Flower Petals
429 Records
In 1994 the Subdudes were one of the brightest spots on “adult album alternative” radio. They and the Iguanas, also from New Orleans, were among the cream of that era’s Americana crop. The Subdudes’ “Annunciation” and the Iguanas’ “Nuevo Boogaloo” peaked that year at Nos. 19 and 34, respectively, on Billboard’s Heatseekers album chart.
“Flower Petals” is the Subdudes’ fourth post-reunion album, and would have been their second if the demos hadn’t been shelved twice — in 2004 and 2006 — at the urging of Back Porch/Blue Note. Go figure, because it’s arguably the band’s second-best release.
The decision to revive the Old West-themed concept album came last fall during the Subdudes’ still-ongoing acoustic tour, when the members traded in electric guitar, organ and tambourine for acoustic guitar, accordion and bass drum. The instrumentation was perfect for the material. Ukulele, dulcimer and mandolin were added for good measure, and a few hired guns were brought in on dobro, pedal steel and keyboards (including Al Kooper on two songs) to finish it off.
The story line, involving a recently deceased turn-of-the-century soldier whose backstory is revealed through flashbacks, came about purely by chance:
” ‘Flower Petals’ was supposed to be the first song on (2004’s) ‘Miracle Mule,’ ” bassist/second guitarist Jimmy Messa told Good New Music by phone when he had a few minutes before a Fairfield, Conn., soundcheck.
“We thought, ‘Man, what a great song we’ve got here,’ ” Messa said. “It was about a guy who died, so we thought, ‘Who was this guy who died?’ and wrote a song about that. Then we thought, ‘Well, who killed him?’ and wrote another song about that.”
And so a song written in 2001 was left off an album in 2004, in turn inspiring more songs that became an album that never made it past the demo stage because record companies don’t know a good thing when they hear it. Finally the group took matters into their own hands (with the aid of Ron and Howard Albert and Steve Alaimo), and thankfully 429 Records knew a good thing when they heard it.
Tracks
1. Flower Petals Intro
2. The Flower And The Fire
3. Standing Water
4. Barley In The Silo
5. The Blacksmith Song
6. False Front (They All Know My Number)
7. Town Square
8. Sho’ Looks Guilty
9. The Shepherd
10. Wedding Rites (I Already Knew You)
11. Redemption Dance
12. Flower Petals
13. My Soul (Soldier’s Release)
14. Nightshade
Total time: 51:04
External links
artist’s website
amazon.com
iTunes Store
