3LP - Don Caballero - American Don

3LP - Don Caballero - American Don3LP Original 2xLP Remastered by Bob Weston pressed on maui blue viny Never Before Released Live Studio Album pressed on orchid purple vinyl All 3 LPs are packaged in a triple LP gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves. After finishing American Don with (Steve) Albini, we were nearing the peak of interpersonal tensions that would eventually wash us overboard. I (Eric) became convinced we lost the true essence of the songs in the recording process.

3LP

Original 2xLP

Remastered by Bob Weston pressed on maui blue viny

Never-Before-Released Live Studio Album pressed on orchid purple vinyl

All 3 LPs are packaged in a triple LP gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves.

After finishing American Don with (Steve) Albini, we were nearing the peak of interpersonal tensions that would eventually wash us overboard. I (Eric) became convinced we lost the true essence of the songs in the recording process. It was not a unanimous decision to record with Steve.

We wrote the album entirely on guitar loops and Team Storm & Stress wanted to go further in the studio with Pro Tools, which felt related to both what we were doing and where we were going.

Steve had just finished building the magnificent A room at Electrical and Damon insisted we would record there for the drums. He never budged on it.

As soon as we got there we realized all the songs, which were written in stacks of overdubs on our pedals, would only allow for mono guitar recordings. We worked around this by performing the songs to a single loop and overdubbing all the guitars later allowing for a full stereo field to match the glorious bombast of Steve’s drum recordings.

This approach dramatically changed how we played. While it allowed for magic moments of improv (Peter Criss intro), once the album was done, it sounded bloated and the performances sluggish. With increasing certainty I was sure the sound of the Akai Headrush, and the tempos it set for Damon was the heartbeat of these songs. Ian agreed.    

In an audacious last ditch hail mary, I had the idea to call Greg Norman (who worked for Steve!) and asked if we could secretly come to his studio in S. Chicago *road hot* after our next shows and re-record the album LIVE. It was an enormous gesture that could’ve never worked, but miraculously everyone agreed to do it and we gave it a try.

Greg captured us at our most fiery hot personally and professionally. The tempos are faster and no one is holding back with anything to lose. These true live tapes show the songs exactly as we played them on the road where they were developed between June of 1999 and July of 2000.

Now, 25 years later, the Greg Norman tapes have been dusted off, baked, and transferred to digital. With the aid of modern restoration tools, and the expertise of Sir Bob Weston, we were able to re-mix and master these recordings for the first time.    

- Eric Emm, bassist

TRACK LISTING
American Don (Remastered) 2xLP
Fire Back About Your New Baby's Sex
The Peter Criss Jazz
Haven't Lived Afro Pop
You Drink a Lot of Coffee for a Teenager
Ones All Over the Place
I Never Liked You
Details on How to Get ICEMAN on Your License Plate
A Lot of People Tell Me I Have a Fake British Accent
Let's Face It Pal, You Didn't Need That Eye Surgery

American Don True Live Tapes LP
Fire Back About Your New Baby's Sex
Haven't Lived Afro Pop
The Peter Criss Jazz
Ones All Over the Place
I Never Liked You
Details on How to Get ICEMAN on Your License Plate
Let's Face It Pal, You Didn't Need That Eye Surgery