Thursday, February 26, 2009

APPLESEED RECORDINGS SIGNS JESSE WINCHESTER

APPLESEED RECORDINGS SIGNS JESSE WINCHESTER & WILL RELEASE HIS FIRST STUDIO CD IN 10 YEARS, LOVE FILLING STATION, ON APRIL 21

WEST CHESTER, PA – Appleseed Recordings has announced the signing of acclaimed singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, and an April 21 release date for his label debut CD, Love Filling Station, his first studio album in 10 years.

A prolific composer, Winchester is noted for his songs about love lost and found, small town life and vivid characterizations told with the literary perspective of a native southerner. His tunes have been embraced by a wide variety of artists who have recorded his works for almost four decades, including Jimmy Buffet and Tom Rush (“Biloxi”), The Everly Brothers and Patti Page (“Brand New Tennessee Waltz”), Tim Hardin (“Yankee Lady”), Elvis Costello and Alex Taylor (“Payday”), Nicolette Larson (“Rhumba Girl”) and The Weather Girls (“Well-a-Wiggy”), as well as Reba McIntyre and Wynonna Judd.

On Love Filling Station, Jesse Winchester wraps his warm high-lonesome tenor around nine original songs and three covers, including the plaintive Ben E. King classic, “Stand By Me,” the testifying gospel of “Far Side Bank of Jordan” and the old-school country of “Loose Talk,” which features a sterling duet with Jesse and singer Claire Lynch, whose voice recalls a cross between Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.

As always, Winchester’s original tunes focus on relationships and the very personal, yet universal themes of loving and longing bathed in down-home perspectives and attitudes, whether it’s the lovestruck wonderment of “O What a Thrill” (already covered by The Mavericks), the wry wit of “It’s a Shame About Him,” or the funky, rocky, gospel-tinged humor/desire of “Wear Me Out,” which features bluegrass great Jerry Douglas on lap steel guitar.

Produced by Bil VornDick and Jesse Winchester and recorded at Ocean Way Studio in Nashville, Love Filling Station also features a core band of Russ Barenberg on guitar and mandolin, Mark Fain on bass, Andy Leftwich on fiddle and Bob Mater on drums. The recording itself has such a warm, organic sound that hearing it brings the listener inside the studio surrounded by the musicians and Jesse Winchester, as if they were playing a house concert just for you.

A recipient of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers (ASCAP), Jesse Winchester and his music have always been informed by his upbringing in Memphis, whose sights, sounds and characters have flavored his songs from the very beginning. A self-imposed exile to Canada in 1967 during the Vietnam War years eventually brought him in touch with The Band’s Robbie Robertson, who produced his self-titled debut album, which included Levon Helm on drums and mandolin and was engineered by Todd Rundgren. After releasing seven albums between 1970 and 1981, Jesse took a long break and returned to record in 1988 with Humour Me, followed by another long break until the appropriately titled Gentleman of Leisure was released in 1999. In 2002, Jesse and his new wife relocated back the States and settled in Virginia. Even during his breaks from recording, he continued an active touring schedule, as he has throughout most of his career.

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