See the Light

Bo’s second CD, ‘See The Light,’ will be released on October 23rd, 2007. (You can already pre-order from Wal-Mart and receive a free download of the totally rocking first single ‘Witness.’)

Of this CD, Bo has said: “I think this CD will really showcase all I’ve wanted to with my music–it’s a chance for me to go out and rock in a way that I’m really comfortable with.”

Producer

“See the Light” was produced by Bo in conjuction with award-winning Nashville producer Frank Liddell. Frank’s other production credits include Miranda Lambert, LeeAnn Womack and Chris Knight. He is also a song publisher who has been responsible for hits by Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and the Dixie Chicks among others, and he owns his own indie record label.

On his label’s MySpace page, Frank talks about his approach to production:

When I grew up, popular music was not governed by the same principles that are governing it today,” says Liddell. “There were great songs, great musicians, great singers—writing about their generation, their time, their beliefs, their core feelings. It was music made from one person to another—not at anybody. It was not preconceived or pre-marketed. I don’t think record buyers have changed.

Musicians

The album will apparently feature a “who’s who” of rock, with appearances by Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, drummer Steve Gorman (The Black Crowes, Stereophonics), legendary session guitarist Waddy Wachtel (The Rolling Stones, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan) and award-winning bassist Glenn Worf (Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits, Aaron Neville, Tammy Wynette, Bob Seger).
Other musicians’ names were mentioned but we’re not sure we have identified them correctly, so I’ll leave the list there for now. (As if that wasn’t enough!)

Recording Process

Bo talked on several webchats about how he recorded this CD. Paraphrasing him, he said that the goal was to create an authentic sound with as few overdubs and as little pro-tooling as possible. Contrast that with his RCA album TRT, where often most of the instruments on any one track were played by the producer of that track.

As far as we know the CD was recorded both in his home studio, Rockhound, and at Omni Sound in Nashville.

We don’t know the names of everyone invovled, but we do know that John Beard, of Blackbeard Studios in Nashville served as an engineer on the project (and put up with being filmed for a whole day while we all watched on a webcast!)

Track Listing

1. Witness
2. Take the Country Outta Me
3. I’m Gone
4. Only Words
5. Got Money
6. See the Light
7. Sinner in a Sin
8. This Train
9. Ain’t Gonna Die
10. Whiskey, Women & Time

You can preview ‘Witness’ and listen to clips of 3 other songs on Bo’s MySpace page. They’re so good, Bo’s fans are beside themselves! You can also see live acoustic videos of some of Bo’s new songs here.

Writers

Unlike Bo’s first CD, he either wrote or co-wrote every track that appears on the Wal-Mart track listing. Co-writers are his close friends as opposed to writers-for-hire and include Thomas Lee (See the Light and This Train), Dan Hardin (Only Words), Chris Tompkins (I’m Gone) and Gary Nichols (I Ain’t Gonna Die)

Label and Distribution

Bo’s label is a joint venture between himself and his management company Strategic Artists Management. This follows an increasingly popular trend of management companies setting up their own labels, as we reported here. The label, $ugarmoney/StratArt Records is presumably part of SAM’s parent company, Frontline Management, but no details are known.

The album will be sold as a hard copy CD exclusively in Wal*Mart and will also be available via digital retailers.

Promotional Plans

Bo has talked about gearing up for promotional activities including TV, radio and print media, but we don’t know details.

The first sngle, ‘Witness’ will be released to radio at the end of September and a video will follow soon after.

To watch Bo perform some of his new music during his acoustic tour in May, click here.