In April the Townedgers will release their first album in five years called No Exit. Recorded with longtime associate and producer Richard Dennanbaugh along with R. Smith, No Exit returns the the harder rock and roll sound that the TEs haven't done since There's Nothing Yet although Rod Smith has said that this record is more like Town's Edge Rock, the album that put R.Smith and company on the map 30 years ago. With a generous 14 song selection and 57 minute running time, it's another chapter into a long career and life's meaning for Rod Smith and the band.
For the first since 20, Geoff Redding returns to full time guitar player and John Verhoven taking up bass duties before leaving to reform Bullshot with Mark Glarington who contributes the title track and dedicated to Michelle Bachmann, the crazed GOP Minnesota Senator that has been known to say stupid stuff. The artwork itself pretty much ties in with the song as well.
Smith says that the recording was unique, the first time we went into the studio with a blank paper and no songs, the 14 songs, with the exception of One More Time which lyrics from a 1992 session was used and Stone City a remake of a hidden cut from More R.Smith And The Townedgers, finally given the full song treatment were recorded as they happened from jamming and coming up with new chords along the way. It's been a while since we done that way Smith says and even he was surprised of the end results.
The one cover song used is the infamous The End by The Doors, which came together very quickly after an impromptu jam session, to which Dennanbaugh overheard Smith sing This Is The End to a D minor chord Redding was playing as the band was writing new songs. One of most unsounding of all Townedgers number, the The End plays to the original Doors version with plenty of improvisation all around and done on a dare the song ends the album to which after the playback everybody looking and Smith saying "did we really do that?"
In R Smith fashion, the songs on No Exit are a style and ideas that is typical of The Townedgers, in fact when you think about it, plenty of influences are all over the place with the vocals the most surprising of all. Smith channels his inner Luna in One More Time, revisits the ghost of Jim Morrison on The End, screams with the best of Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke on Law Of The Land and somehow Ian Curtis plays rock star on You Know I'm Not Good For You, but Smith's inner Del Shannon can be heard on the reflective Curio and Passage To Yesterday and as always pays Neil Young a tribute with Into The Now.
"I think this record has the best vocals that I have ever done" Smith says with pride. "But God knows we spent many a hour trying to get them up in the mix. Plus the fact that either we had bad cassette tapes or the damn player was falling apart didn't help much either". Martin Daniels who worked on the remixing with Chris Denton said that was a problem as well. "Smith loves to hide the vocals as far back as he can" Daniels says "and we fought with technology to get them out in front". For the most part, I think there's a bit more sense of humor than Pawnshops For Olivia, said Daniels. Abstract Girl is very tongue in cheek, and the Pies in the oven comment, well that's about baking but I guess you can consider that risque.
No Exit the album begin in December after Diggy Kat, a friend DJ and Townedgers supporter was talking about a new album and Smith didn't think there wasn't any forthcoming, and basically the TEs were history. Diggy Kat convinced Smith to revisit the TEs catalog and played a few songs during his broadcast. "That got the ball rolling" said Smith. "So I spent most of January going through my favorite albums and decided let's give this another go and besides this is the 30th year of Town Edge Rock. So in late January and thoughout the winter months, Smith begin to write with major plodding from Redding and Dennanbaugh. Geoff Redding: "For the last five years, we did things Rod's way and nothing was getting done, we had to show him that's more to life than buying out music stores. We had to go over to his place, get him off the computer or from the TV set and get him to get involved with the music. If he got bored, we still had to continue to get him to be interested and that the biggest hurdle. We were going to lose him at the record store this time out."
Another factor in the making of No Exit was that a song submitted for Songs That Made An Impact, Queen Of Anamosa was included. "Make no mistake Diggy Kat got it going, therefore I had to make a new album" Smith says. "But I also thought Queen Of Anamosa was better as a electric number rather than the acoustic number that was quickly mixed and given to Diggy for his compilation" (the acoustic version can be found on Soul Biscuits! 2012) "therefore we did a electric number"
"In a era to which independent music is so much out there that everything gets lost in the shuffle No Exit was made for our fans and for myself," Smith remarks. " Basically I wanted to hear something new for myself since I am too a fan of The Townedgers. If I'm not a fan than it's all a wasted effort, you can't bullshit the masses or critics or radio, so it's all for ourselves and the ones that support us the best. I can see myself playing this album as long as I live. I think it fits in well with Pawnshops or Road Less Traveled or Diamonds In The Skies".
And what is about that Cannery Row? Smith: Basically it's my version of Don't Tell Me Your Troubles by Don Gibson done in a different way. Take yourself and problems away and go to Cannery Row and tell it to the ghosts that live there. It's something different I gather.
NO EXIT
Produced by Richard Dennanbaugh with Rodney Smith
Recorded by Richard Dennanbaugh, R.S. and Martin Daniels
Mixed by Chris Denton with input from the creepy old dude
Recorded at The Hoarder House, Springville Wintertime 2013
The Songs:
Into The Now (Smith/Redding) 4:19
Abstract Girl (Smith/Redding) 3:39
Queen Of Anamosa (Smith) 4:00
One More Time (Smith/Orbit) 4:55
Keep On Walking (Smith) 3:30
Cannery Row (Smith/Redding) 3:29
Law Of The Land (Smith/Orbit) 3:27
Goodbye Doesn't Mean Forever (Smith/Passmore) 5:07
You Know I'm Not Good For You (Smith/Miller) 3:09
A Passage To Yesterday (Smith/Redding) 2:46
Stone City (Smith/Redding/Verhoven/Janey) 2:24
No Exit (Smith/Redding/Glarington) 3:50
Curio (Smith/Redding/Verhoven) 2:40
The End (Morrison/Manzarek/Krieger/Densmore) 9:35
All songs Copyright Control.
The End: Doors Music Company (ASCAP)
