New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The legendary Leicester band,
Diesel Park West, has released eight albums to date starting with 'Shakespeare Alabama' in 1989 and a ninth one currently in the works. Whilst being contemporaries of both the baggy movement and writers such as Mike Scott and
Neil Finn they dug far deeper into the sixties mine with Butlers songs suggesting links to Arthur Lee and Fred Neil which may resonate more loudly today than at the time.
After spending 21 years off the radar, up and coming American label, Palo Santo Records, has taken what Q magazine called "intoxicating alchemy of Celtic-like passion" and delicately remastered and reassembled the parts for a 2018 audience in glorious gatefold, double-LP wax with three bonus tracks. "John tracked down and mailed us a tape from the original sessions containing mixes of all the songs appearing on the original edition, plus three songs that never made it into the album," explains
Sarah Henry who runs the Dallas based independent label, "those three additional songs became Side 4 of double LP." The tapes were sent to Stephen Marcussen for vinyl pre-mastering in Los Angeles, whilst lacquer mastering and metal parts fabrication was done at Welcome to 1979 in Nashville.
"I never intend to write solo albums anymore than I intend to write band albums, I just write," recalls John when talking about the work on 'The Loyal Serpent' back in 1996-7, his first solo album, which gained a four star review in Q magazine upon its release via iconic British label Chrysalis Records and in which his band mates all played a part in the recording. Recorded live between legendary Grammy-award winning Parr Street Studios in Liverpool and a studio in Coventry, then mixed Brewer Street Studios in London. The original record, which came out initially to great reviews but was relatively unsuccessful commercially, has since grown in stature.
The three bonus tracks - not included in the original album release - the potential radio single 'Love It', the funky 'Genius Alert' and the soul-influenced 'Work On It', are not the typical fillers that make up the kind of re-release major labels put together, but underestimated high caliber songs that show John Butler's rare songwriting talent. Overlooked at the time, and finally released on vinyl for the first time, 'The Loyal Serpent' is a lost gem now rediscovered.
