“polished pop gems that are impossible to pigeonhole.” – Forbes
In plain words, Tommy Stinson is a great American musician.
You can needle-drop at any juncture of the Minneapolis native’s four-decade-plus career and find a moment of great significance. Stinson was a founding and lifetime member of the Replacements. Further, he was a key second-generation ingredient in Guns N’ Roses and served a seven-year tenure with Soul Asylum. He also led two essential bands of his own: the aptly named Bash & Pop and Perfect. Additionally, he appeared on recordings by the Old 97’s, MOTH and BT. Moreover, he played bass on the Rock Remix of Puff Daddy’s “It’s All About the Benjamins.”
Stinson’s latest venture is called Cowboys in the Campfire, a duo with good pal Chip Roberts. Its debut album, Wronger, is perhaps the most American album the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer has ever made. Thus, Wronger’s ten tracks ride a giddy trail of twang and grit, melody and (mostly lyrical) mayhem. The very first song, “Here We Go Again,” sets the tone. Here, Stinson is on ukulele, singing about the ardors of creativity, while horns swell. There’s not a hint of percussion other than the perceptible tapping of feet by the musicians in the room. It’s stark and immediate, like sitting right in the middle of the maelstrom. From there we encounter a broad and passionate range of feels, showcases from an ace pop songwriter.
“I’m not one to be pigeonholed, but I’m not putting a lot of thought into it that I DON’T want to be pigeonholed,” Stinson, who now resides the out-of-the-way environs of Hudson, N.Y., says with a laugh. “For me it’s always been that the songs pretty much tell you what they’re going to do.”
Recommended for fans of The Replacements, The Old 97’s, Wilco and Big Star.
LEARN MORE: https://www.tommystinson.com/
- Genre:
- Rock/Pop
