Grayson Capps' debut solo album If You Knew My Mind turns ten this year. In light of the milestone, Royal Potato Family is honoring the now classic recording with a special 10th anniversary reissue edition to be released on April 18, 2015 for Record Store Day. The set will feature three never-before-released bonus tracks, including Grayson's stunning version of the American roots standard "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning." It also features an essay written by Grayson addressing the period in his life when he recorded the album, alongside previously unpublished photos. Originally produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer Trina Shoemaker (Brandi Carlile, Dylan LeBlanc), she was reenlisted to oversee the re-mastering process for the album's first ever appearance on vinyl in a limited edition (500 units), double-LP configuration.
If You Knew My Mind was initially released in 2005 in conjunction with the major motion picture A Love Song For Bobby Long starring Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta. The film was titled after Grayson's song of the same name and was adapted from an unpublished novel, Off Magazine Street, written by his father Everett Capps. Throughout the album, Grayson recounts his time living in an abandoned house on the outskirts of New Orleans ("Get Back Up"), playing for change on Royal Street ("Washboard Lisa") and the birth of his daughter ("If You Knew My Mind"), while songs like "I See You," "Mercy" and "Buckshot" remain staples of his live repertoire to this day.
Grayson Capps' songwriting draws direct inspiration from southern literary tradition, often writing about the South and the idiosyncrasies of its people, landscapes and tempos. His lyrics, imparted with a profound poetic wisdom, take form as steamy, front porch blues and road-wise Americana. Music critic Bret Love wrote, "Like a whiskey-soaked, back alley poet sired by Tom Waits and Robert Johnson, Capps' stripped-down sound is rooted in the dark side of the Delta." While comparisons like such help paint a picture, Capps clearly has his own singular iconoclastic vision. Ten years later, his legacy has only grown as he's currently regarded as one of the South's most consistently compelling songwriters and performers. Now residing in lower Alabama where he was born and raised, Capps maintains a heavy touring schedule almost entirely in the south as both a solo artist and with the critically-acclaimed band, Willie Sugarcapps. Capps is set to appear at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on Friday, April 24.
IF YOU KNEW MY MIND
(10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
Track Listing:
1. Get Back Up
2. If You Knew My Mind
3. Slidell
4. I Can't Hear You
5. A Love Song For Bobby Long
6. Graveyard
7. Mercy
8. Lorraine’s Song
9. Washboard Lisa
10. Buckshot
11. How's I To Know
12. I See You
13. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed & Burning
14. Banjo Player
15. Washboard Lisa (Truckfarm)
