US Rails - We Have All Been Here Before (2018)

Tracklist

01. Second Hand News
02. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
03. Poor Poor Pitiful Me
04. Love in Vain
05. Train in Vain
06. Put the Message in the Box
07. So into You
08. Loving Cup
09. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
10. I'd Rather Be (Blind, Crippled & Crazy)
11. Running on Empty

Almost a decade ago five musician friends decided to start a band in addition to their long-lasting solo careers because they were convinced it could grow into something big. By now US Rails have established themselves as classic Blue Rose artists, they are about to release their fifth album, We Have All Been Here Before. The album differs quite a bit from its predecessors US Rails (2010), Southern Canon (2011), Heartbreak Superstar (2013) and Ivy (2017). What does a band do when they are about to go on tour and would like to present a new album but do not have enough new songs? Exactly, they look for fitting songs by other songwriters and record a covers album. This approach isn't always successful but the song selections and arrangements by Tom Gillam, Ben Arnold, Scott Bricklin and Matt Muir work like gangbusters! All four of them cherry-picked their songs and interpreted them as if they were original compositions. We Have All Been Here Before contains a delightful mix of well-known and lesser-known gems from rock and pop history. It's legitimate to assume that Poor Poor Pitiful Me by Warren Zevon, So Into You by the Atlanta Rhythm Section or the old blues number I'd Rather Be (Blind, Crippled & Crazy), recently rejuvenated by the Derek Trucks Band, were picked by Tom Gillam - they seem to fit right into his wheelhouse. Ben Arnold sings lead on Neil Young's Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere and Put The Message In The Box by Karl Wallinger's band World Party - a clear indicator as to who picked these songs. Scott Bricklin is a declared Beatles fan - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away may very well have been his suggestion. Matt Muir is not only a great drummer, he also has a beautiful singing voice that he lends to Second Hand News from Fleetwood Mac's classic album Rumours and to album closer Running On Empty by Jackson Browne. Each member of US Rails is a great songwriter - they don't have to prove it with every album. We Have All Been Here Before is a beautifully fresh-sounding in-between record to shorten the wait for the next album with original songs.

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