New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Jim Keller has announced By No Means, his first studio album in seven years, will be released on February 12. Produced by Mitchell Froom (Randy Newman, Crowded House) and featuring Los Lobos legend
David Hidalgo on guitar and an ace rhythm section of Michael Urbano (Todd Rundgren, John Hiatt) and Bob Glaub (Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon), By No Means contains eleven new original tracks, marking the next chapter in one of music's most unique careers.
For Keller, some previous chapters have included penning the huge hit "867-5309 / Jenny" as a member of Tommy Tutone in the 80s and spending the past 25+ years as Philip Glass' manager. A cult figure in the music business, Keller's gigs at New York's Lakeside Lounge and The Rockwood
Music Hall are legendary. If the best players in town weren't on stage with him, they were in the audience.
Listen to the laid back grooves of "Easy Rider" via WNYC's New
Sounds HERE.The song finds Keller getting nostalgic for a more youthful time of missed soundchecks, vehicle breakdowns and the less glamorous elements of life on the road. All proceeds from the release of "Easy Rider" will be donated to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund in support of Giving Tuesday. Pre-order By No Means here: https://ffm.to/bynomeans
For months leading up to the announcement of By No Means, Keller enlisted dozens of his heavy-hitter friends to rework the album's acoustic blues stomper "Don't Get Me Started" to their own liking. View the results - which include contributions from Nels Cline, Marc Ribot, Glass, Hidalgo and many others - via (the) DONT GET ME STARTED (thing).
While Keller's prior well-received solo albums very much boasted a full band sound, By No Means' unadorned arrangements were influenced by Keller's rough-hewn, worldly-wise vocals. Mitchell Froom has described these songs as seemingly simple but ultimately sophisticated in structure; comparing them to both a haiku and to the iconic philosophy behind the Muscle Shoals Sound ("we're just gonna play less.") The album stands as a new, richly rewarding milestone in Keller's career, with Froom adding the album feels almost "like a greatest hits record because all of the songs are so simple and catchy."
BY NO MEANS TRACKLIST
Easy Rider
Laying On The Tracks
I Don't Want To Fight Anymore
Mistakes
Find My Shadow
Maria Come Home
Don't Get Me Started
Pretending
Love On The Line
Wild Love
Done Walking The Line.
