JOHN WAITE’s Rough & Tumble – An exhilarating return to Rock for the British Singer/Songwriter

Frontiers Records is excited to announce the release in Europe of JOHN WAITE’s new studio album entitled Rough & Tumble on January 21st, 2011.
Waite’s anticipated new release follows 2007’s Downtown…Journey of Heart and shows a new and fresh side of the British singer/songwriter’s creative output.  Part of the album was recorded in Nashville.  The record wrapped with a spirited studio session in Los Angeles with the members of his touring band.

Waite says of Rough & Tumble: “As much as I feel the release of the live album, In Real Time, last May was a defining moment and as much as I have enjoyed playing those songs, I consider this album a new beginning.  I approached this project with an entirely different ambition musically than I’ve had in the past.  It’s the first record I’ve made that I think is made up of singles.  All 12 tracks are contenders.  They’re all alive in their own way.  I’m not really sure what the energy is behind the songs, but there is a real kind of velocity in the album where we just picked up speed and kept going.  We just wanted to play and win.”

A good portion of Rough & Tumble was written and produced in a sweet pocket of creativity enjoyed over the past year and a half with Matchbox Twenty lead guitarist/songwriter Kyle Cook, who Waite met through a mutual friend. “It’s pretty much extraordinary,” Waite says about the material he created for the new album. “It’s not like what people would expect from me. It’s a step to the left. There’s a rock imprint on the music and a melodic presence, but it’s just shifted gears. It’s an extreme record.  It has an identity and a philosophy of its own, which is really fresh for me.”

The Waite/Cook collaboration has proved to be nothing short of phenomenal, as evidenced by songs like “Evil” (a thumping rocker-meets-dance-club tour de force), “Better Off Gone” (a hook-laced better-off-on-the-open-road anthem), the deep groove-laden “Love’s Goin’ Out of Style” and the soaring magic ballad “If You Ever Get Lonely”. “I’m not saying it’s high art, but genuinely speaking, it’s fantastic for me,” Waite says, reflecting on his new music. “I certainly am interested in spending the rest of my life doing something creative rather than just living in the past”.

On Rough & Tumble, Waite also managed to keep the rougher live rock edge that shines through on In Real Time alive and well. The no-holds-barred, riff-ready title track and the driving renditions of “Sweet Rhode Island Red” (a Tina Turner number) and “Mr. Wonderful” (a new take on a hidden gem originally included on his debut solo album, Ignition) are set to shake heads during the next tour.  The melodies of the amazing “Shadows of Love” are yet another highlight of Waite’s new superbly varied and interesting musical statement.

Rough & Tumble final track listing includes:
Rough & Tumble, Shadows of Love, Evil, If You Ever Get Lonely, Skyward, Sweet Rhode Island Red, Love’s Goin’ Out of Style; Better Off Gone, Further The Sky, Peace of Mind, Mr. Wonderful, Hanging Tree.

The songs “Shadows of Love” and “If You Ever Get Lonely” can be listened to in full exclusively on the Frontiers Web Radio.  Tune in at: www.frontiers.it/webradio

The first single “Shadows of Love” is available NOW for digital purchase !

Weblinks: www.johnwaite.com (The All New Official John Waite Page Coming Soon) / johnwaitethegreatest.web-log.nl / www.myspace.com/johnwaite  / www.frontiers.it  / www.myspace.com/frontiersrecords

MUSICIANS:

John Waite – Vocals
Luis Maldonado – Electric & Acoustic Guitar on “Rough & Tumble,” “Shadows Of Love,” “Skyward,” “Sweet Rhode Island Red,” “Mr. Wonderful”
Tim Hogan – Low End on “Rough & Tumble,” “Shadows Of Love,” “Skyward,” “Sweet Rhode Island Red,” “Mr. Wonderful,” “Further The Sky”
Billy Wilkes – Drums/Percussion on “Rough & Tumble,” “Shadows Of Love,” “Skyward,” “Sweet Rhode Island Red,” “Mr. Wonderful”
Kyle Cook – Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Programming & Harmony Vocals on “Evil,”, “If You Ever Get Lonely,” “Love’s Goin’ Out of Style,” “Better Off Gone,” “Peace of Mind”; Keys on “Evil,” “If You Ever Get Lonely” & “Love’s Goin’ Out Of Style”
David Santos – Bass Guitar on “If You Ever Get Lonely,” “Love’s Goin’ Out of Style,” “Better Off Gone,” “Peace of Mind”
Mike Webb – Hammond B3 on “Shadows of Love,” “Skyward,” “Sweet Rhode Island Red,” “Further The Sky”
Fred Eltringham – Drums/Percussion on “If You Ever Get Lonely,” “Love’s Goin’ Out of Style,” “Better Off Gone,” “Peace of Mind”
Shane Fontayne – Electric & Acoustic Guitar on “Further The Sky,” Acoustic & Baritone Guitar on “Hanging Tree”
Rodger Carter – Drums/Percussion on “Further The Sky”
Bobby Keys – Saxophone on “Love’s Goin’ Out of Style”
Jennifer Paige – Background Vocals on “If You Ever Get Lonely” & “Better Off Gone”

Source: Frontiers Records