For many years, I’ve enjoyed Bob Dylan’s bootleg albums. They’re not really bootleg in that they’re official, but made up of songs that didn’t make it on a regular album. That’s what I’ve done with my new album, Nashville Bootleg. Most of these songs were recorded or otherwise written in Nashville. As a prolific songwriter, it became clear that these songs would not make it on an album either, but many told me they’re too good to remain unheard.
The album starts with Can’t Remember Yesterday, a song I wrote in St. Augustine, Florida where I woke one morning seven years ago deciding to pursue a songwriting career. It’s a favorite of many people. I wrote Leave Me No Pennies while on a music retreat in Kauai. After a late night of philosophizing about songwriting, I woke early with the song in my head. These are two of four songs sung by Nashville vocalist Stevie Bower. My daughter, Thérèse, sings Flowers & Weeds. I wrote this little country waltz in the Catskill Mountains after Rick Rubin gave me the songwriting “assignment” to write and sing something a cappella. I wrote Nowhere To Run for Johnny Cash. It’s not about him, but I was visiting him regularly at his home, and on one trip this song just came out as a gift for him. It contains one of my favorite lyrics: “You better map your mind, and remember this day, you better keep what’s fine, and throw the rest away.” If Tomorrow Never Comes is a song we play differently now, but this country version is the original recording. My Little One is among my first songs, written for my son, Phil. I thought it was perfect for my daughter Thérèse to sing, and she does it beautifully. Another very early song is Red Wine Cork, complete with wonderful violin harmonies and full band. Many have told me they relate to the line, “A red wine cork in a white wine bottle.” This is the first recording of this song, with a later one on my first album, We All Need. One Time Too Many just came out one morning while in Europe on a music tour. It has an Elvis flavor, and very country. I wrote Blind Man after reading a case history of a man who had his sight restored after being blind from birth. The stress of seeing was so much that he had the surgery reversed. I was even able to weave some neurological terms into it. You Ain’t Suzannah is an old style country song with an unexpected twist, a sadness that comes from its truth.
Through the help of some great studio musicians in Nashville, these early songs were really brought to life. David “Fergie” Ferguson engineered and mixed most of them, with Ken Sluiter engineering and mastering the album. Special thanks to Rick Rubin and Jimmy Tittle.
Please see the Nashville! page on this Website for more information and photos.
I hope you enjoy these very special songs.
-– Phil Maffetone
