New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Omnivore Recordings has announced the release of Steve Cropper's original solo debut album With A
Little Help From My
Friends on vinyl and on an expanded CD, which will include 8 previously unissued bonus tracks, out on October 6.
As a founding member of Stax house band Booker T. & The M.G.'s, Steve Cropper was involved in some of the most important music of the 1960s as a player, songwriter, and producer. The following decade introduced him to a new group of fans as guitarist for The Blues Brothers, appearing on both their records and film. A two-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Cropper has been an integral thread in the cloth of American music, writing, playing and producing into the 21st century to this very day.
In 1969, Cropper released his first solo album, producing and arranging its eleven tracks himself. His backing band? While there is no actual record of who played on the album itself, Grammy winner Robert Gordon's liner notes point to his fellow M.G.'s,
Buddy Miles, Jim Keltner, the Bar-Kay's
James Alexander, and more as candidates. From original tracks to its well-known covers (including The
Beatles classic the release shares its name with), it is a tour de force of pure
Memphis rock and soul.
The core eleven tracks now appear again on an all-analog cut, new pressing of the LP as With A
Little Help From My
Friends returns for a new generation to experience. The CD version contains a whopping eight bonus tracks, including four tracks not included on the original release and alternate versions of four that do. Add in Robert Gordon's notes and this release is as much a history lesson as it is a timepiece of pure musical magic.
Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/0IJzpCEfTbU
Pre-order: https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/with-a-little-help
With A
Little Help From My
Friends Tracklist:
1. Crop-Dustin'
2. Land Of 1000 Dances
3. 99-½
4. Boo-Ga-Loo Down Broadway
5. Funky Broadway
6. With A
Little Help From My Friends
7. Oh, Pretty Woman
8. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water
9. The Way I Feel Tonight
10. In The Midnight Hour
11. Rattlesnake
CD Only Bonus Tracks:
12. You Don't Know
13. I'm Going Home
14. Grazing In The Grass (Take 2)
15. Soulful Strut (Take 10)
16. Oh, Pretty Woman (Alternate Version)
17. The Way I Feel
Tonight (Alternate Version)
18. Boo-Ga-Loo Down Broadway (Alternative Version)
19. Land Of 1000 Dances (Alternative Version)
