What's become of that western-inspired album Bruce hinted at when he received the Woody Guthrie Prize?
With what Bruce said on the radio the other day, it is not clear to me if he hinted that this album is part of Tracks 2, some collaboration (the one with Molecamp or The Killers) or a new project?
I have surely lost some of the information. So if someone understands more than me, give me a clue ... Thank you!
I'm personally leaning towards the thought it may be an older album but that he has been tinkering with it or adding to it in recent times. Bruce's latest musings suggest the next things to come are archival, but I'm sure they won't just be things like 'here's an unreleased record from 1994 as it was recorded'... they would include tweeks and additions done since the initial recordings.
TBH, Bruce's throwaway comments in recent interviews have created more fog than clarity. Mentions of albums that may or may not have yet been announced, may come out 'in the fall or next year'.... until we get an official JLM press release, the speculation is enough to give me a headache. I wonder if the intention is still to do a full boxset of these lost albums (the long rumoured Tracks 2) or if maybe they are now leaning towards releasing these lost albums as stand alone releases on an intermittent basis. Or, maybe both... taking a leaf out of Neil Young's playbook, perhaps one of the albums will be released 'in the fall' as a teaser with the full box set to follow 'next year' (coincidentally, just in time for a potential tour...).
The way I've interpreted it is that it's a new studio album, following on from the research he did for and themes he explored in Western Stars, and (hopefully) a continuation of revisiting songs penned in the early seventies such as "Evacuation of the West". I've given it some thought and I'm sure my desire since mid-late 2019 to watch all these great/notable films and my (since then-found?) love for Westerns was mostly fuelled by Bruce praising The Searchers, so I'd love to hear him pay tribute to the likes of Ford, Wayne, Leone, Morricone etc. with cinematic Western songs that echo their stories and their imagery.
And if it turns out to be something explored many years ago and has been on the shelf long enough to be part of Tracks II, well that's fine too.