ADAM KLEIN & THE WILD FIRES – Sky Blue Deville

Adam Klein & The Wild Fires’ first record together. Americana/folk rock featuring Klein along with Steve Abercrombie (bass), Crash Cason (electric guitar), Bronson Tew (engineer; drums) plus special guests Randall Bramblett (keys and saxophone), Ike Stubblefield (Hammond B3 organ), and David Blackmon (fiddle).

Track Listing:

1. Sky Blue DeVille
2. Restless Soul
3. Days to Come
4. Drivin’ in the Rain
5. In a Southern Way
6. Goodnight Nobody
7. Jesse’s Mind
8. Where Our Love Is
9. Highway of Your Love

My personal reflections on this Record:

I recall tracking bass on many of these tracks at Full Moon Studios in Watkinsville. That place had a monstrous bass cabinet (maybe an Ampeg?). I used this as well as smaller rig combos for different tracks. Bronson Tew was an excellent studio engineer and producer that had also a deep knowledge of the bass, so I was in good hands in terms of things sounding great.

One of my stronger memories of this day of recording happened during setup when we learned of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s death. This was a shock and a great loss for the creative world. He was only 47, so it helped create an urgency in myself, to document as much creativity as possible in light of the ticking clock.

I remember my Jazz Bass had a buzz in it (imagine that- a Jazz bass with buzzy pickups), so Bronson tried to do some quick rewiring using wire scrap from the floor. I live for this kind of ramshackle ingenuity, so this was a satisfying part of the experience as well. This was my main machine for flat wounds, so we may have used a studio bass on a few tracks.

High points included my attempts at Rick Dankoism in Goodnight Nobody, the Sun Studio simplicity of the title track, and the story song Jesse’s Mind. Bronson played some excellent upright bass on Days to Come, and electric on the the gritty Drivin in the Rain. It was just the three of us for my sessions, but later ones included Crash Cason, David Blackmon, Randall Bramblett and Ike Stubblefield.

Overall a fine experience and an album that will stay in my personal rotation. See below for links to listen and purchase.

ON APPLE MUSIC

See this and many other releases at Adam-Klein.com.