By Mike Mckenney, Rock At Night New England
With nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally, Artist of all genres are celebrating Record Store Day with special releases.
Eric Church is leading the way by releasing The Covers, from his mega project 61 Days In Church–The Covers, which feature popular music by Soundgarden, Billy Joel, Little Feat, Bob Seger and more, is available Saturday, April 21 during Record Store Day with 2,500 exclusive LP copies available to fans.
Eric Church’s relationship with his fans is undeniable, unconditional and often unconventional. Church recorded the ambitious project in 2017 during his Holdin’ My Own Tour, which ran from January through May and was named a Tour of the Year by the Rolling Stone, which opined: “Over the years, Church concerts have always been parties. But in 2017, they went from merely ass-kicking to epic.”
During the 61-date tour, Church recorded 30 songs per night for a total of more than 200 hours of live music. The Record Store Day exclusive release is a selection of the very best cover songs from those shows (available only at participating record stores).
The eight song selection that make up “The Covers” highlight Eric’s versatility, and include a unique mix of styles that crossover Country, Rock, and Pop. Church gives his fans powerhouse versions of “Better Man”, “Rusty Cage” and “American Woman”.
He personalizes a version of Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” for the Omaha audience, and adds his own twist to Billy Joel’s “Allentown”. Of course on the more Southern Country influenced tracks, Church delivers big time with his perfectly suited vocals on songs “Midnight Rider”, “Six Days on the Road, and “Dixie Chicken”.
The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008. Today there are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica. With special releases popping up everywhere in their support, thanks to artist such as Eric Church, independent record store owners and employees may continue to exist and hopefully thrive, within the unique culture they struggle to keep alive.
Eric Church “The Covers” s available Saturday, April 21 during Record Store Day with 2,500 exclusive LP copies available to fans.
The collection includes the following eight special cover songs:
1. “Better Man” (Live At Tacoma Drive, Tacoma, WA, March 18, 2017)
2. “Turn The Page” (Live At CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE, April 8, 2017)
3. “Dixie Chicken” (Live at Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, April 5, 2017 with Chuck Leavell)
4. “Six Days On The Road” (Live at PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, April 21, 2017)
5. “Rusty Cage” (Live at Verizon Center, Washington, D.C., May 19, 2017)
6. “Allentown” (Live at Santander Arena, Reading, PA, May 18, 2017)
7. “Midnight Rider” (Live at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN, May 27, 2017)
8. “American Woman” (Live at Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, April 5, 2017 with Glenn Hughes)
Mike McKenney is an award winning professional photographer and current New England Correspondent for Rock At Night magazine.
With his years of experience and passion for Concert Photography, Mike has photographed many of the famous acts in the world today.
Rock Icons such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews, and Fleetwood Mac along with Country artist Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney,and Jason Aldean have all appeared before Mike’s camera.
"My goal is always to present the experience truthfully so fans can feel the energy and emotions the Artists convey. It’s a tremendous honor and responsibility to be allowed to create art while blending my two passions, music and photography”
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