Blackie+&+the+rodeo+kings

The second batch of songs recorded by Blackie & the Rodeo Kings (BARK to the group's fans) at the Bearsville sessions that yielded Let's Frolic is a looser, less structured affair. Far from leftovers, these 14 cuts have a similar feel to the music of the Dylan/Band Basement Tapes – a little rough around the edges but played with undeniable joy and enthusiasm that comes from the participants letting their guards down as the tape rolls…

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings started out as a project in which three singer/songwriters – Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson – got together to pay homage to a friend and colleague, and as good as they are together, BARK are a band that cherish their sense of democracy so much that no one ever seems like the leader…

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings are a Canadian songwriter's "supergroup," comprised of Colin Linden (who doubles as a guitarist in Bruce Cockburn's band), Stephen Fearing, and Tom Wilson. They may have begun as a garage band to record and perform the songs of obscure Canadian outsider songwriter Willie P. Bennett, but they've evolved into a unit that is akin to the legendary Rockpile in their approach to rootsy, rollicking, hooky pop/rock and country…

Considering the amount of quality music the ad hoc Canadian singer/songwriter "supergroup" has released under the Blackie & the Rodeo Kings moniker – five albums, including a double from 1996-2007 – this 14-song, 55-minute set should have used the extra 20 minutes of its CD playing time to better advantage. The trio – Colin Linden, Tom Wilson, and Stephen Fearing, all solo artists with well-regarded catalogs of their own – began life by covering the songs of journeyman Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett before expanding into original material…