Hell Of A Ride, by Wellsprings Ltd.

Hell Of A Ride

by Wellsprings Ltd.

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1.	Blue Way Of Living 02:59	buy track
2.	Don't Worry 'Bout Me 02:39	buy track
3.	Doing The Best I Can 04:44	buy track
4.	I Wanna Know 03:06	buy track
5.	Pathway To Your Heart 04:32	buy track
6.	Ready Or Not 01:58	buy track
7.	Sunset Highway 03:49	buy track
8.	Hell Of A Ride 04:16	buy track
9.	Love's On Fire 03:03	buy track
10.	That Light 03:33	buy track

about

Wellsprings Ltd.

There comes a time in the lives of many a deep music head when we realize that rock stars are ephemeral, but musicians are forever. Oh sure, there are always exceptions – Keith Richards is immortal. Tina Turner is eternal. David Bowie is infinity. Prince is a deity. But here in the 21st century, rock stars come and go as fast as SNL episodes. It’s those real-deal musician lifers who endure.

This very band comprises such lifers. And this is glaringly apparent before you even get to the chorus of “Blue Way Of Living,” the soulful standout tune that sets the tone for their debut album Hell Of A Ride. This very band is Wellsprings Ltd. - perhaps you’ve already heard of them. Or maybe you haven’t yet. It doesn’t matter. When did you first hear about Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn? Or Karen Dalton? Or Alex Chilton? Or Merry Clayton, Eddie Hinton, P.P. Arnold, Howard Tate, Marva Whitney, Emitt Rhodes, Bonnie Bramlett, or Willis Alan Ramsey? Unless you grew up inside a well-curated record shop, you had to find your way to those marvelous music lifers. Here are a few more for you.

Before stints with bands as diverse as Royal Trux and the Coal Porters, guitarist and singer-songwriter Patricio Johnson cut his teeth with avant-chanteuse Penelope Houston shortly after she pivoted from San Francisco punk pioneers the Avengers to a fruitful and ongoing solo career. Having played on her 1988 solo debut album Birdboys, their friendship and musical chemistry continues today, as evidenced by her extraordinary vocal contributions to this album – check out their timeless harmonies on “Pathway To Your Heart,” a soul-steeped song that would sit well on a mixed tape next to anything off Van Morrison’s Veedon Fleece.

Bassist/singer-songwriter Mike Therieau and drummer John Kent were the rhythm section of Hightone recording artists, the Loved Ones. The Loved Ones were the best 1960s Chicago blues band to ever emerge in Oakland, California during the early 1990s. As a rhythm section, Therieau and Kent can make any band sound as seasoned as the Swampers from FAME studios in Muscle Shoals. Therieau’s gritty and impassioned wail has often been compared to that of Small Faces era Steve Mariott – especially following his 2006 solo debut long-player, Living From a Suitcase – an album that has aged as well as Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake. Here, Therieau picks right up where he left off. Check out the vintage boardwalk boogie of “I Wanna Know” or the slow-burning soul serenade “Hell Of A Ride,” a salient song that smolders with so much urgent emotion, it became the album’s title-track.

With help from a carefully selected gathering of likeminded lifers including Danny Eisenberg (Jonathan Richman, Shelby Lynne, Ryan Adams, Tift Merritt), Ellen Angelico (Cam, Danni Nicholls, Lou Turner, Kyshona Armstrong) Jeff Powell (Bob Dylan, Sharon Jones, Primal Scream, Lucinda Williams), and Wally Sound (The Zombies, Camper Van Beethoven, The Chocolate Watchband), Hell Of A Ride is an achievement in timelessness. This is an album that stands tall next to all recordings by each member’s influences. It’s a gift for the ringing ears of vinyl hounds, lifelong musicians, and fans of classic recordings. But Hell Of A Ride is also a reminder that gold isn’t just handed to you. You’ve gotta dig for it. So, start digging.

-Eric Shea

credits

released April 9, 2021

Patricio Johnson – guitar and vocals
Mike Therieau – bass and vocals
John Kent – drums and percussion
Daniel Eisenberg – keyboards
Valeri Lopez – vocals
Penelope Houston – vocals on Pathway To Your Heart
Wally Sound – acoustic guitar on Pathway To Your Heart
Ellen Angelico – lead guitar on Love’s On Fire
Pino Squillace – percussion on Doing The Best I Can
Dennie Kirtley – trumpet
Andrew Ray Hagen – saxophones
Oli Kent – handclaps

All songs by Johnson, Kent, Therieau, and Eisenberg
©2021 Modulus Music (BMI) / Wasted Day Songs (BMI)
except Love’s On Fire by Johnson, Kent, Therieau, and Sax
©2021 Modulus Music (BMI) / Wasted Day Songs (BMI) / Scot Sax Songs (ASCAP)

Produced by Wellsprings Ltd. with
Chris Mitchell at Nickelbug Music (Nashville)
Wally Sound at The Wally Sound (Oakland)
Congas and horns recorded at The Boomlabs by Pino Squillace
Mixed by Wally Sound and John Kent
Digital Mastering: Wally Sound
Vinyl Mastering: Jeff Powell

Photography by Courtney Vawn Cheek Green
Design by Brian Mello

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about

Wellsprings Ltd. Austin, Texas

As songwriting teams go, Mike Therieau and Patricio Johnson easily sit alongside Penn and Oldham or even Jagger and Richards, focusing on hooks that convey immediate and universal moods. John Kent on drums and Dan Eisenberg on keyboards create the energy field that brings the songs to life, transporting the listener to a timeless place where soul is getting put onto magnetic tape. ... more

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