LIBERTY & LAMENT Новости

Es dürfte schwierig sein, eine Band zu finden, die selbstbewusster ist als die langjährige Tournee-Band Lucero. Seit ihrer Gründung in Memphis Ende der 90er Jahre sind die musikalischen Grundzüge von Lucero ähnlich geblieben wie der ursprüngliche Sound, den die Band mit ihrem ersten Album ,The Attic Tapes" etabliert hat. Im Laufe ihrer umfangreichen Diskografie hat sich Lucero weiterentwickelt und alles von Southern Rock bis hin zu Stax-inspiriertem Memphis Soul aufgenommen, ohne dabei ihre unverwechselbare Klanggrundlage aufzugeben. Auch Jahre später strömen treue Fans der Gruppe noch immer herbei, um die kraftvollen, treibenden Rhythmen, die punkigen Gitarrenriffs und die Texte zu hören, die an die whiskeygetränkte Sentimentalität amerikanischer Singer-Songwriter erinnern.

Ben Nichols is best known as the frontman and songwriter for the long-running Memphis rock band Lucero. Now, at age 50, he is releasing one of his most personal pieces of work, a rare solo album titled In the Heart of the Mountain.
The album features Nichols on acoustic guitar and vocals, as well as the occasional electric guitar solo and percussion. He is accompanied by Morgan Eve Swain (The Huntress and the Holder of Hands, The Devil Makes Three, Brown Bird) on violin and backing vocals, Cory Branan on electric and acoustic guitars, and Todd Beene (Chuck Ragan, Glossary) on pedal steel and electric guitars. It was recorded at Southern Grooves studio in Memphis, Tennessee with Matt Ross-Spang as the recording and mixing engineer.

Says Nichols 'I'd say In the Heart of the Mountain is the closest I've come to making an album completely on my own terms. I had help from a great engineer and great friends who also happened to be amazing studio musicians, but it was self produced. I wrote it without input from anyone else. There were no band members to negotiate parts and approaches with. It wasn't based on a novel or a theme. The only inspiration was that desire to create something that lived in my memories of those rivers, fields, and mountains,
in that mythological Arkansas my family called home, where I grew up. I haven't been able to get back there nearly as often as I would like."

Lucero lead singer Ben Nichols and keyboardist Rick Steff spent a day at Grammy Award winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang's Southern Grooves Studio in Memphis, TN recording acoustic versions of Lucero songs. Spanning the band's career, the songs range from some of Lucero's most popular crowd favorites to more obscure rarities and were all recorded live in the studio featuring grand piano and acoustic guitar. The double album, Lucero Unplugged, presents 20 stripped down tracks that offer fresh takes on the band's exceptional catalogue.