For Wesley Stace, formerly (and occasionally still) known as John Wesley Harding, could it really be the final hurrah?
Stace will release his album, “One Last Heist” via Pravda Records, Sept. 2 on 12-inch LP vinyl, CD, digital download and streaming services.
Recorded at Studio 1935 in Philadelphia’s historic BOK Building, One Last Heist is produced, arranged and written by Wes and longtime collaborator David Nagler. The core band comprised Nagler himself (keyboards), Eddie Carlson (bass), and Stéphane San Juan (Caetano Veloso, David Byrne, Marcos Valle) on the drums. These backing tracks were supplemented by stellar guitar work from Joe Gore (Tom Waits, Tracy Chapman) and Justin Mazer (Bob Weir), extra drums from Patrick Berkery (The War on Drugs) and backing vocals by Chris von Sneidern. The bells and whistles – string quartets, clarinets, flutes, flugelhorns etc – were contributed later by friends all over.
“We’d intended the previous album Late Style to be the most elegant record imaginable, but COVID was a scruffy time and much of it was recorded in isolation in far-flung locations, without the chemistry and esprit de corps of musicians playing together in real time in the same space,” Stace said. “It just couldn’t be done how we wanted. So the prime motive here was to go one better, to arrange the songs first, then record them as a band, playing live in the studio, to let it be a ‘players’ record, allowing for expressive solos, room to relax a little. Studio 1935 is open plan, very welcoming, not lots of isolated booths, so we were all able to congregate, interact, and improvise.”
The sound is expansive, generous, lush, even groovy, by turns dramatic and mellow, a far cry from Stace’s strummy folk-rock records of yore. What’s happened? “There’s no reason why my songs shouldn’t swing like I want them to, despite all their words, like those CTI and Kudu records I listen to in the kitchen. Check out Esther Phillips doing Gilbert O’Sullivan, Johnny Hammond doing Cat Stevens. Why not?
“Plus, having lived in Philly for 16 years now, the city’s soul has finally found its way into my music, specifically the Hammond organists that I love: all the greats were from right here – Charles Earland, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff. It’s not even just the organ itself, but the feel of those records, the bass and drums. And now you might find me at 48 Record Bar, DJing, most recently a night called ‘ORGAN-ized!’ That’s the backbone of the aesthetic of this album; that’s where my ears are and my heart is, wherever the other inspirations on One Last Heist stray globally or locally. Like all my records, it’s a cocktail. We were feeling ambitious. I like my music sweet, but my lyrics tart: I know that. It’s not uncommon among my favorite singer-songwriters.”
The songs, and their subject matters, encompass the encyclopedic array of Stace’s sometimes unique concerns. It’s a heady blend of mysterious narratives – a cracked visionary offers his work to an oppressive scientific board (“This Knowledge Dies with Me”), Death retires and forces his crown upon an unsuspecting, unconvinced stranger (“Hanging Up the Sickle”); practical advice to would-be entertainers still learning their lines (“Get It in Your Fingers”); excursions into mythology gone awry (“Penelope”) and protest songs – the pointed satire of “I Say Lots of Things” and majestic stand-out “Thoughts and Prayers.” Underpinning all this, romance – whether the songwriter has been assigned the wrong subject (“A Funny One”), a human the wrong human (“Not My Speed”) or two grown-ups are simply trying to divine the end of the mystery of it all (“In Our Own Time”.) The last song, “Hello Dead Horse” features a different heist entirely – a band getting back together for a quick cash grab – bringing the record full circle.
Stace was born in Hastings, Sussex, in 1965, and educated at the King’s School, Canterbury, and Jesus College, Cambridge. He released 17 albums under the name John Wesley Harding, before switching back to his birth name for more recent recordings, including 2021’s Late Style and the monumental limited-edition Secret Series, for which he revisited his entire discography for new solo acoustic releases. He has also published four novels.
Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders, his variety show based at City Winery in NYC, continues to sell out. Since the Cabinet’s inception in 2009, the show has become a virtual who’s who of contemporary performers, writers, and comedians. Stace has been joined onstage by Lou Reed, Rosanne Cash, Iggy Pop, John Prine, and Bruce Springsteen (with whom he recorded a duet on his album Awake), among many others. He has performed on most of the national late night talk shows and his songs have featured in films (including High Fidelity) and TV (Transparent) and been covered by many other artists, from Graham Parker and Josh Ritter to Kelly Hogan and Tanya Donelly.
His first novel, the international bestseller Misfortune, was nominated for numerous awards, included in year-end best-of lists. His second, by George, was one of the New York Public Library’s Books To Remember of 2007. His third, Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, was called an “Inventive black comedy unfolding with Nabokovian precision” (Financial Times). His most recent publication was 2019’s Out Loud, Mark Morris’ memoir, which he wrote with the choreographer.
Stace has twice taught a songwriting course at Princeton University with poet Paul Muldoon. He has also taught creative writing at Swarthmore and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has written and reviewed for the Times Literary Supplement, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He has lived in America since 1991, and resides in Philadelphia with his wife Abbey, daughter Tilda, and son Wyn. Stace finally became an American citizen last July.
“I feel more confident about protesting now I’m one of you,” he said.
https://www.wesleystace.com/
IG: @wesleystace
FB: @Wesley.stace.9
Threads: @wesleystace
https://www.cabinetofwonders.
– Edited by JOHN DALY