Reckless Kelly Pulls a Taylor Swift and Makes New Recordings

Alt-country/Texas music legends Reckless Kelly is no different than many of the artists and bands who first came up in the mid and late ’90s. With no Spotify at your dispose, and no social media to promote yourself, if you wanted to make it in music, you had to sign with a record label. Making this deal with the devil also often meant signing your rights away, whether you knew it or not.

These days as artists go viral on TikTok before a label even gets involved, they can negotiate to keep the rights to their masters. But artists and bands like Reckless Kelly, they were never extended that opportunity. But their is an alternative. Just like we’ve seen with Taylor Swift, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, and a handful of others, Reckless Kelly has decided to re-record some of their biggest songs to completely bring ownership of them in-house.

“These songs have been part of our lives, and our fans’ lives, for decades,” says founding member and fiddle/mandolin player Cody Braun. “But like many of the artists who came up when we did, we didn’t own the original recordings. Re-recording them was our way of taking a little bit of that story back. Not rewriting history, just making sure the future of these songs lives in the hands of the people who created them.”

It’s not just that they didn’t own some of their early recordings. Some of them have changed hands numerous times over the years with no say so on what could be done with them.

“We’ve watched artists like Taylor Swift and John Fogerty fight to reclaim their work, and it’s been inspiring,” Cody Braun continues. “It reminds you that songs aren’t just products, they’re your memories, your years on the road, your life’s work. The beautiful part is that fans play a role in this. Every time someone streams this version or buys this record, they’re helping us own our music and protect it for the long haul.”

The version Cody Braun is talking about is called Alternate Routes, a double LP set to be released on May 15th both digitally and on vinyl. Along with brothers Cody and Willy Bruan, the new recordings feature the current lineup of the band that includes Jay Nazz on drums, Joe Miller on bass, and Geoff Queen on lead guitar and pedal steel. Bukka Allen also plays organ, piano, and accordion on the album.

Alternate Routes was produced by Cody and Willy Braun, and recorded at Austin’s legendary Arlyn Studios. “There are always things you would like to do better, so this was an opportunity to have another chance at some solos, arrangements and tempos, a second look,” Cody Braun says. “We tracked the bulk of these tunes in three days, so it’s also a testament to how tight this band is and how familiar we are with these songs.”

Ahead of the release, Reckless Kelly has let loose of two new versions of songs “Wicked Twisted Road,” “Love In Her Eyes,” and “Seven Nights in Erie.” Alternate Routes is now available for pre-order on vinyl.

TRACK LIST:

Side A
Ragged As The Road
Nobody’s Girl
Seven Nights in Erie
Wicked Twisted Road

Side B
Break My Heart Tonight
Stick Around
Motel Cowboy Show
American Blood

Side C
Love In Her Eyes
Guy Like Me
You Don’t Have To Stay Forever
Vancouver

Side D’s Nutz
(You’ll have to listen to see what you’ll find.)