John Wesley Harding Sings to A Small Guitar Vol II

by John Wesley Harding

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1.	Hey! Director! 03:11	buy track
2.	The Coming Of Sound 02:58	buy track
3.	The Promise Of Love 02:47	buy track
4.	I Don't Work Here 03:20	buy track
5.	Sorry, Lazarus 03:42	buy track
6.	I'll Be Your Eyes 03:31	buy track
7.	You're It! 03:09	buy track
8.	The Receiving End 02:56	buy track
9.	The Bullet Catch 03:20	buy track
10.	Ballad Of The Inferno 04:47	buy track
11.	The Funeral Band 03:45	buy track
12.	The Meltdown 03:18	buy track
13.	I Know Nothing 03:25	buy track
14.	Why Must The Show Go On? 04:05	buy track
15.	We Are Not The First 03:05	buy track

about

By 2010, JWH had recorded at least 400 songs over 15 lengthy demo sessions since 1986. He decided to harvest the best of these otherwise completely unheard recordings for the two volumes of John Wesley Harding Sings to A Small Guitar. Found only here, these are as intimate as recordings can be: just one man and his guitar, delivering the news.

credits

released October 6, 2020

Produced and Arranged by JWH

1, 4, 14 recorded by David Seitz at Shelter Island Studio, NYC (6.6.06)
2, 7, 10, 11, 13 by Chris von Sneidern at Ordophon-upon-Avon, SF (6.7.94)
3, 9 recorded by Pete Gerrald in his house, Seattle, WA (6.30.99)
5 recorded by Kurt Bloch in his hallway, Ballard, WA (5.23.01)
6, 8, 12 recorded by Sean Slade & Paul Kolderie at Fort Apache, Cambridge, MA (9.12.91)
15 recorded by Chris von Sneidern at Ordophon-upon-Avon, SF (8.28.96)

Mastered by Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta at The Lodge, NYC

ORIGINAL LINER NOTE

Throughout my career, I’ve chosen, for whatever reason, to make my demos in epic sessions often lasting three or four hours, thirty or so songs at a time. Each one of these demos, though it is only me and an acoustic guitar, gets a name that ends up as the first working title of the forthcoming album: from Love Songs In The Face of Social Adversity (1988) to Dilettante’s Inferno (2006.) It’s the unedited, alternative history of my albums, and, since I’ve never owned any equipment that could remotely be described as a 'home studio', it always takes place in someone else’s studio.

"JWH Sings To A Small Guitar" Vols I and II contain the best of these otherwise unreleased songs from the many sessions – none have been released, most have never even been played live. Often these songs were forgotten because I had written too many by the time I next made a record; sometimes because they didn’t suit the style of the album I wanted to make. Some get passed from one demo tape to the next, changing titles on the way. Some, including many you know, never got recorded as demos at all because they popped up at the wrong time.

You’ll find a complete sessionography of these tapes on a poster. You’ll notice that some of the tapes are in alphabetical or reverse alphabetical order: I recorded them this way to stop me putting all my favourites at the top. Equal opportunities for all songs! Also, it’s interesting to realize things I couldn’t have told you (and to wonder why those things were): like the fact that 50/50 Split could easily have been on "Here Comes The Groom", or that When You Smile could have been on "JWH’s New Deal", let alone "Awake" and "Confessions", before it was finally rewritten to become the closing track on "Adam’s Apple", or that Byron Road was finally renamed Narrow Road after five years and three recordings. Why?

I am making my next demo of new songs next month, recording my next record of brand new songs in November, and releasing Vol II of "JWH Sings To A Small Guitar" before the year is out.
In the meanwhile…
best wishes from
JWH

All songs written by John Wesley Harding (TOWNSONGS/ASCAP)

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about

John Wesley Harding Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wesley Stace was born in Hastings in 1965. Since 1988, he has released many albums under the name John Wesley Harding - his most recent, 2018’s Wesley Stace’s John Wesley Harding, with the Jayhawks as his backing band. Stace has published four novels, including the international bestseller Misfortune, and recently co-wrote Mark Morris’ memoir Out Loud. ... more

wesleystace.com

shows

May 24

The Castle Hotel Manchester

Manchester, UK

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