The Great Escape

On his new album, The Great Escape, Chris Stamey — known for his work in The dB’s, the Big Star’s Third concerts, returns to the electric guitar sounds and melodic lyricism that informed his classic ’80s solo records It’s Alright, Fireworks, and 2004’s Travels in the South — but with a twist! This time out, alongside adroit pedal-steel aces Eric Heywood (Jayhawks, Pretenders, Alejandro Escovedo) and Allyn Love, Mipso’s Libby Rodenbough, and Chatham County Line’s John Teer and Dave Wilson, he’s found a distinctive spin on the ’70s Southern California country-rock flavors of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. There’s also a vibrant version of a lost classic, the Alex Chilton / Tommy Hoehn composition “She Might Look My Way,” remembered fondly by Stamey from his late ’70s live performances with Chilton and the (unreleased) studio recording of it they did together for Elektra Records at Todd Rundgren’s studio. Here, it features two world-class fellow producers: Mitch Easter (Let’s Active), on drums and Terry Manning (Ardent Studios producer/engineer/guitarist; Staples Singers, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top). Most tracks, however, are expertly anchored by Rob Ladd (The Connells) or Dan Davis (Six-String Drag) on drums, often accompanied by co-producer Jeff Crawford on bass. The Great Escape, the first release in decades on seminal indie label Car Records (on which Stamey had issued recordings by Chris Bell, Mitch Easter, and himself in the late ’70s and early ’80s), will be available on CD, digital downloads, and streaming platforms, via a joint venture with Schoolkids Record, and includes two bonus tracks: an “electric” version of “Back in New York,” augmented à la Tom Wilson’s electrification of “The Sounds of Silence,” and a stream-of-consciousness celebration of a surprise early-morning phone call with “the one and only” Van Dyke Parks.