Rebel Records has February 28th set as the release date for their latest album from Chris Jones & the Night Drivers. It’s a long title, Lost Souls & Free Spirits: The Rebel Collection Old & New, but it accurately describes what this project encompasses.
There are 14 tracks on the CD, combining classic cuts from Chris’ previous Rebel records, plus 3 newly-recorded tracks with his current band. In addition to Jones on guitar and vocals, Ned Luberecki is on banjo, Jon Weisberger on bass and Mark Stoffel on mandolin.
Chris chose the previously-released cuts himself, and will speak about them with his Sirius XM compatriot Kyle Cantrell on this week’s Track-By-Track program on Bluegrass Junction (61). They will play through the entire record in sequence, interspersed with Jones’ comments and remembrances.
But until then, here are three audio samples from Lost Souls & Free Sprits, together with a few words from Chris.
Final Farewell is a new song that Jon Weisberger and I co-wrote. I got the idea after saying goodbye to my dad when he was in the hospital, not knowing if I’d see him alive again. It’s a song about cherishing the time we have with people.
Final Farewell: [http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegrasscast/farewell.mp3]
Hero in Harlan is a really moving song that was written by Tom T. and Dixie Hall, and this is a new recording of it. I was the one who first recorded this song on an album that was produced by Pete Anderson for his record label in L.A., and I was grateful to Tom T. and Dixie for letting me do it. The CD (Too Far Down the Road) is now out of print, and we get so many requests for the song that we decided to record a version featuring the whole band. Jeremy Garrett joins us on fiddle (he also played on the original) and Missy Werner added a harmony part.
Hero in Harlan: [http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegrasscast/hero.mp3]
Ribbon of Darkness is the old Marty Robbins song that Gordon Lightfoot wrote back in the ’60s. The version on this collection is from The Night Drivers’ very first album for Rebel, which Tim Stafford produced back in 1997. Doug Knecht, Jesse Brock and Markie Sanders were in the band at the time.
Ribbon of Darkness: [http://traffic.libsyn.com/thegrasscast/ribbon.mp3]
Catch Chris on Track-By-Track starting this morning at 11:00 a.m. (EST) on Sirius XM 61. The show will rebroadcast on Thursday (1/26) at 9:00 p.m. and again on Sunday (1/29) at 11:00.
