Singer-songwriter, pianist, and accomplished artist of several media, Terry Allen is perhaps best recognized for his outlaw country opera Juarez — reissued in 2016 via North Carolina imprint Paradise of Bachelors — which recounted the haunting tale of several anguished characters of the Texas High Plains to a mostly minimal accompaniment of honky-tonk piano and steel-string guitar.
Now, Paradise of Bachelors is preparing to treat Terry Allen devotees to an electrifying collection of remastered and never-before-released material from the legendary Texan. Pedal Steal + Four Corners will arrive on March 22 as a deluxe gatefold edition of one vinyl, three CDs, and 28-pages worth of liner notes and artwork to fully immerse anyone in Allen’s singular cosmos.
Pedal Steal — issued here for the first time on vinyl — was originally composed to score a Margaret Jenkins Dance Company performance (for which it won a Bessie Award), and was Allen’s first long-format narrative piece recorded with the Panhandle Mystery Band (which included Rolling Stones’ saxophonist Bobby Keys, among others). Four Corners, on the other hand, consists of four NPR radio plays broadcast between 1986 and 1993, never before compiled on record.
Through sound and voice, Pedal Steal and Four Corners continue Allen’s trademark themes of violence and alienation in the American Southwest. Head here to pre-order. Meanwhile, Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band will perform at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, on January 19 (there are still tickets available!). And last but not least, listen to the first part of “Pedal Steal” below:
Pedal Steal + Four Corners tracklisting:
LP: A1. Pedal Steal (Part 1)
LP: B1. Pedal Steal (Part 2)
CD1: 1. Pedal Steal
CD2: 1. Torso Hell
CD2: 2. Bleeder
CD3: 1. Reunion (return to Juarez)
CD3: 2. Dugout
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