Audio CD
ID: AVSCD093
Number of Discs: 1
Release Date: May 17, 2022
Format: Audio CD
Label: Aztec Music
Cross That Line is the fifth solo album from STEVE LUCAS, singer/guitarist of the legendary Aussie band X. Across 10 new, self-penned songs he pays tribute to the Blues. As he explains in the album liner notes, “A few years ago I decided I’d had enough life experience to be eligible to start playing the blues”.
With the mighty X on the back-burner, and having honed his live skills with The Heinous Hounds where he got a crash course in the Blues, Steve called on a bunch of Friends to record some original country blues tunes he’d been working on. It was during the COVID lockdowns in Melbourne but the time was right. Helping out were Pete Mavric (double bass), Peter Robertson (drums), Bruce Haymes (piano), Dave Hogan (harp), Chris Vizard (trombone and horn arrangements), Travis Woods (trumpet), Jon Hunt (sax), Joey Bedlam (vocals) and engineer Levi Dowsett. The first session with Dowsett at Brunswick Sound studio involved grabbing Mavric and Robertson to lay down some tunes in just a couple of takes.
This set the template for the remaining sessions, and by adding horns, harp, piano and additional vocals the album took shape. Final mix down resulted in what you now hear, purely and simply a case of not letting obstacles get in the way! Steve’s new songs had flown thick and fast, springing from either his Resonator acoustic or his 1938 Cromwell Archtop, both tuned to open G. He explains: “The riffs bespoke words and words became verse. It never fails to amaze me, that the life you breathe into a song is life being breathed back into yourself”. Songs such as ‘How Can I Sing The Blues’, ‘Cross That Line’, ‘Congratulations’, ‘Dare To Be Different’ and ‘Joshua Tree’ emanated from a deep well of inspiration.
“Overall this album is a kind of tribute to the blues in its many shapes and forms. From country roots to Celtic folk with a taste of New Orleans swing thrown in for good measure. In many ways, this record was a lifetime in its making. Though I started out in the Punk era with X, I have always had a genuine love for big band swing (was conceived to that!) and Dixieland style jazz. The same goes for a certain kind of country music and I suppose I have to thank the Rolling Stones for that. I have flirted with the blues a little on most of my solo efforts over the years but never believed I had the gravitas to fully commit. I felt too young. Now, I feel I have finally come home.”
This Deluxe CD version is packaged in a 4 panel digi-pak. • Digitally Mastered for CD by Gil Matthews, featuring colour booklet with liner notes by Steve Lucas.
1. Cross That Line
2. Congratulations
3. Dare To Be Different
4. Rising Tide
5. How Can I Sing The Blues
6. The Bomp-A-Bomp Song
7. Joshua Tree
8. Moths To A Flame
9. Old Ben Putty
10. This Mother’s Son