleetwood Mac soap opera continues to captivate fans, although this latest instalment of the saga doesn’t seem to indicate any type of formal reconciliation. Buckingham was fired from the band in 2018, blaming Nicks and suing the group for breach of contract. Nicks later responded to Rolling Stone, saying Buckingham’s version of events was “factually inaccurate” and, “I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being.”
DENNIS ELLSWORTH SET TO PLAY OTTAWA AND MONTREAL IN AUGUST
Acclaimed Charlottetown PEI singer/songwriter Dennis Ellsworth is heading to Ottawa and Montreal for four upcoming shows in August:
Thursday Aug. 7 :: Montreal QC :: P’tit Ours :: TICKETS
Friday Aug. 8 :: Ottawa ON :: Red Bird Live :: TICKETS
Saturday Aug. 9 :: Chelsea QC :: Motel Chelsea :: TICKETS
Sunday Aug. 10 :: Wentworth-nord QC :: Rickk’s Room :: 2PM/FREE
Ellsworth’s latest album, Hardcore Freewheelin’, was produced by Jim Bryson, and earned an East Coast Music Awards nomination for Solo Recording of the Year. It’s 10 songs were primarily with Ellsworth’s life as a new father, and the album’s sound has been compared to recent work by Wilco and Teenage Fanclub. Hardcore Freewheelin’ is out now on Tonic Records, and available from Bandcamp.
