The Morning Pages – Rising Rain (CD, US)

The City Keeps Me Down does not appear on the vinyl release of this album.

Russell also appeared with members of The Morning Pages in The Rolling Thunder Reborn band on the Dylan Goes Twang download compilation.

News entry from the Zealous Records website:

“The Morning Pages head into the studio this week to work on their debut album, a follow up to their acclaimed EP The Company You Keep. The band will be working with drummer/producer Russell Simins from the John Spencer Blues Explosion. In addition to his decades with The Blues Explosion, Russell has worked with Tom Waits, Elliot Smith, Beck and recently produced works by The Tiny Masters of Today and Men Without Pants (a collaboration with Dan The Automator).”

MORE INFO: “It began during a downtown Manhattan loft party on New Years Eve of 2008. A somewhat intoxicated Grant Maxwell, lead singer of The Morning Pages, was approached by an equally intoxicated Russell Simins, drummer for The John Spencer Blues Explosion. He had heard The Morning Pages’ EP and was impressed with the band’s unique blend of Country, Soul and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Simins and the band got to talking and eventually agreed he would produce The Morning Pages’ debut album, Rising Rain.

Simins and The Morning Pages hunkered down in Brooklyn-based studio, Cowboy Technical Services (Ryan Adams, Steve Earle), and began work on the 11 tracks that make up Rising Rain. Surrounded by walls of vintage gear and faded Al Green and Waylon Jennings album covers, the band tore through material ranging from the raucous stomp of “With The Lord,” the epic beauty of “My Name Is Lion” and the classic country-flavored duet of the title track. The Morning Pages brought in a cast of NYC’s brightest up-and-comers to help out on the record, including sister-duo The Pierces who sing harmonies on over half of the record, Simins himself on percussion, Alec Higgins (Alberta Cross) on piano, and Gillian Rivers (Nicole Atkins) on fiddle.

With prominent influences such as The Band, Waylon, Willie, and Gram Parsons, The Morning Pages, who originally hail from Nashville, Austin, Tulsa, San Francisco, Ohio, and Massachussettes, bring a deep, rural passion to the New York City scene. Alongside contemporaries like The Felice Brothers and Blitzen Trapper, the band blends the speed and sophistication of the city with the organic depth of the country. Their debut EP, The Company You Keep, released in the summer of 2007, perked the ears of critics, with The Tripwire declaring: “The sound that these guys got onto tape comes from the mighty heavens. It’s like American Beauty slept with Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris while cheating on The Band’s version of ‘I Shall Be Released.'”” – myspace.com/themorningpages

Produced: Russell Simins
Recorded / Mixed: Ben Arons
Recorded @ Cowboy Technical Services, Brooklyn, NY
Additional Tracking & Mixing @ Man Made Music, New York, NY
Mastering by Michael Fossenkemper @ Turtle Tone Studios

All songs by Grant Maxwell except “With The Lord” / “All My Friends” / “Leaving On The Morning Train” by Grant Maxwell and Ginny Maxwell.

(c) (p) 2009 The Morning Pages, under exclusive license to Zealous Records LLC.

BARCODE: 6 8780 08012 0

MATRIX: “MTL5319 DISC MAKERS”