Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats announced details of What If I, a five-track EP due out June 2 via Stax. The set consisting of a brand new tune along with four previously unreleased songs recorded during the sessions that yielded 2021’s The Future has been previewed with title track “What If I (Cook Brothers Version).”
Bradley Cook and R.M.B. (Nathaniel Rateliff, the Night Sweats’ Pat Meese and Beach House’s James Barone) co-produced What If I. Phil Cook contributed to the title track, while Preservation Hall Jazz Band leader/clarinetist Charlie Gabriel added to the EP’s “Slow Pace Of Time.” The newly written and recorded track is entitled “Buy My Round.”
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats originally released the song “What If I” on The Future. Bradley and Phil Cook played a big role in reworking the cut for inclusion on the forthcoming EP. Rateliff explained in a statement:
“We loved this song on The Future, but man is it hard for us to sing live. Not just me, but Pat Meese (drums, percussion, keys) and Mark Shusterman (organ, keys) are screaming their harmonies. So, we wanted another version to add to some of the other song we held back from the full length. I gave it over to Bradley Cook and Phil Cook…Phil arranged the piano part he wrote around just my vocal and added a simple clap. Pat, Mark, and Luke Mossman (guitar) added some extra sounds to Phil’s arrangement while we were on the road, along with shaker and cabasa from Matt McCaughan. I love the way this version turned out.”
Stream “What If I (Cook Brothers Version)” below:
Rateliff & the Night Sweats will tour North America and Europe this summer.
What If I Tracklist
- Buy My Round
- What If I (Cook Brothers Version)
- That’s Your Opinion
- Slow Pace Of Time (featuring Charlie Gabriel)
- Suffer Me
