In 1966, Tommy McLain took Don Gibson's country classic "Sweet Dreams" to the Top 20. McLain is a swamp pop Louisiana legend and over the last 25 years, I have seen McLain perform at least a half dozen times at various Ponderosa Stomps in New Orleans, as well as the Swamp Pop Summit at the New Orleans Jazz Fest which also featured Dr. John, Marcia Ball, C.C. Adcock and a miraculous performance by Phil Philips who sang his hit "Sea Of Love," not once but twice.
Tommy McLain is about to release his first new album in 40 years and I for one, am thrilled!
This is from YepRoc:
I Ran Down Every Dream is the first album in over four decades by swamp pop legend Tommy McLain. Produced by his musical protege C.C. Adcock, I Ran Down Every Dream was recorded in Louisiana, Texas, California, and England, with a similarly disparate group of friends and fans, including Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe (both of whom contribute co-writes), plus Jon Cleary, Denny Freeman, Ed Harcourt, Roy Lowe, Augie Meyers, Ivan Neville, Van Dyke Parks, Mickey Raphael, Steve Riley, Speedy Sparks, Warren Storm and more.
As an album, I Ran Down Every Dream is both a celebration and a requiem. It bookends a career that has seen Tommy scale the upper reaches of the Billboard charts, share the stage with the likes of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, The Yardbirds and ZZ Top, and become a global ambassador for the swamp pop sound - that singularly affecting combination of rhythm and blues, country and western, gospel, and traditional French Louisiana styles. The album also looks back, with more than a little heartache, in tribute to some of the fellow musical travelers that McLain has lost. Two tracks on the album were written by McLain’s dear friend and Louisiana music royalty Bobby Charles, and it also marks the final sessions for two legendary musicians who died in 2021; Texas guitar slinger Denny Freeman, and Tommy’s close collaborator Warren Storm. For McLain himself, the years-long road to I Ran Down Every Dream was beset by a heart attack, two hurricanes and a house fire. With every obstacle he overcame, McLain's resolve to complete I Ran Down Every Dream grew stronger.
The First Edition LP of I Ran Down Every Dream is pressed on emerald color vinyl! Limited to 1,000 copies worldwide!
The first single from "I Ran Down Every Dream" is on top, and one of my favorites, a Tommy & C.C. duet from C.C. Adcock's 1994 gem "House Rocker" is below.
7 comments:
Sounds fantastic!! Thanks for the heads up!!
Wow. Had no idea he had an album soon to be released, and on a major label, too. Adcock is just one of those amazing musicians, who's electicism probably holds him back from being more well known. Those 2 solo albums he issued some years back are so good. Thanks for the news, Sal.
great news
pmac is right on. those 2 Adcock albums r wonderful. he should be more well known. 1 2 saw Phil play sea of love twice under C C's direction @ a JF :)
Another Adcock fan here.
Dammit Sal, nearly every time I visit Burning Wood it costs me money!... thanks for the T. McLain heads-up. Ordered.
Randy
Vey glad you told us about this. Great short video about it Tommy's Bandcamp page
Both of these were fantastic! Thank you!
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