By Brent Thompson

At the 2015 LOCKN’ festival, Tedeschi Trucks Band hosted a star-studded tribute to Joe Cocker and Leon Russell’s famed 1970 Mad Dogs & Englishmen Tour. It’s taken 10 years for this recording to appear, but it was well worth the wait. On September 12, Fantasy Records released Tedsechi Trucks Band and Leon Russell Present Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited (Live at LOCKN’). Over the course of the album’s 14 tracks, some well-worn classics are given a new shine. Highlight appearances include John Bell (“Delta Lady”), Rita Coolidge & Doyle Bramhall II (“Bird on the Wire”), Chris Robinson (“Sticks and Stones “) and Warren Haynes and Anders Osborne (“She Came in through the Bathroom Window”). Toss in other guests including Dave Mason, Pamela Polland and Claudia Linnear, and you’ve got quite the event. The album has a twinge of sentimentality and sadness, however, as the great Leon Russell passed away a year after this recording. All in all, Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited is reverent and relevant at the same time and should be in any rock fan’s collection.

 

By Brent Thompson

Like a lot of renowned releases, Warren Haynes’ latest – The Whisper Sessions (Fantasy Records) – wasn’t supposed to see the light of day. A stripped-down companion to Haynes’ 2024 release, Million Voices Whisper, this collection peels back the songs to just voice and guitar. Along the way, Haynes is aided by longtime cohort Derek Trucks on tracks including “These Changes” and a cover of “Melissa.” Of course, the two guitarists have shared stellar moments for years, but The Whisper Sessions brings the interplay to the forefront like never before. It should also be noted that the track “Real, Real Love” – also featuring Trucks – was an unfinished composition by Gregg Allman that Haynes completed. Ultimately, the album gives the feeling that Haynes is singing and playing just for you. As listeners, we are glad this intimate collection made its way to the public.

 

By Brent Thompson

With a career spanning more than 50 years and radio staple hits including “Amie,” “Let Me Love You Tonight” and “Still Right Here in My Heart,” Pure Prairie League is more than just a band – it is an enduring treasure that helped pioneer the country-rock movement. Currently, the band is on tour in support of its latest release, Back on Track. On Saturday, September 27, Pure Prairie League will return to Birmingham to perform at WORKPLAY Theatre. Recently, we spoke with bassist and founding member Mike Reilly by phone.

Southern Stages: Mike, thanks for your time today. Where is Pure Prairie League based these days?

Mike Reilly: We base out of Nashville, although I live in Long Island, New York.

Southern Stages: We are looking forward to having you back in Birmingham.

Reilly: It’s going to be nice to get back to Birmingham. We’ve got a lot of friends down there and a couple of our old roadies are in the area. It’ll be nice to see some old faces and some new faces – it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Southern Stages: We are really enjoying Back on Track. Are the album’s songs newer compositions, some older ideas or a mixture of both?

Reilly: The songs that Jared [Camic] wrote are new songs. The ones that Jeff [Zona] wrote – he had demos from a while back. Once I heard the demos, I said, “This sounds like Pure Prairie League” and we did a little work on the arrangements. Once we got into the studio, it just came together – it was magic. Once again, it’s gratifying to know that after five and half decades we can still put together a good product.

Southern Stages: Over what period of time was the album recorded?

Reilly: July 2023 to July 2024. We recorded it in Madison, Tennessee – right outside of Nashville. A friend has a studio in his house right on the Cumberland River. We spent a week a month for 12 months doing the record.

Southern Stages: Given your large catalog of songs, how does your band comprise set lists for live shows?

Reilly: The set list is different from night to night. We like to throw stuff in because it keeps the band fresh and it’s interesting. We’ve got 200 songs in our catalog and you can’t play more than about 20 in a 90-minute show. So, we mix things up and in the last few years we’ve been looking back through our catalog and dusting off a few songs we did in the early ’70s and haven’t played since the early ’70s. It’s very exciting to play songs like “Woman,” “Angel #9,” “Call Me, Tell Me” and things like that – it’s a blast.

Southern Stages: A few songs songs certainly fall into the set list every night. How do songs stay fresh and relevant to you after you’ve played them literally thousands of times by now?

Reilly: It’s a different crowd every night, so the energy is different. There are really good musicians in this band and we don’t do the same solos unless it’s a signature lick. John Heinrich is playing the David Sanborn sax on “Let Me Love You Tonight” pretty much note-for-note because that’s a signature lick and the “Two Lane Highway” intro is a signature lick. But when you get down to the solos, everybody has free reign to add their personality in there and so it’s different every night.

Southern Stages: I assume you are seeing a wide cross-section of ages in your audience these days.

Reilly: When you’re around for 55 years, you’ve got a lot of people that have listened to your songs since the ’70s and ’80s and they’re excited to hear the songs. It’s great to see three generations of people out there in the audience.

Southern Stages: Are you a gearhead? When you’re on tour, are you combing through music stores?

Reilly: A couple of months ago we were in the Chicago area and we went into a great music store – we were like kids in a candy store [laughs]. We’re always looking for that rare find if we’ve got the time to get out there and scope around.

Southern Stages: When did you join the band?

Reilly: I joined in the summer of 1972 during the Bustin’ Out album.

Southern Stages: You have an interesting perspective on the music business given the length of your career. How do you feel about the current climate which includes Internet, streaming, satellite radio and other outlets? Some artists say it’s a great time and others say it’s difficult to sift through the noise.

Reilly: There’s such an oversaturation of product – I’m not going to say good and bad music because that’s an individual taste decision. But the fact that it’s so readily available works in our favor because people can go back through the years and find some stuff that they haven’t had access to. On the new album, we had our publicist do a campaign in Europe and there were songs charting and the reviews from Europe have been fantastic. I will give credit to the technology age for helping us get the word out.

Southern Stages: Pure Prairie League has now become included in the Yacht Rock format – how do you feel about your association with it?

Reilly: People have always had the need to categorize and we’ve always tried to defy categorization. We’re too rock for country and too country for rock and now it’s Yacht Rock. We started playing country-rock music in the early ’70s and now it’s called Americana. Once again, any generation needs to categorize and we’re fine with that. You want call us Yacht Rock, that’s great – I just wish there was enough money going around to to buy that damn yacht [laughs].

Southern Stages: Though your band has seen personnel changes throughout the years, the music has maintained a consistent sound and quality.

Reilly: Everybody that’s ever been in the band has brought something to the table that ups the game a little bit. Through all the years, the musicians that joined have been fans of the band, great players and they’re great people. We’ve never thrown a punch in 55 years of this band [laughs]. It’s very important that musically and personally we get along – the band is like a family more than anything. It’s certainly not just a business venture and everyone’s heavily invested in making this thing a success.

On Saturday, September 27, Pure Prairie League will perform in the WORKPLAY Theatre. Advance tickets to the 7 p.m. show are $35-$60 and can be purchased at www.workplay.com.

By Brent Thompson

Coming through the pandemic and the release of his last album for Elektra Records – 2021’s Maybe We Never Die – Anderson East was admittedly and understandably jaded with life as a musician. But a 2023 trip to famed producer Dave Cobb’s studio in Savannah, Ga. proved to be a turning point for the singer/songwriter. The recording sessions with Cobb yielded Worthy, East’s latest release and his debut album for Rounder Records. Those familiar with the catalog of the Alabama-native-turned-Nashville-resident will still find a unique blend of R&B, soul and rock in his music. But, lyrically, there are more prevalent themes of gratitude, acceptance and optimism to be found than any of his previous releases. On Thursday, September 4, East will returns Birmingham to perform in the Workplay Soundstage. Recently, he spoke with us by phone from his Nashville home.

Southern Stages: Anderson, thanks for your time today. With several albums in your catalog at this point, how do you construct your live set lists these days?

Anderson East: Very selfishly [laughs]. I have a really difficult time lying, especially the older I get. If I’m not having a good time, it’s pretty apparent. Luckily, the things that I like are what people are there to see anyway. It’s mainly just what feels good and what’s enjoyable.

Southern Stages: How would you describe your writing process? Do you write when inspiration strikes or do you write on a schedule?

East: Nowadays I write for a lot of other artists and it’s pretty much every day.

Southern Stages: Once you’ve written a song, how do you determine if it’s a fit for you or another artist?

East: It’s usually pretty apparent. With this record in particular, there were a lot of songs that were intended to be for other people. After a certain period of time went by, I realized I was injecting a little too much of myself in there – it felt a little too personal. Going back to the selfish thing, I’d think, “I like that one.”

Southern Stages: Some artists tell me this is a great time to be in your position with multiple outlets and instant accessibility to music. Others say, for those same reasons, it can be difficult to be found among the crowd. How do you feel about the current industry climate?

East: I think both of those things are true, but I feel the most creative I’ve ever felt. I’m the happiest musically I’ve ever been and I’m consistently inspired and impressed by other people who are doing it. I think there is really great music coming out and great songs being written. There’s always this struggle about the good old days and in some ways things were easier. I think it’s pretty incredible right now. I think it’s only going to get better. I think if we talked long enough, I could argue against that point but I have a lot of optimism the artistic community will keep thriving going forward.

Live Nation Presents Anderson East in the Workplay Soundstage on Thursday, September 4. Benny G will open the 7:30 p.m. show. Advance tickets are $38.70 and can be purchased at www.workplay.com. 

By Brent Thompson

Though Muscle Shoals – the catch-all term for the tri-city area of Muscle Shoals, Florence and Sheffield, Ala. – is widely recognized as one of America’s music hubs, a detailed history of its legendary scene has gone surprisingly untold. The stellar 2013 Muscle Shoals documentary film helped remedy the situation, but there is always more to the story.

In November, music scholar Rob Bowman will release Land of a Thousand Sessions: The Complete Muscle Shoals Story 1951-1985 via Malaco Records.  Bowman, best known for his Stax biography, Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records, has gone to painstaking detail in telling the story of the “Hit Recording Capital of the World.” Focusing on the area’s recording heyday and running nearly 750 pages, Bowman has conducted research and interviews like no other writer on this subject.

www.malaco.com

 

The lineup poster says it all! Sloss Furnaces is the setting for the Iron Hills Music Festival on October 11 and 12. The national historic landmark will provide a dramatic setting for two incredible days of music. The festival is especially proud to include Birmingham-based – and national touring act – Mountain Grass Unit on the bill. Ticket information and festival details can be found at www.ironhillscountry.com.

 

By Brent Thompson

It doesn’t seem possible that Hayes Carll has just released his 10th album, but that’s where we find him on his latest, We’re Only Human (Hwy 87 Records). Given this milestone in his recording career, it’s somehow fitting that we hear a more intimate, introspective side of the 49-year-old singer/songwriter on this release. He’s always sung an honest tune, but We’re Only Human reveals an even more personal side of him. Co-produced by Gordy Quist (Band of Heathens), the album’s 10 tracks deal with matters of forgiveness, trust, peace and grace. All easy and lighthearted topics, right? Hardly. But Hayes boils these themes down into layman’s terms for the listener, which has always been one of his strong suits. Keep writing and singing Hayes – we can’t wait to hear the next ten releases.

By Brent Thompson

If you’ve been anywhere near a radio in the past 40 years, then you know the music of Toto, Christopher Cross and Men at Work. On Monday, July 21, these three legendary acts helped christen the inaugural summer of Birmingham’s Coca-Cola Amphitheater. The 9,300-seat Live Nation venue was engulfed with hits including “Africa,” Rosanna,” “Ride Like the Wind,” “Sailing,” “Down Under” and “Overkill” – plus many more – during the four hour-plus show. We were there to capture this evening of timeless music.

www.coca-colaamphitheater.com

www.livenation.com

 

By Brent Thompson

When Gregg Allman and his band took the stage of Washington D.C.’s venue The Bayou in 1984, the Allman Brothers Band was at a crossroads. Allman’s stalwart, namesake band had seen its third straight disappointing release and its future was uncertain. Fortunately, Allman had a parallel solo career alongside the ABB and provided the vocals of many of the band’s hits. Backed by a crack band – including brothers Dan and Frankie Toler – One Night in D.C. May 15, 1984 (Sawrite Records) finds Allman in strong voice. In addition to well-traveled classics including “Dreams,” “Melissa,” “Midnight Rider” and “Trouble No More,” the set includes two songs from the yet-to-be-released I’m No Angel album, “Yours for the Asking” and “Faces Without Names.” The only track that may grow tiresome to the casual fan (and consumes over 17 minutes of the album’s space) is “Matthew’s Arrival,” but Allman completists will appreciate its inclusion. Let’s hope that other posthumous vault recordings will continue to be released by this legendary artist.

By Brent Thompson

On Tuesday, June 17, the Gibson Garage Nashville hosted a special performance and Q&A with Marcus King. The event launched the vocalist/guitarist’s signature Gibson ES-345 model, the second Gibson guitar to bear King’s signature. The cherry-red ES-345 is based on a family heirloom of King’s that belonged to his grandfather. Taking song requests from the audience, King performed to an enthusiastic and packed house.