Each week Release Day Picks profiles new LPs and EPs Team JamBase will be checking out on release day Friday. This week we highlight new albums by David Ferguson, Liz Cooper, Iron Maiden, Bob Marley and Steven Bernstein‘s Millennial Territory Orchestra. Read on for more insight into the records we have all queued up to spin.
David Ferguson – Nashville No More
The Scoop: David Ferguson released his debut album, Nashville No More, today through Fat Possum Records. Though it’s Ferguson’s first solo album, the acclaimed producer has worked with many renowned musicians during his lengthy career, counting Johnny Cash, John Prine and Sturgill Simpson among his cohorts. Ferguson and Prine co-founded The Butcher Shoppe recording studio in Nashville, which closed last year after the property was sold and the building demolished. Ferguson self-produced the 10-song Nasvhille No More, which has contributions from vocalist Margo Price, guitarists Dan Auerbach, Mark Howard, Justin Moses, Billy Sanford and Kenny Vaughan, mandolinists Sierra Hull and Ronnie McCoury, dobro player Jerry Douglas, banjoist Béla Fleck and multi-instrumentalists Stuart Duncan and Tim O’Brien. Fellow Nashville-based musicians, pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl, keyboardist Mike Rojas, bassists Mike Bub and Dave Roe and percussionist Sam Bacco, also appear on the album.
“I’m so used to doing something and then moving on to the next thing, but I think it’s going to be neat to have a record come out,” Ferguson stated. “The hardest thing to do is doing a record on yourself. You’ve got to learn how to listen to it like you’re listening to somebody else. Man, that takes gumption.”
Liz Cooper – Hot Sass
The Scoop: Singer-songwriter Liz Cooper returns with Hot Sass, which is out today via Thirty Tigers. The album sees Cooper ditching her previous “Liz Cooper & The Stampede” moniker in favor of the simplified, single name approach. Hot Sass was recorded in early 2020 in Burlington, Vermont at producer Benny Yurco‘s Little Jamaica Recordings studio. The follow-up to 2018’s Window Flowers features Cooper, Yurco and bassist Joe Bisirri, drummer Ryan Usher and multi-instrumentalist Michael Libramento.
“I feel like this album has a lot of attitude,” Cooper said on The JamBase Podcast. “There are a lot of dynamics to it … It’s sarcastic in ways, and real in ways, and tender in ways, and in ways where I don’t give a fuck — and that’s up for people to decide which ones those are.”
Iron Maiden – Senjutsu
The Scoop: Today’s release of Senjutsu ends the longest drought between Iron Maiden studio albums since the legendary metal band debut in 1975. The album’s Japanese title approximately translates to “tactics and strategy.” The current Iron Maiden lineup of longtime frontman Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers, bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain recorded the follow-up to 2015’s The Book Of Souls with producer Kevin Shirley. Dickinson, Smith, Harris and Gers wrote or co-wrote the double LP’s 10 new tracks.
“We chose to record at Guillaume Tell Studio in France again as the place has such a relaxed vibe,” Harris stated. “The setup there is perfect for our needs; the building used to be a cinema and has a really high ceiling so there’s a great acoustic sound. We recorded this album in the same way we did The Book Of Souls in that we’d write a song, rehearse it and then put it down together straight away while it was all fresh in our minds. There’s some very complex songs on this album which took a lot of hard work to get them exactly as we wanted them to sound, so the process was at times very challenging, but Kevin is great at capturing the essence of the band and I think it was worth the effort! I’m very proud of the result and can’t wait for fans to hear it.”
“We’re all really excited about this album,” Dickinson said. “We recorded it back in early 2019 during a break in the Legacy Tour so we could maximize our touring yet still have a long set up period before release to prepare great album art and something special as a video. Of course the pandemic delayed things more – so much for the best laid plans – or should that be ‘strategies’!? The songs are very varied, and some of them are quite long. There’s also one or two songs which sound pretty different to our usual style, and I think Maiden fans will be surprised – in a good way, I hope!”
Bob Marley & The Wailers – The Capitol Session ‘73
The Scoop: A previously unheard archival recording of Bob Marley & The Wailers is now available as The Capitol Session ‘73. The performance was recorded and filmed during a closed-door session on October 24, 1973 in Hollywood at The Capitol Records Tower, with renowned producer Denny Cordell. Footage from the session featuring Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Joe Higgs, Aston Barrett, Carlton Barrett and Earl “Wya” Lindo was for years thought to be lost until a freelance researcher unearthed a few frames. The discovery spurred a 20-year nationwide search to find the full performance, which has been restored and remastered and is available in DVD format as well. The 12-song setlist contained such classics as “You Can’t Blame the Youth,” “Slave Driver,” “Rastaman Chant,” “Stir It Up,” “No More Trouble” and “Get Up Stand Up,” among others.
Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra – Tinctures In Time (Community Music, Vol. 1)
The Scoop: Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra today put out Tinctures In Time (Community Music, Vol. 1), the first of four albums from the acclaimed trumpeter, arranger, bandleader and composer coming via Royal Potato Family over the next 12 months. Tinctures In Time features the first original music Bernstein has penned for the group.
The eight-track LP was recorded by Bernstein along with trombonist Curtis Fowlkes, violinist Charlie Burnham, Doug Wieselman on clarinet and saxophone, tenor saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, baritone saxophonist Eric Lawrence, guitarist/banjoist Matt Munisteri, Ben Allison on bass and drummer Ben Perowsky in January 2020 at a Brooklyn studio. Steven titled the album after a phrase his father, a doctor, would say when there was no recourse other than to wait for a condition to heal. Additionally “tinctures,” according to Bernstein, also describes “things that people take to give feelings of euphoria” and as such he refers to the material on the record as “cannabis music.”
Compiled by Scott Bernstein and Andy Kahn.
