Following on from the Primal Scream frontman’s brilliantly-received previous release for Ace, ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ (accolades included being short-listed for Rough Trade’s compilation of the year), Bobby Gillespie brings us another slice of the music that soundtracks his life. And in this case, it’s his touring life. Drawing on the experience of ‘the way that the noise and clamour of the road can tire you out, wear you down and frazzle your nerves to shattered fragments of jangled exhaustion’, these are the records Bobby turns to for solace, for comfort, for empathy and for resourcefulness.
The compilation features an introduction from the man himself, talking us through his personal choices as though he’s sitting cross-legged on the carpet going through records with you in his lounge. Also long-time cohort of the band, Kris Needs has written extensive liner notes, serving up an intensive track by track insight and analysis.
Titled after and kicking off with the Willie Nelson track of the same name, ‘I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone’ leads us through a darker and deeper exploration than it’s predecessor, featuring Nick Cave’s funereal version of ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ and Ry Cooder’s sparse and beautiful reworking of ‘Dark End Of The Street’. And we get there via such greats as Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Donnie Fritts, Crazy Horse, Lee Hazlewood, Al Green, Thin Lizzy and so many more.
In Bobby’s own words: ‘These songs are soul savers to soothe frayed and battered nerves and to ease and settle the heart. They work on me like medicine every time. I would like to share this wonderful music that has given me strength, joy and inspiration over the years with you the listener, so that you too might get the same feelings of protection and inspiration that I do whenever I listen to these songs. We're all travellers on some kind of road through this life, and we all need respite from time to time - the music on this compilation is soul food of the highest order - I hope you enjoy it.’
