Photo @duffmckagan.com
Duff McKagan is celebrating the five-year anniversary of his acclaimed second solo album, TENDERNESS, with TENDERNESS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES, a brand new double-live collection arriving everywhere on Friday, May 31. Pre-orders are available now.
Recorded June 13, 2019 at Los Angeles’ historic El Rey Theatre just days following TENDERNESS’ May 2019 release, TENDERNESS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES sees McKagan taking an intimate journey through his own canon of songs along with a few deeply personal cover versions, backed by 3x GRAMMY® Award-winning TENDERNESS producer Shooter Jennings and his band. TENDERNESS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES is heralded by today’s premiere of an electrifying rendition of RIVER OF DECEIT, originally performed by McKagan’s close friends, Seattle supergroup Mad Season – comprised of guitarist Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), drummer Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), and the late Layne Staley (Alice in Chains) and bassist John Baker Saunders (The Walkabouts) – and available everywhere now.
“It was such a complete pleasure and honor to be able to work with Shooter Jennings and his stellar band for the recording of the songs that became the TENDERNESS record,” says Duff McKagan. “Having Aubrey and John playing fiddle and pedal steel guitar on the tracks, really led the music in a brand new direction for me. I strive for change and growth in life, and these guys ushered me into a brand new musical world. This relationship was made more special, when Shooter and the band agreed to tour TENDERNESS with me. Remember, Ted Kemp, Jamie Douglas, Aubrey Richmond, John Scheffler, and Shooter had been touring for years together. They are a tight-as-hell unit. I won the lottery!
“This live recording from the El Rey in Los Angeles showcases not only the songs on the record, but some cover songs we started to fold into the live set as we toured. We’ve highlighted a couple tracks from this show – TENDERNESS being one of course, and our version of the MAD SEASON song, RIVER OF DECEIT. Such a beautiful song written by guys from back home that I know now, and a couple who are no longer with us. It feels like a celebration to me. All of these live shows we did on that tour felt like a shedding, a prayer to better things, and a beautiful coming together of all you bad motherfuckers.”
“One of the highlights of my life was making Tenderness with Duff McKagan,” says Shooter Jennings. “A thoughtful songwriter and even more thoughtful person. Touring with Duff checked another box of personal dreams come true! We had a blast out on the road. “I remember playing the El Rey. The crowd was packed. I remember leaving the stage feeling like we had done something really special.
“Getting to mix the album all these years later was such a treat. To be able to mix it on the 1976 Frank Demedio custom API console (the same console that Prince recorded and mixed Purple Rain on) in legendary Sunset Sound Studio 3 (a.k.a. Snake Mountain), was like being able to distill a righteous memory through a flawless diamond. Sitting in that studio listening to the band play through those big speakers allowed for me to get lost in the music and let it guide me to bring this experience to record players everywhere!”
Newly mixed in the legendary Sunset Sound Studio 3 (a.k.a. Snake Mountain) by Jennings using the famed custom API console on which Prince recorded and mixed Purple Rain, TENDERNESS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES is further highlighted by powerful takes on The Clash’s classic CLAMPDOWN and such Guns N’ Roses fan favorites as YOU AIN’T THE FIRST, DUST N’ BONES, and DEAD HORSE. But at its heart, the set casts a spotlight on McKagan’s own striking songcraft, with live versions of tracks originally featured on TENDERNESS, including the volatile rocker, CHIP AWAY, which earned extraordinary praise from the Maestro himself, Bob Dylan, who recently declared the song a personal favorite.
Named by Loudwire as one of 2019’s “50 Best Rock Albums,” TENDERNESS marked a powerful new chapter for the ever-evolving McKagan, taking on societal ills and his own personal transgressions against a rich sonic backdrop of Americana-fueled arrangements. Fueled by such songs as the nuanced IT’S NOT TOO LATE and the deeply hopeful title track, TENDERNESS was met by widespread acclaim from such outlets as Rolling Stone, which hailed it in a three-and-a-half (out of four)-starred rave as “an album full of beauty and heart…It’s music of conscience, heavy songs with a light touch.” “A superb set of roots-rock ruminations,” declared Entertainment Weekly. “With Jennings’ help, McKagan crafted a mix of rock and Americana evoking both the Glimmer Twins and the Gutter Twins.” “McKagan takes a hard look at some of the most important issues facing our country right now…equal parts Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, and Lies-era Guns N’ Roses,” wrote Consequence.
For more than 40 years, Duff McKagan has been an unstoppable creative force, spanning a multitude of bands, tours, collaborations, and writings. Starting at just 15, McKagan has been a part of such diverse and influential bands as The Vains (1979), The Fastbacks (1980), The Living (1982), The Fartz (1990), 10 Minute Warning (1993), and Loaded (1998), along, of course, with his historic role as founding member of both Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver. In addition to his prolific musical efforts, McKagan is the New York Times best-selling author of 2011’s It’s So Easy: And Other Lies and 2015’s How to Be a Man: (And Other Illusions), and the co-host (with Susan Holmes McKagan) of the popular Three Chords & The Truth radio show, airing in North America on Sirius XM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard (Ch. 38). In addition, Three Chords & The Truth airs weekly on stations around the globe including Denmark’s myROCK, the UK’s Planet Rock, Finland’s Radio Rock, Ireland’s Nova, Norway’s Radio Rock, Sweden’s Rock Klassiker, Germany/Switzerland/Austria’s Rock Antenne, Iceland’s x977, and Poland’s Antyradio.
DUFF MCKAGAN
TENDERNESS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES
Release Date: May 31, 2024
Tracklist:
YOU AIN’T THE FIRST
BREAKING ROCKS
TENDERNESS
CHIP AWAY
FEEL
WASTED HEART
RIVER OF DECEIT
DUST N’ BONES
LAST SEPTEMBER
IT’S NOT TOO LATE
FALLING DOWN
COLD OUTSIDE
PARKLAND
CLAMPDOWN
DEAD HORSE
DON’T LOOK BEHIND YOU
DEEPEST SHADE
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By: Bass Magazine