Leeroy Stagger is a Canadian country rocker with a punk attitude. He's a new name to me but he has obviously been pretty prolific over the years as this is his eighth album.
Goodnight Berlin and Mister are both ballsy rockers in the finest Steve Earle tradition.
Even feistier is Cities On Fire, a song written eight years ago but dusted off in honour of the Occupy Movement with lyrics like "We are the people, we are the poor, this is our country that we're fighting for" leaving no doubt which side he's on.
'The revolution will not be liberalised' is a slogan that flashes briefly in the video for the song and clearly this is a sentiment Stagger can relate to. If you are in any doubt about this, listen to Capitalism Must Die! from his previous album, Radiant Land or Sold Down The River from this one for further confirmation.
Producer Steve Berlin of Los Lobos overdubbed sax and keyboards to bolster the sound on the record; it was recorded in Berlin's hometown of Portland, Oregon.
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Stagger wears his working class roots on his sleeve but this record isn't all about rage and revolution. Celebrity is a quietly cynical song about fame and Break My Heart is a touching love song with Bryan Daste on pedal steel adding extra pathos.
Having kicked an addiction to booze you might have expected a cleaned up, sober collection of tunes but this record proves that the fire in the belly of Leeroy Stagger hasn't been extinguished.
Leeroy Stagger's website
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