Re-Vinyl Records Welcomes Tim Easton's Special 20

I was sitting across from a colleague and former recording artist, bemoaning the state of the music industry. The two of us had little in common. He was a hip hop artist who had been on a major label and toured the world. I was a songwriter with two independently released records that had met to no recognition. Despite our collective differences, we both had similar frustrations with the business that seemed to dictate what people heard and how they heard it.

Over the course of an extended lunch, I began to think about what COULD be done to make music better. In my own version of think global and act local, I decided to start funding vinyl releases of what I considered to be the "best" records of my life. By the end of that week, I had created a dream list of what records I was desperate to own on vinyl that had never been released in that format. At the top of that list was a record that I considered to be the blueprint of the resurgence of Americana music in the 1990s. For every article that spoke of Minnesota's Jayhawks or Illinois' Uncle Tupelo, there was a singer songwriter who knew that Tim Easton and, in particular his classic record Special 20 had paved the way for hundreds to come.
I met Tim in 2002. He was supporting his latest record and was receiving a fair amount of attention for his collaborative record with the members of Wilco. I was able to convince Tim to come to Walla Walla and play a show for free in the outdoors. As the sun was setting on the small courtyard filled with townspeople, I saw Tim and his constant companion Gibson walking down an abandoned set of train tracks. Despite playing the harmonica harnessed to his neck, I could see that he was smiling.
" You know any swimming holes nearby?" he asked as he walked toward the makeshift stage.

I worked my way backward to Special 20. And when I reached it, I didn't realize the context that it was released in. As I look back now, it stuns me to think of what the world was listening to while a young Ohio troubadour was recording his masterpiece. When Special 20 was released, the airwaves were dominated by Candle in the Wind, Shania Twain and Third Eye Blind. It is hard to imagine a piece of work created in that environment so rich in all of the history and qualities that were lacking. It opened the door to songwriters that many in my generation had been cursed to have missed. Townes Van Zant, Guy Clark, John Prine and countless others seemed relevant to anyone who was lucky enough to stumble onto Special 20 in that year when it was released on Easton's own Heathen Records. For those being fed a steady diet of " I Don't Want to Wait" and "Gettin Jiggy Wit It", there was something of substance to be digested and to live on.

As good as the music was ...and is, the story was even better. Tim had recorded a record with Haynes Boys and then just tossed off Special 20 with a collection of Nashville session musicians while the band was in limbo. It mixed four track recordings with full studio rock numbers as effortlessly as it moved from acoustic guitars to fiery electric solos. And mixed in for good measure were mandolins, the sounds of gas cans and contributions by the legendary Al Perkins. Here was a kid from Akron, who wanted to be a rock star, going to the least rock and roll city in America (Nashville) and making a record with electric guitars, daubers, mandolins and everything else he could fit into the room. It was daring, audacious and genius.

Alas, Re-Vinyl Records has been fortunate enough to partner with that incredibly talented and audacious songwriter to bring to  his fans the record that started it all, Special 20. In celebration of the event, Tim is hand crafting 50 album covers to be sold in advance of the pressing. Tim has also graciously agreed to make two acoustic versions of Special 20 tracks available as a bonus for those who purchase the record. To bring the whole affair full circle, we will be releasing the record in the city that it was recorded in, Nashville Tn on the weekend that the city celebrates the genre that Special 20 helped to launch, the Americana Music Association Awards in September 2014.

You may have missed Special 20 when it came out fifteen long years ago. But that is exactly why Re-Vinyl Records exists,so you don't have to miss out again. Get your copy at our store now.