The Loud Family & Anton Barbeau's 'What if It Works,' Scott Miller's final album, coming in expanded reissue from Omnivore, March 25

Nice to see Scott Miller's final album is set to arrive via an expanded edition this spring...Robert Kinsler

The Loud Family and Anton Barbeau's 'What If It Works?'; Scott Miller's final album coming on Friday, March 25, 2022 

New package includes 11 bonus tracks (10 previously unissued, and another from a rare promotional disc), plus photos and liner notes from Tony award winner Stew Stewart, Anton Barbeau and Kristine Miller

From left, Anton Barbeau and Scott Miller. 
(Photo by ND Koster)

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — The end of the era of the Loud Family came quietly as 2000’s “Attractive Nuisance” tour wound down, with the band’s final hometown return show cancelled by the club due to presumed lack of interest. While they remained popular with fans, the benefits of touring had begun to diminish, costing more than the band recovered. Scott Miller, who’d fronted Game Theory from 1982-90, was preparing to start a family and working a full-time job in tech as he anticipated stepping back from music to focus on the rest of life. At the same time, psych-pop singer-songwriter Anton Barbeau was ramping up his career at full speed, releasing new music at a fiery rate, working with musicians and labels from both the U.S. and the U.K. (including the Bevis Frond and members of the Soft Boys, Cake, Hawkwind, and Camel & the Candyskins).

Scott and Anton had been friends since the late 1980s and had worked together on Anton’s recordings on and off from soon after they’d met. Six years after Scott stepped away from music professionally, Scott’s wife Kristine remarked on how good the two sounded together at a casual Sacramento gig, and suggested they record together. That’s how Scott and Anton teamed up to record an album for the Bay Area indie 125 Records, a label that had championed both artists in the early ’00s.  

The result was the 2006 release What If It Works?, an album full of breezy brightness and irresistible pop melodies inspired by the music of Scott’s and Anton’s youth. Setting aside the thoughts of moral philosophy and moments of melancholia that, in part, informed the late Loud Family era, yet sacrificing none of his melodic and lyrical genius, Scott teamed back up with fellow Loud Family bandmates Kenny Kessel and Jozef Becker (with Gil Ray and Alison Faith Levyon hand as well) and brought some of his best work to the project. Scott seemed happy to be returning and, in a sense, his writing recalls the less serpentine melodies of his pre-Lolita Nation Game Theory days. For Anton it was a chance to work with Scott as equals, delivering the full incandescence of his gift for insanely catchy pop songs with members of the Loud Family behind him.

What If It Works? is a gift of an album, an unexpected return from Scott and another great work from Anton. Stunning songwriting from both and a few cover songs from the ’60s and ’70s make the ease and joy of their collaboration abundantly clear. 

This reissue, due out March 25, 2022 as CD and Digital from Omnivore Recordings, features the original release, plus eleven bonus tracks — ten previously unissued (and the other from a rare promotional CD). The packaging features photos, an essay from Stew Stewart (2008 Drama Desk and Tony Award winner for Passing Strange and founder of The Negro Problem), and a conversation between Barbeau and Scott’s widow, Kristine Miller, discussing the making of the record.

Omnivore has also reissued all of the original albums from Scott Miller’s Game Theory as expanded remasters including Across The Barrier of Sound: PostScript, 2 Steps From the Middle Ages, The Big Shot Chronicles Lolita Nation, Real Nighttime Distortion Pointed Accounts of People You Know, Dead Center, and Blaze of Glory.

Track List:

1.     Rocks Off

2.     Song About “Rocks Off”

3.     Pop Song 99

4.     Total Mass Destruction

5.     Flow Thee Water

6.     Remember You

7.     (Kind Of) In Love

8.     Mavis Of Maybelline Towers

9.     I Think I See the Light

10.  What If It Works?

2006 Bonus Tracks:

11.  Don’t Bother Me While I’m Living Forever

12.  I’ve Been Craving Lately

2022 Bonus Tracks:

13.  Third Eye (Scott’s Vocal)

14.  Little Daisy (Scott’s Mix)

15.  (Kind Of) In Love (Scott’s Sketch Demo)

16.  (Kind Of) In Love (Anton’s Demo)

17.  Song About “Rocks Off” (Demo)

18.  I Wanna Make You Come Just By Looking At Your Eye (Demo)

19.  Rise of the Chokehold Princess (At Anton’s)

20.  Pop Song 99 (Demo)

21.  Don’t Bother Me While I’m Living Forever Demo)

22.  What If It Works? (Demo)

23.  Just Gone (At Anton’s)

Tracks 14–23 previously unissued.

Pre-order link: www.omnivorerecordings.com/shop/what-if-it-works

Masterworks from U2, Kasey Chambers, Game Theory, Rosebud celebrated

Three outstanding reissues and a stunning new double CD highlight a field of new works waiting to be discovered (or rediscovered).

Artist: U2
Title: The Joshua Tree [Super Deluxe Edition] (Island Records)
You might like if you enjoy: U2, Simple Minds
Tell me more: The Super Deluxe Edition edition of U2's The Joshua Tree is a significant purchase, retailing for between $90 and $100. Yet, the newly-released box set marking the 30th anniversary of U2's 1987 masterwork is money well spent for U2's countless fans who have been filling stadiums for the band's current tour that has already garnered $62 million in its first month (according to Billboard). The new box set includes the original 11-track album, a live recording captured during the 1987 Joshua Tree Tour at Madison Square Garden, a number of B-sides and rarities, and several 2017 remixes of several of the album's songs. There is also a a beautiful hardcover book featuring photographs taken by The Edge and a folio of eight 12-inch cooler prints from band photographer Anton Corbijn. Information: u2.com.

Artist: Kasey Chambers
Title: Dragonfly (Essence/MGM)
You might like if you enjoy: Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin
Tell me more: Kasey Chambers' ambitious double album Dragonfly succeeds on every imaginable level. The Australian singer-songwriter's potent songs and shining vocals always amaze, but on "Dragonfly" there is a magical quality how she moves effortlessly between country blues, bluegrass, Americana and traditional country in the service of her confessional songs. The collection is divided into two parts; disc one features the "Sing Sing Sessions" produced by Paul Kelly while the second disc features the "Foggy Mountain Sessions" produced by her brother and frequent producer Nash Chambers. The powerful "Ain't No Little Girl" finds her beautiful soprano erupting to a roar, while she can artfully rebound on the melodically lush "Summer Pillow" before masterfully moving into roots rock territory on the soaring "You Ain't Worth Suffering For" - and that's just on the first disc. The second disc features an equal number of amazing songs, including the gospel spiritual-styled "Shackle & Chain" and "No Ordinary Man," the speedy title track and electrified Delta blues gem "If I Died." There are several special guests, with Keith Urban's vocal contributions particularly affecting on "If We Had A Child." Information: KaseyChambers.com.

Artist: Game Theory
Title: 2 Steps From The Middle Ages (Omnivore Recordings)
You might like if you enjoy: Game Theory, Alex Chilton, Big Star
Tell me more: It's easy for discerning music fans to get angry when talented bands such as Game Theory never achieve the recognition and commercial success they deserve. Headed by brilliant singer-songwriter-guitarist Scott Miller, Game Theory issued five studio albums and two EPs in the 1980s. The band's jangly power pop-meets-baroque rock sound was combined with intricate musical arrangements and literate lyrics. The reissue of Game Theory's final studio album 2 Steps From The Middle Ages marks another reason to celebrate Omnivore Recordings' continuing commitment to shine a light on the band. The new expanded edition of "2 Steps From The Middle Ages' includes 11 bonus tracks, including original demos, live versions and radio broadcast sessions. The material includes some of Miller's most infectious and detailed songs. If you have not yet heard of Game Theory, check out tracks like "Room For One More, Honey," "Don't Entertain Me Twice," "Throwing the Election" and prepare to be hooked. A fully-illustrated 24-page booked adds a wealth of background and insight about Game Theory. The release also serves as a bittersweet tribute to Game Theory drummer Gil Ray, who passed away earlier this year. Information: OmnivoreRecordings.com.

Artist: Rosebud
Title: Rosebud (Omnivore Recordings)
You might like if you enjoy: Judy Henske and Jerry Yester's "Farewell Aldebaran"
Tell me more: A masterwork even in its original form, Rosebud's self-titled 1971 album has been reissued with 10 bonus tracks and is ready for the world to discover this classic anew. The range of material encompasses a number of styles of the day and then some, thanks in part to the fusion of well-crafted songs written by Judy Henske (vocals) and Jerry Yester (vocals, bass guitar, banjo), as well as the vocal and instrumental contributions of everyone in the quartet (rounded out by multi-instrumentalist Craig Doerge and drummer John Seiter). There is beautiful folk rock ("The Yum Yum Man"), an exquisite Continental European-flavored ballad ("Le Soleil"), psychedelic-tinged rock ("Reno"), Laurel Canyon country pop ("Western Wisconsin," "Roll Home Cheyenne") and lounge pop ("Lorelei," "Flying To Morning"), all of it delivered with a creative and independent spirit that infuses both the lyrics and music making. The bonus material bolsters the set, with the previously-unreleased "Mercury Of Fools" a progressive delight. Information: OmnivoreRecordings.com.


Robert Kinsler