ARTiST: Eric Brace & Peter Cooper
ALBUM: You Don't Have To Like Them Both
BiTRATE: 171kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: Red Beet Records
GENRE: Folk/Rock
SiZE: 56.78 megs
PLAYTiME: 0h 43min 49sec total
RiP DATE: 2009-01-10
STORE DATE: 2008-11-18
Track List:
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01. I Know A Bird 3:16
02. Omar's Blues #2 2:56
03. Down To The Well 3:44
04. Drinking From A Swimming Pool 4:19
05. The Man Who Hates Love 3:03
06. The First In Line 3:17
07. Denali, Not McKinley 3:45
08. I Know Better Now 4:06
09. Lucky Bones 4:04
10. Her Bright Smile Haunts Me 4:30
Still
11. Just The Other Side Of Nowhere 3:41
12. Yesterdays And Used To Be's 3:08
Release Notes:
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Since 1997, Eric Brace has been the frontman and songwriter for the acclaimed
roots-rock band Last Train Home. With eight CDs and one live concert DVD to its
credit, LTH is one of the most prolific and admired bands in the "Americana"
world.
At the core of the band's sound are Eric's evocative songs and his warm voice.
"Brace's tenor, when combined with his lyrics which evoke endless late nights on
the prairies without ever specifically referring to them, is one of the
treasures of the whole Americana genre," says roots-rock great Sid Griffin (Long
Ryders, Coal Porters) in a review in the peerless British music magazine MOJO.
The Washington Post proclaims that "Brace hasn't let years of grueling road work
compromise his songcraft," while the British audiophile magazine Hi-Fi Plus
lauds Eric's "great grasp of melody and song structure."
With his latest release, "You Don't Have to Like Them Both," Eric steps away
from the comfortable surroundings of Last Train Home, and puts his own name on
the cover of the CD. It's a co-bill, a duo recording with Nashville songwriter
Peter Cooper (whose debut "Mission Door" is a Red Beet release). Eric and Peter
have been friends since Eric's move to Nashville in 2004, a friendship that was
solidified in Peter's living room listening to Tom T. Hall, Willis Alan Ramsey,
the Seldom Scene, Charley Pride while pouring screw top red wine. Pretty soon
they were playing guitars and singing songs togetherùfirst in that same living
room, then on tour: Europe, Alaska, and the Lower 48 too. Then came the
recording sessions for "You Don't Have to Like Them Both," where some of the
greatest musicians in Nashville lent their skills to songs of Eric's and
Peter's, as well as covers by Jim Lauderdale, Todd Snider, Kris Kristofferson
and others.
The collaboration with Peter Cooper is the second of Eric's non-LTH projects,
the first being the 2006 release "The Skylighters." That's Eric, plus bluegrass
legends Mike Auldridge (dobro, pedal steel) and Jimmy Gaudreau (mandolin,
guitar), along with the LTH rhythm section of Jim Gray and Martin Lynds. That
record is a lively mix of bluegrass, country, western swing and more.
Besides keeping LTH rolling down the track, Eric's got several other
collaborations and solo projects in the works. One currently on the front burner
is a musical (or song cycle or concept album or whatever you want to call it)
about the California Gold Rush. It's a collaboration with Washington DC
songwriter Karl Straub (whose songs "Tonight," "It Doesn't Matter," "They Dance
Real Close There," and "Soul Parking" have been recorded by LTH).
This whole musical path started when Eric played in a Boston-area bluegrass
band, the Mystic Valley Mountaneers, while in college. Back in Washington DC in
the '80s he formed the guitar-pop/indie-rock band B-Time with his brother Alan
Brace.
A more roots oriented band, the Beggars, followed in the early '90s, again with
Alan, LTH steel player Dave Van Allen, singer Alice Despard, ex-Neighbor
guitarist John Moremen, and others. Eric also spent several years playing bass
with Kevin Johnson & the Linemen. During that same period, Eric ran the
Washington-area label Top Records, releasing a dozen albums by DC bands Carnival
of Souls, the New Keys, Sleep of Reason, Not Even, and more.
From 1992 to 2002, Eric was a columnist for The Washington Post, covering first
the local arts scene, then the area's nightlife and live music world.
In 1997, the self-titled "Last Train Home" CD was released, and it was just a
matter of time before word got out to the point where Eric could take LTH on the
road full-time. That happened in 2002, the same year that LTH won the Washington
Area Music Association's Wammie award for "Artist of the Year." Since then, the
band has appeared on the CBS's "Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson," the
syndicated public radio program "Mountain Stage," and on stage opening for the
likes of Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton.
Living in Nashville has led to recognition of Eric's strengths as a songwriter,
and he has collaborated with some of Nashville's finest writers, such as Jim
Lauderdale, Walter Egan, Amelia White. He recently formed the Red Beet Records
label, releasing two compilation CDs of music from East Nashville, as well as
Peter Cooper's "Mission Door" and Fayssoux's "Early."