This 3-LP vinyl and 2-CD set will feature a collection of re-recordings, demos, outtakes, collaborations, and live tracks that presents an alternate history of the band (5 tracks are previously unreleased and 6 are rare and long out-of-print) | Click here to order

This also marks the first time that any of these recordings have been available on vinyl

Cracker to kick-off winter tour December 13th, 2024 in St. Louis (dates below)

Cracker’s David Lowery and Johnny Hickman (photo: Jason Thrasher)

To the uninitiated Cracker might seem to be just another ’90s alternative rock band. However, fans recognize that the band is much more than that, having skillfully explored a wide array of styles over nearly 35 years. Regrettably, when newcomers hear a Cracker song and wish to learn more about the band, they often start with algorithmic streaming playlists. These playlists are typically limited to the dozen or so tracks with the most streams. As a result, these playlists are dominated by a few albums from the early 1990s, the heyday of alternative rock radio. There are also a few “greatest hits” compilations for Cracker available, but these, at best, cover only the first third of the band’s 35-year career. Both of these sources overlook some of the band’s most critically acclaimed and fan-favorite work.

In response to this, the band started a discussion with Cooking Vinyl to see if they could rectify the situation by producing a retrospective that would encompass the band’s entire career. Unfortunately, it became apparent that the cost of licensing tracks from the Virgin and Concord catalogs would be prohibitive. Undeterred, the band began to catalog the recordings they controlled, and a more promising idea emerged. They realized they had a collection of re-recordings, demos, outtakes, collaborations, and live tracks that told an alternate history of the band. And this collection would not only serve as an introduction to the band for new fans, but also provide long-time, hardcore fans with access to some rare and unreleased recordings. Thus, “Alternative History” was born.

What’s in this collection? Well, it starts with a mellow country-rock reinterpretation of “Sick of Goodbyes.” The recording features members of Drive-By Truckers, Brad Morgan and Jay Gonzales.

Next is the 2005 re-record of “Teen Angst” from the Redux album. This stays pretty true to the original because, like all the tracks on the Redux album, they were re-recorded so that when the band receives licensing requests, they can use their own masters.

“Mr. Wrong” is from a collaboration with Leftover Salmon in 2003, a reinterpretation of the song with a sort of bluegrass feel.

“I See The Light” is also from the Redux album and thus stays quite true to the original, except the end has more of a rave-up because, after years of performing this song live, that’s how the band plays it.

“Almond Grove” is a re-record with John Keane engineering, mixing, and playing a number of instruments. The story is that David was never totally happy with his vocals and banjo playing on the original version of the song. After the album was released, he initiated a new recording with John, who lives just down the street. This recording has some cool little arrangement quirks not in the original.

“Low” is a re-record from the Redux album. If you’ve heard the song in a film or TV show lately, it’s likely this is the version. The tonality of the song owes a lot to the Middle Eastern music David, Johnny, and Davey were listening to on the first Cracker tour. On this recording, Kenny Margolis further amplifies this with a short Middle Eastern accordion solo.

“Merry Christmas Emily” is a new recording, a reimagining of the song featuring Megan Slankard and Jeremy Lawton (Big Head Todd and the Monsters). Megan adds an ‘Emily’ counterpoint to the song, making the already unreliable narrator even more unreliable.

“The World is Mine” is another re-record from the Redux album, worth it just for the moment drummer Frank Funaro kicks into double time.

This “Sweet Potato” recording is from the 2003 collaboration with Leftover Salmon. Many fans prefer this to the original.

“Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me” is a live version from the legendary German concert TV show Rockpalast. This performance predates the album version and has a fairly different feel.

“Seven Days” recorded live at Teatro Lara in Madrid is a barn burner.

“Big Dipper” is also a re-record from the Redux album. It sticks very close to the original because it’s a damn near perfect recording.

“Eurotrash Girl” is redone as a bluegrass waltz featuring Leftover Salmon.

Then, a recent mostly acoustic performance of “King of Bakersfield” with some nice Southwestern accordion work by Jeremy Lawton follows.

There’s nothing new about “I Need Better Friends.” It’s a hidden gem from an often overlooked album, and people need to hear it.

“Father Winter” is a demo that David Lowery recorded for Johnny Hickman before they formed Cracker. In some ways, it’s the Cracker ur-song.

Next are a couple of fantastic live performances from Cracker’s appearance on the Rockpalast TV show: “One Fine Day” and “Gimme One More Chance.”

Then there’s a live performance of “Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey,” slowed down and stripped down.

“River Euphrates” is a track from the out-of-print Tucson EP. This recording is a live performance from a show in Germany.

“I Want Everything” is from the live show in Madrid 2021.

And to showcase the bands punkier material “Movie Star” and “Don’t F*ck Me Up With Peace and Love” from that same Madrid show.

“Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself” is also from the Redux album, but it’s an original track, not a re-record. It was meant to be the ultimate record company ‘kiss-off’ song. Essentially, the meta-meaning is, “Hey, we re-recorded our greatest hits, so screw you, Virgin Records.”
– Boo Haggerty, Tybee Island, GA

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Cracker’s “Alternative History: A Cracker Retrospective” will be released as a 3-LP LTD edition colored vinyl gatefold set with 12-page booklet, a 2-CD set with 28-page booklet, and available on digital & streaming platforms November 22nd, 2024 via Cooking Vinyl. Click here to order. 

CRACKER (photo: Jason Thrasher)

CRACKER 2024/25 TOUR DATES:
Friday, December 13 – Off Broadway St Louis, MO

Saturday, December 28 – Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ (w/ Roger Clyne and Peacemakers)

Sunday, December 29 – Launchpad, Albuquerque, NM

Tuesday, December 31 – Bluebird Theatre, Denver, CO

Saturday, January 4, 2025 – 3Ten, Austin, TX

Friday, January 10, 2025 – Beachland Ball Room, Cleveland, OH

Saturday, January 11, 2025 – Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI

Thursday, January 16, 202 – State Theatre, Falls Church, VA

Friday, January 17, 2025 – World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA

Saturday, January 18, 2025 – Sony Hall, New York City, NY

Sunday, January 19, 2025 – Middle East, Boston, MA

Wednesday, March 5 – Saturday, March 8, 2025 – Cracker CAMP-IN #11 @ 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA (w/ Ike Reilly, The Hackensaw Boys, Jim Dalton, Abe Partridge & others)

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FOR MORE INFO ON CRACKER:
WEBSITE | X | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE 

FOR MEDIA & INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Tony Bonyata

Pavement PR

p: 262.903.7775

e: tony[AT]pavementpr.com

http://pavementpr.com

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The Harlem Gospel Travelers’ new studio album “Rhapsody” has just been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Roots Gospel Album category! Big props to Ifedayo, George, Dennis and band for this major accomplishment!

With The Harlem Gospel Travelers’ new album Rhapsody, the extraordinary vocalists Ifedayo, Dennis Bailey, and George Marage are able to fully explore the entire range of music that influenced them. The follow-up to their acclaimed 2021 release Look Up!, the record is a dive into a lesser-known but hugely important era in the evolution of gospel music.

MAGNET Exclusive: Premiere Of Gyasi’s “Sweet Thing” Video
“It’s a song celebrating individuality, self-transformation and the power that lies in living your truth—even when it brings ridicule and alienation,” says Gyasi, summing up “Sweet Thing,” the latest from his third studio LP, Here Comes The Good Part, available February 7 via Alive Naturalsound.

Individuality and self-transformation are recurring themes that drive the time-warped musical persona of the Nashville-based artist, whose fixation on Bowie, Lou Reed, T.Rex and the over-the-top theatricality of ’70s glam in general is pretty much a way of life. For an artsy, creative kid raised in rural West Virginia, reinvention seemed like the only way to survive.

“Growing up, I often felt the need to hide my unique self, and so I feel deeply for those on a similar journey,” he says. CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST. 

The Harlem Gospel Travelers turned in a fiery Live on KEXP session in August, where they performed tracks from their Grammy-nominated studio album “Rhapsody”

Click here to check out this amazing performance.

The Harlem Gospel Travelers @ KEXP 8-20-2024

Photo by Amber Knecht, knechtcreative.com

Here’s what was written on the stones thrown at The Fleshtones’ new studio album “It’s Getting Late (… And More Songs About Werewolves)”:

★★★★ “The Fleshtones still sound remarkably fresh, and here their short sharp shock still kicks hard. Nothing can stop them, but why would anyone want to?” – John Aizlewood, MOJO

[8/10] “The Fleshtones’ rambunctious twentieth studio set stomps and shakes like an irreverent collision between Sam The Sham and The Stooges.” – Kris Needs, CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE

★★★★ “The rejuvenating lightning The Fleshtones continue to capture in a bottle mark It’s Getting Late as essential listening for all who count themselves as lifers in The Fleshtones’ army of devotees. You just don’t expect to hear garage-punk survivors to be weighing in with such a powerhouse of an album this deep into their storied career.” – Grahame Bent, SHINDIG!

“13 tracks that will get you in the mood for Halloween, but will have you rocking out throughout the whole year.” – Em Moore, PUNK NEWS

“The Fleshtones have been producing their own twisted take on ’50s and ’60s music for nigh on 50 years, and on this, their twelfth full-length studio recording, it appears they’re not slowing down any time soon.” – Nick Spacek, THE PITCH

“A band synonymous with the more flamboyant brilliance of New York City’s legendary East Village music scene, The Fleshtones are anything if not durable, remaining pretty much intact since the year of the U.S. Bicentennial. Their latest album on Yep Roc, It’s Getting Late (… And More Songs About Werewolves) is their first new music in four years. As you might expect, it sticks close to the garage/punk ‘super rock’ formula that’s been the band’s bread and butter for almost a half-century.” – Hobart Rowland, MAGNET MAGAZINE

“The Fleshtones’ More Songs About Werewolves sounds as energized as Hexbreaker! from 1983. All the Fleshtones earmarks are here: freakbeat drumming, fuzzed-out bass grooves, farfisa and other vintage keys, Keith Streng’s wild guitar riffs, and frontman Peter Zaremba bravado-filled vocals. As always, The Fleshtones bring the party and even though it may be Getting Late, they’ll keep going till the last reveler drops.” – Bill Pearis, BROOKLYNVEGAN

“Anyone who has been following the Fleshtones’ long history as one of America’s greatest real rock & roll bands knows what to expect from them, and once again they deliver with style, energy, street smarts, and wit. There are few bands that can cover Elton John, Johnny Rivers, and Lee Hazlewood and make all three sound like originals, but the Fleshtones do just that for ‘Empty Sky,’ ‘Love Me While You Can,’ and “The Hearse,” making every track sound like a party waiting to break out in your living room. Why fight it? Crank up It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves), pour some drinks, and hit that dancefloor like you mean it — tell Lon Chaney the news!” – Mark Deming, ALLMUSIC

‘It’s Getting Late’ is a blood-soaked celebration of rock ‘n’ roll’s wild spirit—one that feels as vital as a jolt of electricity straight to your veins.” – Klemen Breznikar, IT’S PSYCHEDELIC BABY MAGAZINE

“Veteran garage rockers The Fleshtones continue delivering their no-frills version of what they dub “SUPER ROCK” throughout It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves) via confident riffs, banging drums and vocals filled with jokes, immediacy and just a touch of yearning honesty.” – Shawn Donohue, GLIDE MAGAZINE

“The Fleshtones have been around since 1976 and are still making killer rock-and-roll. The band’s latest single, “You Say You Don’t Mind It,” is that perfect mix of vintage punk that harkens back to 1950’s rock-and-roll. This is the kind of single that could have come out at any point in the last fifty years. It’s always great to hear a band that started out nearly five decades ago still be able to come out with a song as great as this one.” – Ken Sears, IF IT’S TOO LOUD

“This new album is an outburst, and a celebration of the SUPER ROCK sound. Unlike their contemporaries, they have not dialed down the tempos to compensate for osteoporosis, they have not lost anything on their fastball, and continue to throw it for strikes. The hardest working band in garage rock has never sounded better. ” – Marty Duda, 13TH FLOOR

Also these great stations across the country have need spinning and supporting The Fleshtones’ new LP! SIRIUSXM / LITTLE STEVEN’S UNDERGROUND GARAGE | CHIRP RADIO (Chicago IL) | KEXP (Seattle WA) | KGLT (Bozeman MT) | KHNS (Haines AK) | KMSU (Mankato MN) | KMUW (Wichita KS) | KOOP (Austin TX) | KRFC (Fort Collins CO) | KSER (Everett WA) | KUPR (Placitas NM) | KZFR (Chico CA) | KZSU (Stanford CA) | RADIO BOISE / KRBX (Boise ID) | RADIO FAIRFAX (Fairfax VA) | RADIO INDIE ALLIANCE | WCNI (New London CT) | WERU (Blue Hill ME) | WFMU (Jersey City NJ) | WFUV (New York NY) | WGDR (Plainfield VT) | WMFO (Medford MA) | WMSE (Milwaukee WI) | WNCW (Charlotte NC) | WNMC (Traverse City MI) | WORT (Madison WI) | WOWD (Takoma Park MD) | WPKN (Bridgeport CT) | WRUW (Cleveland OH) | WSUM (Madison WI) | WTUL (New Orleans LA) | WVKR (Poughkeepsie NY) | WXNA (Nashville TN)

Check out Thee Sinseers’ Live on KEXP session, where the SoCal soul ensemble performed tracks from their acclaimed debut album “Sincerely Yours” (out now via Colemine Records).

Click here to check out this amazing performance.

[photos: Brady Harvey]