| The Flatlanders - 'Wheels of Fortune' | |
 JIMMIE DALE GILMORE, JOE ELY AND BUTCH HANCOCK ARE THE FLATLANDERS 14 tracks recorded fresh on the heels of their highly successful first tour. Track Listings 1. Baby Do You Love Me Still? 2. Wheels Of Fortune 3. Midnight Train 4. Wishin' For You 5. Eggs Of Your Chicken 6. I'm Gonna Strangle You Shorty 7. Back To My Old Molehill 8. Deep Eddy Blues 9. Neon Of Nashville 10. Once Followed By The Wind 11. Go To Sleep Alone 12. Indian Cowboy 13. Whistle Blues 14. See The Way " There is such glee in their voices…One can only hope they’re serious when they sing in one song, 'It feels so good I might be right where I belong.'" -Brian Mansfield, USA Today The Flatlanders' new album, Wheels of Fortune (New West Records), represents the realization of a dream three legendary Texas singer-songwriters briefly shared more than thirty years ago. In 1972, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock were all in their twenties and already close friends. Having played together informally for some time, they recorded an album's worth of songs as The Flatlanders and tried being a band. They took the demo to Nashville, and no one paid them much attention. So each artist pursued a solo career, and each has become a noted singer-songwriter in his own right. As Ely, Gilmore and Hancock rose in stature over the years, stray copies of the Flatlanders' recordings circulated—multiplied by a 1980 British vinyl issue and a 1990 reissue—inspiring speculation about what a new collaboration might produce. Having remained friends throughout, the songwriters regrouped for a much-anticipated reunion record, 2002's Now Again, which was a runaway critical and commercial success. Mojo magazine even called them a "country Beatles." To support the album, The Flatlanders set out on an extensive international tour that included scores of sold out shows. The ride has been so rewarding for Ely, Gilmore and Hancock that they decided to become the band they once imagined they could be. Fresh on the heels of their eighty-city Now Again tour, they immediately returned to the studio to record Wheels of Fortune, a new set that reveals the collaboration seamlessly cemented and the players at the height of their musicianship. "We didn’t want to go another thirty years before we made a record," Ely says. "We said, 'We ought to just get together while the band is hot and fresh and record.'" A winter tour will also be announced soon. Recorded and produced by Ely at his studio in Austin, Wheels of Fortune finds the Flatlanders backed by their road-tested band—Robbie Gjersoe (guitars, banjo, vocals), Steve Wesson (musical saw), Tony Pearson (vocals), Gary Herman (bass), and Chris Searles (drums). All fourteen tracks bristle with the distinctive mix of grit, humor, and alt-country twang that made the 1972 recordings so compelling. While Midnight Train is down-and-dirty blues-rock, See The Way is a mournful acoustic number. The upbeat, honky-tonk sound of I’m Gonna Strangle You Shorty, is offset by the somber, country-influenced Neon of Nashville.
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