Unreleased and live recordings

Throw me from this train - Carrickhouse, MI
This version features some sweet parts by Rob MacDonald. It was recorded at Carrickhouse in Clarkston, run by my buddy and roots music lover Craig Carrick. Craig started the place as a small house concert series, and now he's having people like Kelly Joe Phelps! The vibe is that good!
This was recorded by Craig's great sound man, Larry Alhborn and you can kind of hear how great the crowd was.

Turning Point - LIVE FROM TRAIN ROOM, HAMILTON (recorded by Urmas Soomet)
This is a fairly new instrumental tune that will be featured on the next CD... It's still being worked through, but this version is getting close and features Rob MacDonald on resophonic and me on acoustic. The sorbet reference at the start refers to the fact that Rob MacDonald and I often play this right after Keep a Man Down, kind of a nasty blues tune.

Constancy - LIVE FROM TRAIN ROOM, HAMILTON (recorded by Urmas Soomet)
This is a tune from Truth & Fiction. I was in slightly hoarse voice at this show, but it kind of works in this tune and the guitar work by Rob MacDonald is really on the money.

Bread - LIVE FROM THE TRAIN ROOM, HAMILTON (recorded by Urmas Soomet)
This song is getting quite a lot of attention from radio in various places. This version is lowered a few keys from the CD, again because I had a bit of a cold at this show. It's a performance that captures the song really well for me.

Marie - LIVE FROM MEMPHIS
This version of Marie was recorded in one of those hotel room showcases at Folk Alliance. This was in Ronda Barton's room in 2008. She hired an engineer, Mile Wilkinson, to record all the shows... he did amazing sound for such a venue!

Phone call from Leavenworth - ROUTES MONTREAL
I hosted the CBC live music show Routes Montreal for several months in 2004... at the time I found it quite nerve-wracking but the musical part of it was always fun. This was the last show in my tenure. I had my band, with Rob MacDonald, RD Harris, Tony Cuco and backup singer Linda Benoy. The guest was Buck 65 (Rich Terfy-now host of CBC Radio 2 Drive). We had a thought to do something together and this Chris Whitley tune seemed the perfect fit. Love the way his lyrics fit with the song's overall vibe...and that rocking release toward the end is one of my favourite musical moments.

Interstate - CENTRE ST-AMBROISE
This was recorded at the Griffon Room at the Centre St Ambroise in Montreal in March 2008. Kevin Gault did the engineering and Rob MacDonald and I are playing. We had just gotten home from a few weeks touring from Victoria, BC back to Montreal and I hear a bit of fatigue in the voice. But that works for this song.

Drop Down Baby - LIVE FROM THE OSCAR PETERSON HALL
This comes from a fundraiser at the Oscar Peterson Hall in Montreal in 2007... It's an enormous, gorgeous room and we had 500 or so people in there that night. I had 14 special guests up throughout so the show touched lots of different styles. This version of Sleepy John Estes' Drop Down Baby features the great Guy Belanger--a musical God here in Quebec--on harmonica along with the legendary Stephen Barry on bass, Rob MacDonald on guitar, Tony Cuco on bass and RD Harris on drums.

The Autumn Light - ROUTES MONTREAL
From a CBC recording in 2008. This one features Annabelle Chvostek on violin and backup vocals and Rob MacDonald on guitar with me. The producer Frank Opolko loves his guests to join each other on songs, so Annabelle and I worked this up just before the show. I'm glad we did... the mix of our voices that night convinced me to ask her to sing with me on Truth & Fiction, which she did with incredible musicality. She sings the kind of counter-melody harmonies that just made some of the songs on that record lift. And this one she did with no rehearsal and a rough lyrics sheet in front of her.

I Will Stand By You (Early Demo)
This is an early demo of this song. I had put it down on guitar only at home and sent the mp3 to my neighbor Eric Lemoyne, a film composer and sometimes live player in Montreal. He put some keyboards on it (including a bass part) and sent it back to me.
I debated mixing it and putting it on Ride the Shadows, but decided to go with a pure piano/vocal version. Eric played some beautiful piano in the eventual version that went on the CD.

Better Yield (Live)
This was recorded for the CBC in about 2003 in a session that also featured Dawn Tyler Watson and Michael Jerome Browne. This is just Rob MacDonald and I on guitars. I love Rob’s solo.

Rob’s Deep River Blues (Live)
This was recorded in Rhonda Barton’s room at the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis in 2008. Miles Wilkinson recorded everything in that room. A real fun, fast version of this tune by Rob and me.

Cold Canadian Road (Live - CBC recording )
This was the first time this song was ever played live. Rob MacDonald and I had worked it out briefly at his place. At the time, I was hosting Routes Montreal, a CBC radio show. My guests that night were Martha Wainwright and Jim Corcoran. I was intensely into this song, and I like its debut quite a lot.

Ain’t Nobody’s Business (Live)
A classic set-closer for the Rob Lutes Band, recorded back at Bourbon Street West for their Tuesday Blues Series, probably in 2001. The band features RD Harris on drums, Tony Cuco on bass and Rob MacDonald on lead guitar.

Uncommon Bond (Live)
Not sure where this comes from. I like the intro.

There’s No Way to Tell You That Tonight (Live)
Recorded at The Cameron House in Toronto in 2008 in the middle of a cross-country tour with Rob MacDonald. This song was a possible for Truth & Fiction but it didn’t make the journey. I wrote it in about a half and hour a few days after seeing James Cotton in London, Ontario.

Uptight (Original Version)
This was the first version of Uptight recorded for the Gravity album. For some reason I wasn’t happy with it and decided to rerecord the song. Although the newer version is fine, it’s kind of a shame this one didn’t make it since it features great harmonica from Ray Bonneville and accordion from Bob Stagg. Oh well. It can make its debut here.

Truth & Fiction Ride the Shadows Middle Ground Gravity

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