Hey All,

Back again to say thank you, the pre-release sale of Tall Tale Tunes has been overwhelming.  Orders coming in from all over the globe, followed by lots of very kind words regarding the music.  I’m very flattered by the enthusiastic response to this new record.

And…. drum roll, cymbal crash…as of today, Tall TaleTunes is officially released and available for streaming and downloading at all the usual destinations (YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon, Apple, iHeartRadio, etc.).  Feel free to indulge responsibly.  Physical copies of the CD will be available on Amazon shortly.  It’s hard to imagine that I’d begun this project nearly four years ago.  Between then and now came a world tour with Mark Knopfler, the pandemic, supply chain problems that held up manufacturing and some positive business changes for Moderne Shellac.  it’s been a long time coming but it truly feels great to get this album out the door at last.

The original plan was to discontinue sales through this website once the album was “officially” released, however with such a positive response we’ve decided to carry on filling orders placed through this site.  Additionally, I’m going to make my other titles available through the website beginning late October or early November and will let you know when that happens.

Also, online today is an extended interview I did with my friend Henk Quintelier about Tall Tale Tunes, the recording process, musicians, specific details about some of the tracks and instruments used.  It’s on Henk’s website: http://fansite.richard-bennett.com/p/tall-tale-tunes-interview.html  Henk and Nadia do a fantastic job with the fansite, so please check it out.

Finally, I have about a half dozen radio interviews and podcasts lined up to talk about the new record and I’ll note them here as they take place.

Thanks again for your kind and continued support.  Have a good September.

Cheers,

Richard

Thanks for coming back….

As promised, my new record, Tall Tale Tunes will hit the streaming and download services September 2nd. CD copies will be available at Amazon shortly after. This has been a long time coming, delayed due to the pandemic but also because of some very positive business changes at Moderne Shellac. Everybody wanted to get their ducks in a row prior to releasing the album and, as anxious as I’ve been to put this music out, I’m glad we waited.

To show my appreciation to all of you who’ve supported me through the years and follow this site, I’m offering pre-release copies of Tall Tale Tunes and I’m very happy to sign them as well. Simply click on the ‘Purchase’ link below and it will walk you through the process. You can listen to clips of all 12 tunes here. I’m very proud of this record and hope you’ll enjoy it as well. I realise that streaming far outstrips actual CDs these days but the sound on disc surpasses that of streaming in my opinion, also you’ll get a gander at all those very kind words Marty Stuart wrote that made me blush.

I’m so pleased to write this post at last and send these Tall Tale Tunes out into the world to do their work.

Stay well.

Cheers,

Richard

Tall Tale Tunes CD (Autographed)

$13.98

"Tall Tale Tunes is the latest installment in an ongoing series of guitar instrumental masterpieces from Richard Bennett. This project like its predecessors, is a study in the art of touch, tone, taste and timing. The compositions are exquisitely crafted scores with melodies that carry the listener on dreamy flights of fantasy, up and down the fretboards of various guitars that can only be made to sound the way they do in the hands of Richard Bennett.”

- Marty Stuart

Quantity:

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Four bucks.  

There’s not much you can purchase for four bucks these days.  Four bucks is the new two bits… that’s 25¢ for those too young for a shave and a haircut.  

Four bucks.  

What about it?  

On completing the Ballads In Otherness record I threw myself straight back to writing and into the studio again to begin a new album; a very different record from the others.  I quickly recorded and mixed four tunes with an eye to what may follow.  Then again, these may end up on the cutting room floor when it’s all said and done but the thing is, I’m really pleased with how they turned out, how they sound and how these four tunes hang together as a piece.  For the sessions I gathered the usual bunch of mates and musicians as well as some new friends and a few old compadres.  Altogether they make up The New Folkswingers and we’re so excited about this folk flavoured project that Moderne Shellac decided to release an E.P.

These four tunes will be available exclusively through CD Baby as a download only….no hard copies, CDs or vinyl, no streaming and not accessible through other formats or services. 

Here it is, Four Freshly minted Fab Folk Faves For Four bucks….Richard Bennett and The New Folkswingers….. “Four Buck Folk.”  Available now ….  

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/richardbennett14

Surprise!

Well, what do you think?  A new site for a new record….fresh, shiny and still smells of wet paint.

As technology blazed forward I decidedly had not.  It was pointed out, more than once, that my good old site didn’t format well to smart phones and tablet screens and was, to put it kindly, a little long in the tooth.  So, after eight years of faithful and honourable service, we bid adieu to the old and bonjour to the new.  

That said, all the old faves are still here, the notes from the road archives, discography, Nashville news, photos, etc.  No doubt some of the furniture will get re-arranged as we go, but for now, check out the new chassis.

About the record, I’m told that it will be available by mid-July and I’ll put out the word right here just as soon as it is.  This album was a long time coming in part as I was touring most of last year and put it all on the back burner.  The good news is that I did more writing in that time and those tunes are part of Ballads In Otherness.  Until it’s officially available for purchase, we’ll tease you with the cover art and a few words from Neil Diamond.  Also,you’ll be able to listen to some samples of the new music when you click the “listen” link.  Finally, if you engage the “about” link, I’ve written a few words about the making of this music.  

There you have it, new music, new website.  Come in, make yourself at home and kick the tires.

Cheers,

Richard

From his early days as a young session guitarist in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Wrecking Crew mainstay Al Casey to his current role as the "other" guitarist in Mark Knopfler's band, Richard Bennett has built a career that has swung wide through pop, rock, and country music history. He spent most of the 1970s and ’80s playing guitar for Neil Diamond before moving to Nashville and becoming a first-call session guitarist for Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris. His guitar work can also be heard on albums by the Bellamy Brothers, Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, George Jones, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, and Travis Tritt, He’s produced hit records for Steve Earle and Marty Stuart and recorded several albums of instrumental music, the latest of which is Contrary Cocktail. The interview will be illustrated with vintage photos, film footage, and recordings, and Bennett will perform briefly.

This program takes place in the Museum's Ford Theater and will also be streamed live at http://countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming. The live stream is powered by NewTek TriCaster.

After the program, Bennett will sign Hatch Show Print posters commemorating the day.

Moderne Shellac, 2015

A hypnotic blend of rhythms, landscapes, tones, colors, styles and moods, with melodies leading the way to certain places that only songs without words can go.

-- Pieta Brown, 2015

Moderne Shellac, 2013

Like the builders who'd etch a design, a gracing touch on the uppermost ledges of those first early 20th century skyscrapers, Richard puts something into his work that no one else may be able to extract or identify or even know exists. But something about its being there makes the end product complete, better, best. Yes, Richard Bennett is one lucky son of a gun but a spin of For The Newly Blue is all you'll need to know he's giving as good as he gets.

-- Rick Allen, Writer for Vintage Guitar Magazine

Moderne Shellac, 2010

...it was a hell of a winter. We piled into a drafty, black, 1954 Cadillac convertible, picked up Route 66 and pointed the Caddy west in search of a new life in Phoenix, Arizona...the Valley of the Sun. These eleven postcards are love letters, distant watery images...mirages of the Valley.

-- Richard Bennett

Moderne Shellac, 2008

"I believe these tracks might reflect the real 'heart and soul' of Richard Bennett. Of course, I think that about everything I hear him play, whether it's jazz, blues, country, pop or rock and roll. And perhaps, as someone once said, he plays that way just because he can!"

- - Duane Eddy

Moderne Shellac, 2004

"For almost ten years now I've felt very lucky having Richard Bennett as a pal and as a member of the band. His quiet, self-effacing manner hides an encyclopaedic knowledge of all kinds of roots and rock music, from Hillbilly to Hawaiian, played effortlessly on a variety of instruments which appear out of a flight case as big as an Airstream trailer.........May his cracking guitar playing find a place in your life as it has in mine."

-- Mark Knopfler