Artist: Leeroy Stagger Album: Radiant Land Bitrate: 233kbps avg Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz Label: Blue Rose Records Genre: Rock Size: 68.50 megs PlayTime: 0h 38min 46sec total Rip Date: 2012-03-03 Store Date: 2012-02-24 Track List: -------- 01. Dirty Windshields 3:39 02. Enough To Go Around 2:34 03. Maria 2:56 04. Radiant Land 3:05 05. For The Love Of You 3:34 06. Message Of Love 4:09 07. Light That Guides You Home 4:20 08. Nighttime Talks To Me 3:28 09. Capatilism (Must Die!) 4:04 10. Travelling Over Water 3:40 11. Untitled 3:17 Release Notes: -------- Canadians are a little different and music from the north of the American continent is always special! Blue Rose have always been purveyors of Canadian music: The Hooblers, Fred Eaglesmith, Driveway, Bocephus King were with us early on, later there were Trevor Alguire, Corb Lund and Dustin Bentall and then there's singer-songwriter and heartland rocker LEEROY STAGGER who is about to release his fourth album on Blue Rose and take another few steps up in label hierarchy! For four years Stagger has been part of the Blue Rose family, first as a member of ESP whose acoustic, back porch record One For The Ditch caused some waves after its release in the late summer of 2008. ESP (Easton Stagger Phillips) was an accidental band, a case of unplanned magic with Blue Rose artist Tim Easton, Evan Phillips - leader of Alaskan band The Whipsaws - and Leeroy Stagger. Before joining ESP, Leeroy had released four acclaimed solo albums, Dear Love (2004), Beautiful House (2005), Tales From The Back Porch (2006) und Depression River (2007) - quite possibly the finest catalog of a young Canadian roots & country rocker at the time. His Blue Rose debut Everything Is Real was a milestone in his career, causing comparisons to the likes of Steve Earle, Tom Petty, Paul Westerberg, John Mellencamp, Ryan Adams or Son Volt's Jay Farrar. Still, Stagger focused on his own sound of CanAmericana/Prairie Rock - a mix of classic country, guitar pop hooks, heartland rock, alt.country, roadhouse rock, singer-songwriter and semi-acoustic folk-rock ballads with honest lyrics about social, personal or global topics. His 2010 album Little Victories described - not only in the title track - life's little lies, everyday troubles and the charms of small town life in the prairie. Leeroy Stagger had come through a hard time of alcohol and drug consumption in Vancouver to start over in Lethbridge, Alberta: Step by step of little victories in life and even bigger victories with his music ranging from Juno Awards - the Canadian Grammys - to climbing the Americana charts. And the names of his backing bands kept changing, after the Sinking Hearts came the Wildflowers with whom he toured Germany and recorded Live At The Red River Saloon 2010. In early 2012 it's simply Leeroy Stagger And His Band. The idea for the new album Radiant Land came on a two-month tour of the USA in the summer of 2011. Drummer Nick Stecz had just joined Stagger (guitar, lead vocal) and Evan Uschenko (bass, guitar, backing vocal) and rounded out the line-up. During two off-days in Nashville they planned to just demo a few of Stagger's new songs - and that became the album. Everything fell into place! In Robin Eaton (Jill Sobule, Tommy Womack, Tim Easton) they found a capable engineer and occasional collaborator (upright bass, harmonica, backing vocals). Stagger says the songs are the best of his career, he was also in fine voice and the band was in top shape after some great gigs in the southwest and particularly New Orleans. Simply put: These were remarkable recording sessions. Starting with the guitar-driven, hooky hit "Dirty Windshields" we go on an exclusive trip through CanAmericana country. From the uptempo folk rock of "Enough Love To Go Around" we move on to the heavily rocking "Maria" and the slow, ballady title track. "Radiant Land" deals with the increasing use of nuclear energy in Alberta. It's followed by "For The Love Of You", an introverted acoustic number with Evan Uschenko on acoustic lead guitar, Nick Stecz's versatile drumming and beautiful organ by recording engineer Stephen Turney. "Message Of Love" breathes westcoast air with its luscious guitar sounds and lonesome harmony vocals. "Light That Guides You Home" is not a cover of Canadian colleague Jim Cuddy's song but a deep, melancholic original number with electric & acoustic passages while the story-telling "Nighttime Talks To Me" picks up energy in the chorus. "Capitalism (Must Die!)" is a powerful rocker and sure live hit as well as a description of the hopeless situation of obsolete workers. The album's grand finale comes with its loudest, hardest rocking song, "Travelling Over Water" - a killer track in classic Neil Young & Crazy Horse style. ...and then there's a hidden track: "Summer Storm" - with simple banjo plucking and guitar strumming a relaxing epilogue to a first-class album by Leeroy Stagger.