Steve Pride "Haint" (Spur/Parasol 1998)

Jay Bennett	Dobro, Guest Artist, Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals
Don Gerard	Bass
Edward Hargrove	Vocals
Brent Martens	Concertina, Guitar, Mandolin
Kevin McGuire	Accordion
Alex Moore	Bass, Producer, Vocals
Steve Pride	Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals
Tim Stephens	Bass
Syd Straw	Guest Artist, Vocals
Lou Whitney	Remixing

AllMusic Review by Bryan Thomas  [-]
Prior to recording Haint, singer/songwriter Steve Pride had led the Champaign and Urbana, IL-based Steve Pride & His Blood Kin. The band -- whom at one point or another featured future members of Poster Children, the Moon Seven Times, and Seam, to name a few -- played together for three years, mostly in the Midwest, but had only managed to release one song during their existence, calling it quits in 1994. They turned out to be a few years ahead of the insurgent country movement circa 1996, and even though they were alt-country precursors, they were hardly ever mentioned. Musicians like Wilco's Jeff Tweedy did their best to name-check the group in interviews (Tweedy even admitted to liking Pride's band so much that he "stole their guitar player.") In 1997, Steve Pride called upon a number of these friends to help him record this solo album, including Jay Bennett (ex-Blood Kin, then of Wilco), who helped out on dobro, mandolin, and warm harmonies. Backing vocalist Syd Straw also contributed beautiful vocals. Pride's rich, loamy baritone is an American treasure and as a songwriter he's right up there with many of his contemporaries. Following the recording of Haint -- originally released on the Spur label -- Pride moved to the Asheville, NC, area, where he built birdhouses and raised a family of his own. He continued to write and record music. In 1999, Bennett discovered a bag of eight-track Blood Kin demos that had been recorded in his dusty basement. He and Blood Kin bassist Don Gerard spent the next few months sorting, compiling, and restoring the tapes (various demos, stray singles, and live cuts of dubious quality, including the honky tonk original "The Devil Said," which had already appeared on Haint). The posthumous Blood Kin material was collected as Pride on Pride.


02 Eva Peron

01 Mr. Bones

A collection of gutsy outlaw country in the grand tradition of Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck, or George Jones, this CD by Illinois native Steve Pride features Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett and some of the truest honky tonk songwriting since that other Pride's (Charlie) heyday. Actually a loose conglom of early demos from the pre-Uncle Tupelo '90s, Pride on Pride encapsulates a career still hanging in the balance and a sound that should be kicking the dust off of Nashville's ass. A songwriter with deep literary vibes (like his contemporary, Steve Earle, his hero was Townes Van Zandt, and he covers the Phil Ochs tune "Chords of Fame") and a whiskey-soaked voice, Pride brings colorful characters and slightly skewed wordplay together to revel in dashingly drunken ditties like "Drugs, Guns & Cigarettes," "I Prefer the Darker Side of Life," and "The Last Bar in Town." Bennett's guitar playing proves he had his jangly, country-fried pop style down long before he hooked up with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, and the album itself could've easily been the link between late-'60s artists like Haggard and Jones, early-'80s cowpunks like the True Believers, and postmodern alt-country. Steve Pride released a solo album (Haint) in 1997, but despite critical acclaim, remained on the periphery of the scene. Working as a stage hand, he met Garth Brooks but neglected to slip the superstar a demo, saying simply, "Naw...he probably gets that sh*t all the time."



Jay Bennett	Engineer, Guest Artist, Guitar, Mastering, Mixing, Piano, Vocals
Dan Estabrook	Photography
Brendan Gamble	Drums
Don Gerard	Bass, Vocals
Brian Leach	Engineer, Harmonica
Phil Ochs	Composer
Jon Pines	Mastering
Steve Pride	Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals
Steve Pride & His Blood Kin	Primary Artist
Bob Rising	Drums, Vocals (Background)
Adam Schmitt	Engineer, Mastering, Mixing

18 Hello, Hello

15 The Devil Said

14 Midnight Sun In A Blue Moon Town

13 Drive (Live)

12 Daddy Played The Guitar

11 Weinie Man

10 The Last Bar In Town

09 Untitled

08 Eva Peron

07 The Ghost Of Mary Magdalene

06 Emmanuel

05 Big Money (Live)

04 I Prefer The Darker Side Of Life

03 Lap Of Luxury

02 Drugs, Guns, And Cigarettes

01 Hello...

soundcloud:tracks:271567102

HonDonGerard

Popular tracks