Thursday, December 2, 2010

Lonesome Bob - Things Fall Apart


Looking back, it's a little hard to believe there was such a thing as an alt-country bandwagon in the mid to late 90s. And it's even harder to believe that certain artists and bands were criticized for jumping on said bandwagon. :) Now, to be sure, there was some alt-country dross back in those salad days, as there is with any genre. But I do hope that folks appreciate that there was a lot of good stuff. Prominent among the really "good stuff" is Lonesome Bob's 1997 debut album, Things Fall Apart. (His second album, Things Change, is almost as good.) Unconscionably, it's now out of print, so I thought I'd post it tonight.


Love Is Not Blind
Do You Think About Me?
Point Of No Return
Waltzing On The Titanic
Different Shades Of Gray
What Went Wrong
My Mother's Husband
Heaven's Gate
Too Much Time
Someone Watching Over Me
The Plans We Made
Call My Name
Sleepless Nites

25 comments:

Vanya Krik said...

Good? How 'bout great? It's a crime that an artist like LB can't get a label to suppport him and sadder still that folks have never heard of im. I'm still looking for a copy of the casstte he put out filled with duets he did w/Sally Timms....

Ishkabibliophile said...

Well, I did say "really good", but you're right - Lonesome Bob is pretty frickin' great. Never knew about the duets with Sally Timms - too bad they can't just self-release it.

bubba said...

Fantastic country album, many thanks!

Have you heard Bob Woodruff's two 1990s albums? Amazingly strong country albums, especially his 1994 effort "Dreams & Saturday Nights". If Woodruff is unknown to you, consider this my X-mas gift to you :-)

Ishkabibliophile said...

@bubba,

You know he's one of those of those guys I've heard good things about, but never got around to listening to. But you have inspired me to now seriously search him out.

Cash said...

Is Lonesome Bob still alive i would to book him for a show in Texas.. I havew been a fan since 2000..

Ishkabibliophile said...

@Cash

Well, he's got a myspace page. ;) And I think it said something about doing a recent show, so he might be up for it.

Fredro Perry said...

Vanya, I own the label that did sign and support LB, Leaps Recordings. We released Things Change and I now own the master recording of Things Fall Apart, which I have been trying to get re-released for 5 years. And you're right, LB is great, not just really good. I signed him because I thought TFA was one of the greatest records of all time. Still do.
And Cash, Bob's on Facebook. His name's Bob Chaney. Drop him a line. He lives in Pittsburgh.
And all y'all who posted on this page should join Bob's Facebook fan page, Lonesome Bob worshipper's.

Jerry Lee said...

I had the pleasure of seeing Lonesome Bob many times when he was in the Ben Vaughn Combo, Philly's all-time greatest band. He did a great version of "Poor Side Of Town", and played a mean trombone too.

Good to see I'm not the only one who appreciates his two fine solo albums. The Waco Bros did an excellent cover of "Do You Think About Me?"

The last I heard, he was in Nashville, hanging with Allison Moorer and her hubby before Steve Earle. Hope he's doing well.

Ishkabibliophile said...

@Jerry Lee,

I just listened to the Waco Brothers cover the other day - it's pretty good, but Dean Schlabowske just isn't the singer that LB is. That song really should be/have been utilized in some film scene.

Jerry Lee said...

Agreed. It's a surprise his songs weren't covered more often.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Lonesome Bob is still around. Just spoke to him the other day. He's alive and still performing and yes, he would do a show in Texas.

hbh said...

Bob Cheney is one of the best. I ran across him when he was on the Checkered Past label I've been listening to and playing his songs since then. Hauntingly real, slice o' life, Lonesome Bob is the real deal.

Ishkabibliophile said...

hbh,
Lonesome Bob is, indeed, the real deal. As Vanya mentions in one of the comments, he lives in Pittsburgh now. Not sure if he still plays gigs, but one can always hope for his return someday. (Hey Rodriguez was re-discovered 35 years after his 1st two albums were ignored in the states. Just saying. :)

Bensreviews said...

Bob is playing a free music festival here in Pittsburgh on Saturday July 6th. It's a SXSW-style fest with 40+ local bands and he'll probably only play for an hour but we were able to get him back out on stage. Bob had played with a crack band of musicians in a local watering hole about twice a month on Saturday evenings last year. He took a break for the summer and that was that. It lasted for about 3-4 months and they were sounding very good towards the end of the run.

This would be a good time to visit Pittsburgh if you've never been.

http://deutschtownmusicfestival.org
https://www.facebook.com/events/126354064239349/

Ishkabibliophile said...

How was the show? I saw him do an acoustic show at Eric Ambel's bar a long time ago. Nice set, though I would like to have seen him with a band.

Robert A. Christman said...

Lonesome Bob is playing a Buddy Emmons Tribute gig at the Thunderbird Cafe with Texas Tex and other musicians this Saturday September 19, 2015. Its going to be a great show with some great musicians doing their best to pay homage to the late Buddy Emmons and his pedal steel magic.

http://www.thunderbirdcafe.net/showdetails.php?eventID=1569

Ishkabibliophile said...

Robert,

Sounds like a great show. Wish I could have been there....Hope you told Lonesome Bob he's due for a new album soon. :)

Ish

Robert A. Christman said...

I'll tell him!

hbh said...

Driving home from work here in Akron OH last week, a talk-show radio host was lamenting the lack of any good country music any more, and opened the topic up for discussion. So, I called and got on, and told the host a little about Lonesome Bob being one of the greatest unsung country artists in the good ol' USA. Before I knew it the host had web-searched Lonesome Bob and proceeded to play excerpts from three songs on "Things Fall Apart."

That's the first time I've ever heard Bob on the radio!

Ishkabibliophile said...

That's a really great story! One can always hope for a rediscovery of Lonesome Bob. Btw, I've re-upped Things Fall Apart which is still out of print. His second album, however, is still commercially available.

https://www.amazon.com/Things-Change-Lonesome-Bob/dp/B005ZG190O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494173784&sr=8-3&keywords=lonesome+bob

Ish

Unknown said...

I used to go see Lonesome Bob in Chicago in the late-90's. Once, after seeing his show I walked up to him and told him how much I enjoyed his music. He showed me a piece of paper and said that he had just gotten his first record contract. With Bloodshot or Checkered Past I imagine. Another time Jay Bennett, a former Wilco member, was opening for Lonesome Bob at Fitzgerald's in Berwyn, IL. Bennett and his partner sang on, and on, and on to the point where Lonesome Bob only had about a 1/2 hour left to play. He came out, played as many songs as he could and apologized to the crowd for having to cut his set short. Lonesome Bob is an amazing songwriter. I hope that he puts out another album and does some more shows. I'd love to see him again. If anyone knows how to find his touring schedule please drop me a line!

Ishkabibliophile said...

@Brian,

I was curious about Lonesome Bob, so I googled him. Couldn't find much, but did find one announcement of a show he's playing with Amy Rigby in Pittsburgh in early March. Fingers crossed that there'll be more shows (and another album) in the future.

Ish

Ivan said...

Yes.i hear he lives in Pittsburgh now. Bob Chaney or cheney

Anonymous said...

Hi, is there any chance to reupload this album? Many thanks! Gregor

Ishkabibliophile said...

Gregor,

Done and done. Always happy to share Mr. Lonesome Bob. Enjoy!

best,
Ish