Guthrie thomas

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01. I’VE GOT TO GO

PRESS RELEASE


Guthrie Thomas was an American singer-songwriter based in L.A. that released two albums on Capitol in the mid seventies, when every Major was hunting for the new Dylan. He is the epitome of the "beautiful losers" roster that many rave about. Powerful voice, majestic fingerpicking and desperate love songs are his distinctive skills. A tortured soul of immense talent.  

Prior to the Capitol venture, Guthrie had two indie LP's out and then  returned independent in the late seventies with a string of albums for his own Carmen and Eagle Records. A collection was also issued in Germany on the Pastels label. In 1983. Italian admirers Renato Bottani and Marco Melzi financed the album "Like No Other", graced by the participation of some very well known musicians such as Jim Keltner, Bob Glaub and Doug Dillard a.o.. 

 

Subsequently Guthrie signed with Taxim, another German label. In the years before  his untimely death - in July 2016 - he released his music on CDr at home in Las Vegas and mostly relied on digital platform distribution. Having sensed his life won't last long, he became hyper-prolific, flooding the market with 10 albums, some of which might have benefited from a more focused Production effort. 

 

Notwithstanding and too sum it up, he was a "poet-folksinger" ... a lyrical writer of deep reflective songs filled with penetrative verses that bring emotions to the surface. The melodies are captivating, evocative and striking; one can't help but being totally immersed in the story being told by such beautiful and resonating baritone voice.   

 

This 1993 live recording presents Guthrie Thomas when touring Italy and it is taken from a dedicated soundboard feed for maximum fidelity. He is in top form and delivers a magic performance from start to finish. It is expected  that "LIVE ON STAGE" will satisfy the most discerning buyer.

INSIDE LINER NOTES


When Toni Clark reached out in the summer of 2016 to inform of Guthrie’s passing I felt very bad. The man had just sent me an email announcing his desire to come over to Italy for a brief tour. Sadly it was never to be. Memories went back to 1983 when “Like No Other” was released in Italy on my own Stetson label, with the support of a couple of enthusiast friends. It was a very exciting experience, a project that required months of preparation, patience and sometime struggle. But it was rewarding. Not financially, though! From this perspective it was quite a loss as a lot of money went into it. Ten years later Guthrie came to Italy to play a few dates under the savvy management of the great Carlo Carlini and plans were laid down to go into the studio and record an album with Bo Ramsey on lead guitar and Dave Moore on Harmonica and accordion. A rhythm     section was then to be overdubbed later. Guthrie wanted to do it in order for me to recover the above mentioned loss. However, when heading to the studio he was already high on alcohol and I could not stop him from keep drinking. It was his specialty, for sure! Such huge alcohol consumption obviously resulted in a less than diligent performance in the studio and, despite trying hard, none of the takes could be considered for release and the projected album aborted. The following day, when leaving for the US, Guthrie implored to be forgiven for the debacle and yelled out “get that live recording from Sesto out… this time you’ll make money, amigo!”. Well, that’s a clever statement ain’t it? But I did not follow the recommendation and in subsequent years he kept asking and I kept responding: “one day…”.  OK, that day has come. 30 years after the show was recorded – and 40 years after the release of “ Like No Other” – a live performance by Mr. Guthrie Thomas is available for everybody to enjoy. It happened just by accident and a fortunate one.  Having recently reconnected with Marco Melzi (one of the two friends that co-produced “Like No Other”) after having dinner at my place I played him a CDr of the Sesto live    recording. During the third tune both of us, simultaneously exclaimed: “this should be out, it is that good”. There you have it, enough said. Play it loud!  Renato Bottani, April 2023


All songs by Guthrie Thomas


RECORDED LIVE AT SALA CONSILIARE IN SESTO CALENDE, ITALY ON APRIL 15, 1993


PRODUCED FOR RELEASE BY RENATO BOTTANI & MARCO MELZI

AUDIOPHILE MASTERING BY RENATO BOTTANI

ARTWORK BY CORINNE, RICCARDO & CINZIA BOTTANI


TRACKING LIST