Update 05/01/2021 : Code Red Cloud Nine on vinyl ! :
Hello fansite friends,
I have some very exciting news, my album Code Red Cloud Nine has just been re-released on vinyl by the folks at Yield Brother Records.
Yield Brother, a vinyl-only record label, have turned their full attention to every detail and gone all-out with this remastered 180 gram disc and beautiful packaging.
Additionally, I’ve written an essay about the inspiration and making of Code Red that’s included with the album along with the original liner notes by Duane Eddy.
This collection of tunes has always been near and dear to me, I’m proud of the compositions and always felt it was music made to be heard on vinyl with all it’s clarity, depth and dimension.
Listening to the test pressing a couple months ago was a real thrill, it sounded so good. Code Red Cloud Nine is also being offered as a premium package with an 8 X 10 colour photo signed personally to you and a few other goodies. This limited pressing of 500 is available now exclusively through Yield Brother Records.
So sharpen your needles and visit the Yield Brother Records website here to find out more and order one while they last.
Vintage Guitar Magazine did a Q&A with me about this vinyl edition of Code Red that appeared in the September 2020 issue. The article covers further details regarding the making of the record as well as a few other things. If interested you can order a copy directly from them here.
As you can tell I’m very pleased and excited to partner up with Yield Brother Records and to have this music heard the way I’d always imagined it should sound, through a needle stuck into a proper hunk of vinyl.
Stay well and as the vaccines roll out, here’s to a brighter 2021.
Cheers,
Richard
Code Red Cloud Nine , release 2008, vinyl release 2021:
Tracklist :
1.Squisito
2. Something For Tina
3. It's A Lucky Old World
4. Snoozin' At Sue's
5. En Trois
6. When Connie Used To Care
7. April By Twilight
8. Casey's Place
9. Spring Stepped In
10. Samba Soleil
11. Penthouse Prelude
12. Right On The Price , Right On The Corner
You can order the cd at Amazon : "order here"
You can order the vinyl at Yield Brothers Records : "order here"
You can order the vinyl Premium Package at Yield Brothers Records : "order here"
You can also listen to the excerpts here :
In the September 2020 edition from Guitar Vintage magazine appeared an interview with Richard about "Code Red Cloud Nine" , here's the link
RICHARD BENNETT , Vintage Guitar Magazine September 2020
Cool Licks, Hot Wax
Sideman to the stars, Richard Bennett is a guitarist who’s been in constant demand for a half-century. His legendary bosses include Mark Knopfler, Neil Diamond, Rosanne Cash, Duane Eddy, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, and countless more. A dozen years ago, Richard released Code Red Cloud Nine, an ode to country-jazz guitar of the post-war era. Fittingly, the album has just been reissued on vinyl, the perfect format for this historically important guitar style. Hot wax, indeed.
You’re a formidable soloist, but carved a niche as a Nashville rhythm-guitar ace.
Playing rhythm is probably the thing I enjoy doing most, and always have. I learned early on what an important chair it is. While the other guitar player is blowing their brains out, the rhythm guitarist is sitting back there and keeping the tent-flaps pinned down. There were any number of great studio rhythm players in Nashville when I moved here. They certainly didn’t need me to fill a gap in that department, but I fell naturally into it and was happy to do it.
Is “Casey’s Place” an ode to studio legend Al Casey ?
Absolutely. Before the Wrecking Crew era, Casey was raised and began his early career in Phoenix playing in clubs and on records. The city had a vital recording scene in the 1950s and early ‘60s, and Al was one of several go-to players for sessions prior to relocating to Los Angeles in the mid ‘60s. We had the same guitar teacher, Forrest Skaggs, albeit 15 years apart.
Code Red Cloud Nine seems like a love letter to swing guitar, weaving in Charlie Christian guitar, West Coast jazz, and country-jazz.
It was always around when I was growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s because it was what our parents listened to. I always liked musicians who were able to meld several different genres into one cohesive style, particularly that intersection where swing, jazz, blues, R&B, and rock and roll all come together. Guitar players like Irving Ashby, Billy Butler, and Bill Jennings were so comfortable there and, of course, T-Bone Walker was the godfather of it all.
“Snoozin’ at Sue’s” speaks to a lot of great guitarists, but Hank Garland came to mind, as did early George Shearing Quintet with Chuck Wayne.
Yes, both guys. Chuck Wayne isn’t mentioned much now, but he was a great player. I loved Barney Kessel, Howard Roberts, Johnny Smith, Tony Mottola, Hank Marvin, James Burton, Chet Atkins, Grady Martin, Oscar Moore, Django, Hal Harris, Georges Barnes, Les Paul, and George Van Eps. They were all unique – within a handful of notes you could tell who was playing.
What gear did you use on Code Red Cloud Nine ?
All the guitars were hollowbodies – ’39 ES-150, a ’63 Barker that belonged to Al Casey, ’56 Gretsch 6120, 2004 Gretsch Country Club, and an ’05 Eastman AR-810. The amps were an early-‘60s Fender Pro with a 15” speaker and a solid-state Polytone with a 15”.
How do you get such a fat tone in the studio?
I record in the simplest and purest way possible – guitar straight into the amp. Recording in this organic and innocent way forces me to pull the tone from my hands and the instrument, rather than leaning on effects. To me, it always sounds bigger. Also, Code Red was recorded to tape, and 15 IPS, at that ! All the guitars were archtop hollowbodies and had either .012-.054 or .013-.056 gauge strings.
What was it like to work with T-Bone Walker, the man who virtually invented electric blues ?
That album, Rare, was recorded in ’73 at United, in Hollywood. They were big sessions with everyone on the floor. I remember T-Bone looking frail, as this may have been his last record, or penultimate one, and he didn’t play guitar on the sessions I was part of. Walker’s importance to electric blues and more, however, cannot be overstated – he led the way, period. I remember being proud to be a small part of those sessions.
You grew up in the era of 33-, 45-, and 78-rpm records. What does it mean that Code Red Cloud Nine is now on vinyl ?
I’m pleased to see the resurgence of vinyl. To me, it’s still the best-sounding medium. I’m not against CDs, but vinyl has a depth and size that digital doesn’t. And don’t discount 78s ; I have thousands of them and they sound fantastic. By the late ‘40s through ‘50s, the industry had all but eliminated surface noise and was at the apex of mono recording technology. Add to that the velocity of 78 revs per minute and great big wide grooves. You could pack so much fidelity and level onto those 10” singles – a clean 78 will really take your head off ! As for Code Red, I’d always dreamed of it being on 12” vinyl. It’s the medium the record was made for.
Pete Prown
Code Red Cloud Nine : album only from Yield Brother Records , artwork :
Code Red Cloud Nine : premium package from Yield Brother Records, INCLUDES: EXCLUSIVE HAND-SIGNED 8X10 OF RICHARD BENNETT, CUSTOM CODE RED CLOUD NINE STICKER, AND CUSTOM YIELD BROTHER RECORDS STICKER
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