Recorded from late March to August in 2023 after the band finished their album Weeds…this album was recorded fast and without too much fussing or fixes. Some days we’d spend a couple hours..other times only an hour…sometimes we went a few days without any studio work… No autotune (obviously) and any mistakes were usually left in place. So you get to see the scars and all. And yes, if it sounds distorted or rough that was intentionally done…hey, with 45 songs, who wants them to all sound sonically similar.
The songs..well, some are a couple of decades old, while many were written in the past two years or during recording. Most deal with the hard side of life, but we did throw in a couple of brighter relationship songs...but just a couple
Again, we went for an early Stones crossed with David Cobb type of production…sometimes rough, sometimes low-fi, sometimes drenched in reverb….sometimes it worked. Other times not so much…And if you hear anything that sounds weird or distorted, that was done on purpose.
Yeah, we know, we don’t have the musical prestige to expect anyone to listen to all of these songs…so pick a couple and see what you get.
We hope you enjoy at least one of the songs LOL
Jeb
THE BAND
Jeb Barry: all songs, vocals, guitar, resonator guitar, Nashville guitar, bass, keys, mandolin, banjo,
Josh Pisano: Drums, vocals
Tony Pisano: accordion, mandolin (Josh’s dad)
Alan Taylor: piano, organ
Dan Tremblay: acoustic guitar, vocals
Tom McNulty: mandolin, banjo, vocals
Produced by Jeb Barry
Recorded at Attic Studios, Adams, Massachusetts USA
Mastered at The Loft Labs
All songs Greylock Mountain Publishing (ASCAP)
The Songs of 45 American Lies
RECORD ONE
“By The Sycamore”-- (Slow dark country rock ballad) An older tune about racism
and lynching…written as a contemporary of “Strange Fruit’…but from a
more personal point of view.
“Liverpool” *** -- (Powerpop) Driving acoustic powerpop dealing with
insecurities in a relationship…from the male that is…
“Suburbs” -- (Southern Singer-Songwriter) A disturbing acoustic song about
school mass shootings from a parents point of view…written in the style
of Patterson Hood or Jason Isbell
“California”-- (Sunshine pop) An acoustics and organs Sunshine pop song…
with a little Big Star mixed in…
“Cottonwood” – (Old Acoustic Folk) Another hard times, Depression Era set song
based on a supposed true incident in the 1930s South…
“Sometimes Angels Ain’t Enough” -- (Rock Ballad) A song that tells that love is
not enough to save everyone or rescue them form their demons and issues
“Badly Drawn” – (New York City singer-songwriter style) A hard acoustic/vocals
song about longing for a lost love
“Cotton Mile (Redux)” -- (New Grass/country) Another new grass influenced
revision of the Saint’s older song. Hard times, Depression Era themed
“Girl” -- (Powerpop Ballad) A slow, artsy powerpop styled song
“Repo Man” -- (Rock Ballad) A slow song about tough times and dyeing way
of life in a changing world… tinges of Springsteen/Isbell
“No Depression Now” -- (Slow Country Rock ) A song about break ups,
lost love, and mortality
“Hallelujah I’m Gone” – (Folk/Singer-Songwriter) Live in the studio acoustic
and vocals folky country tune…in the mode of Isbell
“Is There Anybody Out There?” -- (Upbeat Acoustic Powerpop) An old
powerpop, hard coustic song from the 1990s resurrected…
strummy upbeat folk pop with sing along chorus
“Carnival Ride” -- (Texas Singer-songwriter) A country ballad…about
leaving, or staying, in your small home town…no vigilantes or fake tough
guys here.
“Next Door Girl” – (New Grass/country) Another new grass styled song….
driven by a sparse mandolin, banjo, and one guitar
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RECORD TWO
“Black Tar Highway” -- (Texas Singer-songwriter) A mysterious murder
ballad…well, sort of…dark and Dangerous..it’s not about heroin,
but it could be
“Nobody Calls You” -- (Rock with Soul) A catch, soul tinged rock song…think of
the Wallflowers as you’ll get the idea
“Alabama Truck Stop -1991” -- (Texas Singer-Songwriter) A tune about
finding lost love song…hey, they all can’t be sad songs
“Love Dry “ -- (Dad Rock) An up-tempo, Wilco styled Dad rock song..
with weirdly catchy guitar accents
“Barely Getting By” -- (Singer-Songwriter..with a Mid-West flair) A love
conquers all song with hints of American Aquarium/Turnpike Troubadours
style creeping through.
“Prairie Moon” -- (Midwest Acoustic Rock) A hard acoustic driven song about
breaking away from small towns and small town families…think of
American Aquarium or Steve Earle
“Iowa” -- (Modern Singer-Songwriter) A soft, personal song about love and that
being enough to remain somewhere that isn’t that special…really nothing
about Iowa
“The Devil’s Knee” -- (Acoustic Country Punk) A riffed acoustic song from the
point of view of a man who sees himself as born unlucky and a repetitive sinner
“Stars” -- (Rock Ballad) Ballad-ish song with hooky guitar riff about ‘what might
have been’ …but isn’t…and won’t be
“Haggard With A Heartache”***—(Texas Singer-Songwriter) Pseudo-country ode
to Haggard song…acoustic and vocals
“Good Company Man” *** -- A rough and tumble acoustic song about being
stuck in a place that you can never escape…just like your parents
“Heading To Parchman” -- (Delta Blues) Recorded live with a cheap $100
acoustic guitar..pseudo- blues song….rough and sincere at the same time
“Stones”*** -- (Rock) A vocal/drums sing along styled song…I have no idea what
this is about…you decide
“I Ain’t Here But I Ain’t Gone” -- (Folk) Another acoustic guitar and vocals
based song…about death from the view of a recently deceased
“Shake The World” -- (Weird Rock) A pseudo-psychedelic song about women
empowerment in a world that sees that as a negative thing
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RECORD THREE
“Just Another Song About Texas” *** -- (Texas Bluesy Rock) A driving piece
of Texas rock…think Ray Wylie Hubbard
“1000 Watts” – (Old-Timey Acoustic Country) An ode to Merle Haggard with
an old timie-ish nostalgia feel
“Little Pieces” -- (Rock Ballad) A slow rock styled ballad with a catch hook
and power piano chords
“Empty Ohio Highway” – (Modern Singer-songwriter) A desperate, nothing-to-
lose, outlaw on the run song acoustic/vocal song….recorded live in the
studio..take 2…
“Can’t Stop A Train” -- (New Grass/country) An upbeat, driving new-grass
influenced song
“A Good Fuckin’ Hurt” *** -- (Hard Acoustic, Country Punkish) An ‘I don’t care’
break up song
“All The Way To Mexico” -- (Texas Singer-Songwriter) A story of desperate love
on its last legs…think John Prime mixed with Steve Earle.
“Sad, Sad Girl” *** -- (Groove Rock) A mid-tempo song about impossible love
from a distance
“Toasting Taylor” -- (Singer-Songwriter) A song about eventual mortality,
growing old, and celebrating the memory of a gone-too-soon friend
“Shoestring Wedding” -- (Old-Tyme Country) Rootsy, “O Brother”
styled song…using only vocals and hand/thigh claps
“Broke”-- (Solo hard acoustic/vocals) A song about hanging on to love long
gone..and not coming back
“Whiskey/Weed” -- (Country Rock) About the effects that too much of anything
is not an attractive influence on a relationship
“Wish I Knew The Devil” – (Singer-Songwriter) A plaintive tune about depression,
salvation, and love that’s gone
“Drowning Man” -- (New York Singer-songwriter) Another hard acoustic
song that Jeb dug out from about 20 years ago…
“The Day After She’s Gone” -- (Singer-Songwriter) A hard acoustic song
about a man dealing with abandonment and losing love.