North Carolina alt-rock vets The Connells are giving their 1993 album, Ring, the deluxe 30th anniversary treatment on August 11 via Craft Recordings. In addition to a remastered version of the original album — which includes their hit “’74-’75,” plus “Slackjawed,” “New Boy” and more — there are 21 bonus tracks, including b-sides, demos, live acoustic versions and more. Preorder here and check out the tracklist below.
We’ve got the premiere of the demo for “Carry My Picture.” Guitarist and songwriter Mike Connell tells us, “‘Carry My Picture’ – maybe more than any of the other tracks on Ring – demonstrates how a song can change after the songwriter has lived with the demoed version of the song long enough to realize what he has wrought. Specifically, with respect to the lyrics in the case of Carry My Picture, things moving from the realm of the really shitty, to that of the marginally less shitty.” Listen to the demo and the album version below.
The Connells will be in Virginia this weekend for shows in Norfolk and Richmond, and have a Winston-Salem, NC show in September. All dates are listed below.
THE CONNELLS – ‘RING’ 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
LP Tracklist:
Side A
1. Slackjawed
2. Carry My Picture
3. ’74-‘75
4. Doin’ You
5. Find Out
6. Eyes on the Ground
7. Spiral
Side B
1. Hey You
2. New Boy
3. Disappointed
4. Burden
5. Any Day Now
6. Running Mary
2-CD Tracklist:
Disc One
1. Slackjawed
2. Carry My Picture
3. ’74-’75
4. Doin’ You
5. Find Out
6. Eyes on the Ground
7. Spiral
8. Hey You
9. New Boy
10. Disappointed
11. Burden
12. Any Day Now
13. Running Mary
14. ’74-’75 (Radio Edit)
15. Slackjawed (Radio Edit)
16. Logan Street
17. Wonder Why
18. Living in the Past
Disc Two
1. ’74-’75 (Demo)*
2. Carry My Picture (Demo)*
3. Disappointed (Demo)*
4. Doin’ You (Demo)*
5. Eyes on the Ground (Demo)*
6. Hey You (Demo)*
7. Logan Street (Demo)*
8. New Boy (Demo)*
9. Running Mary (Demo)*
10. Slackjawed (Demo)*
11. Spiral (Demo)*
12. Wonder Why (Demo)*
13. New Boy (Live Acoustic Version)
14. Doin’ You (Live Acoustic Version)
15. Running Mary (Live Acoustic Version)
16. ’74-’75 (Live Acoustic Version)
*previously Unreleased
THE CONNELLS – 2023 TOUR DATES
FRIDAY 14 JULY – Norfolk, VA, US – The NorVa
SATURDAY 15 JULY – Richmond, VA, US – The National
FRIDAY 8 SEPTEMBER – Winston-Salem, NC, US – The Ramkat