September 6, 2007
Traveling on the road is never an easy thing for any touring band. This was apparent when the venerable rock act Cracker recently arrived for their Basement Tapes session here in northeast Illinois. After some of the members were grounded on a plane in NYC for five hours the previous day, the quartet spent the ensuing hours before their session stuck in traffic from Chicago’s Midway Airport - due to the recent flooding throughout the city (not that Chicagoland traffic isn’t in a perpetual state of gridlock on any given day). Needless to say, the foursome arrived seemingly weary and a bit spent.
Once they acclimated themselves to the studio and ran through a quick sound check, however, the tensions of the road seemed to immediately dissipate as co-founders David Lowery (vocals/ guitar – and also co-founder of the influential alt-rock band Camper Van Beethoven) and Johnny Hickman (lead guitar / vocals), along with bassist Sal Maida (Roxy Music / Sparks / Runaways) and drummer Frank Funaro (The Dictators / Joey Ramone / Del Lords) began joking and feeling more at ease. Apparently music soothes not only the savage beast, but the road-weary traveler as well (the PBRs probably didn’t hurt either).
The band nailed versions of “Gimme One More Chance,” with its sticky, indelible riff, and the slow-burn build of “The Riverside” (both from Greenland) as well the whiskey-soaked rock of “I See The Light” (from their 1992 debut Brand), but, more than any other, managed to leave a bit of their DNA in the studio walls with their beautiful, incendiary version of “One Fine Day” (from 2002’s Forever). The marriage of Funaro and Maida’s no-nonsense, task-master rhythm section on this epic number, along with Lowery’s longing rasp and, above all, Hickman’s virile, stinging lead guitar work was distinctly reminiscent of Neil Young & Crazy Horse in their heyday… on one their better nights.
Whether David’s choice for their first number was intentional or not (knowing that these tracks will be given away as free downloads to you), their raucous revisiting of “Everybody Gets One Free” seemed the perfect choice to the kick-off our Basement Tapes sessions.
So, from Cracker and ConcertLivewire’s Basement Tapes, here are five rare tracks recorded live in the studio… and everybody gets one (or, in this case, five) for free. Enjoy! – Tony Bonyata
LISTEN TO THE SESSION
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FREE DOWNLOADS:
Right-click (control-click on a mac) to save to your computer
Cracker / One Fine Day
Cracker / I See The Light/The Riverside
Cracker / Gimme One More Chance
Cracker / Everybody Gets One For Free
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VIDEO
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PHOTO GALLERY
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For more info on Cracker and their upcoming tour dates go to:
http://www.crackersoul.com
http://www.myspace.com/crackerhatesmyspace
To purchase Cracker’s CDs and more go to:
http://www.pitchatent.com
This Basement Tapes session was recorded at Woodland Audio/Video in Spring Grove, IL. Boards and video helmed by Mike Manthei and studio owner Gordon Rinda, respectively. For more info on Woodland Audio / Video go to: http://www.woodlandaudio.com |
