Relisten

1:15:28

Taper:

neil d

Transferrer:

neil d

SHNID:

jlangford2017-10-21.aud

Source:

CA-14 cardioid mics > Church Audio ugly battery box > Sony PCM-M10

Lineage:

Sony PCM-M10 > WAV (24/48) > Sound Studio (very light dynamic compression for loudest peaks only) > FLAC (16/44.1) > Tag > FLAC

Taper Notes:

View NotesWhen I saw Jon Langford perform with his Six Proud Walkers band in 2000, there were only three people on stage, so I guess it’s only fitting that for the Four Lost Souls there were eight. In addition to Jon, vocalists Bethany Thomas and Tawny Newsome, and second guitarist/vocalist John Szymanski, the band was augmented by lead guitarist Grant “Big Smokey” Johnson, steel guitarist Tommy McKittrick, bassist Brian Stanley, and drummer Steve Goulding. 

The Four Lost Souls album was inspired by getting a chance to record at the legendary Muscle Shoals recording studio in Alabama (producer Norbert Putnam inviting Jon down to record on the basis that “you sing like a pirate!”), accompanied by several legendary session musicians. The words reflect Langford’s “love/hate relationship with the South,” as he says, and the songs were more muscular in a live setting, especially with frequent Langford collaborator Goulding on drums. The very best song on the night, though, may have been Jon’s solo track “Drone Operator,” which not only sounded terrific with the expanded lineup, but featured Jon’s unforgettable drone impression during the coda. 

I recorded this with Church Audio CA-14 cardioid mics clipped to my cap, dead center about ten feet from the stage; there’s a little bit of fluctuation in the stereo centering in a few places, I think because of the taller person in front of me moving back and forth. Sound is great overall, though. Thanks as always to Jon for the blanket permission to tape and share, to Union Pool for being great hosts, and to Bloodshot Records for bringing back their annual barbecue after a near-decade hiatus. I discovered a couple of great musicians I’d never heard before (Al Scorch and Cory Branan), heard one of my old favorites with a new band, and got a shrimp quesadilla. What could be better than that?