Bad Dog - The Jukebox of Regret CD
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Bad Dog's second Folk/Americana album was released on December 2, 2023.
You may order the CD now, and vinyl will be available in early 2024. To reserve a copy of the vinyl, please email [email protected] with the subject line 'Bad Dog Vinyl'.
New York Times article: "Their Songs Were Stolen by Phantom Artists. They Couldn’t Get Them Back."
"The Jukebox of Regret" features nine original songs by the acoustic guitar duo of Craig Blackwell and David Post. The first album, released in 1995, was described by City Paper'a music critic, Mark Jenkins, as "earnest, seemingly artless American folk sound...(with) a gift for timeless, ungimmicky songwriting...these DC folkies twist the genre in interesting, albeit gentle, ways."
The new album's first track, The Misfit (Music & lyrics by Blackwell), is inspired by Southern Gothic author Flannery O'Connor's story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find." The guitar riff calls for Bluegrass chops and sets the stage for Blackwell's misfit who is "on the loose."
Pilgrimage (Music & lyrics by Blackwell) finds the group yearning to go back. But where? The joyous instrumental break and closing harmonies suggest you may want to go there too.
The Jukebox of Regret (Music & lyrics by Post) is located in a small roadside cafe in Spain. We still don't know what Post is sorry for having said in Barcelona.*Verona is a town in Jersey but on this album it's a girl. " Verona, come here and I'll hold ya."
Verona (Music & lyrics by Blackwell) starts with a whisper but when the drums enter and the harmonies swell things get serious.
The Queen of the Boulevard (Music & lyrics by Post) is a ballad tinged with Post's Brooklyn accent. The Sarabande reference tells us he's not opining about Flatbush. Checkout the mandolin-harmonica duet.
The sixth track, In the Ground Again (Music & lyrics by Blackwell) , name-checks Edgar J. Watson. It's apocalyptic with a romance tossed in for good measure.
Pop Song (Music & lyrics by Post) has congas! It's an Everly Brothers throwback with Post taking both Phil's and Don's vocal parts.
Post's whistle on A Drink Before I Go (Music & lyrics by Blackwell) gives this barroom lament a touch of whimsy.
The duo take closing CD track Preston (Music & lyrics by Blackwell) at a slower tempo than its original recording in 1995. This heightens the stakes, and Post's pleading vocal, the propulsive bass, unexpected cymbals, and slide guitar all carry the song and the album to a triumphant close.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mix Cave Mastering.
Instagram @baddogdc
ALBUM INSTRUMENTS:
Craig Blackwell: banjo, bass, guitar (acoustic, electric, slide), mandolin
David Post: guitar, harmonica, keyboard
Craig Lauinger: drums tambourine
Steve Fidyk: congras, guiro, shaker