You're Only Lonely

Michigan born, Texas raised, John David Souther was one of the 1st artists signed to David Geffen and Elliot Roberts' groundbreaking Asylum label in 1971. His 2 albums for Asylum, "John David Souther" (1972) and "Black Rose" (1976), established the singer songwriter's distinctive voice on such now classic songs as "Faithless Love", "How Long", and "Simple Man, Simple Dream".

In 1979, Souther moved over to the Columbia label where he scored a chart topping hit with the title track of "You're Only Lonely. On July 26th, 2024, Omnivore Recordings will reissue this beloved album in its 1st ever expanded and remastered edition, following the label's past, acclaimed reissues of Souther's 2 Asylum albums and 1984 Warner Bros album "Home By Dawn".

For "You're Only Lonely", Souther assembled a musical A team including Waddy Wachtel on guitar, Don Grolnick on piano, Kenny Edwards on bass, and Rick Marotta on drums, with Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar also contributing on guitar, David Sanborn on alto saxophone, and Dan Dugmore on guitar and pedal steel. Wachtel, Jorge Calderon, and Phil Everly all sang harmony vocals, along with Edwards, Peter Asher, Hayden Gregg, Jackson Browne, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey. That wasn't all. John Sebastian, Don Felder, Bread's Mike Botts, Tom Scott, Jai Winding, and Little Feat's Fred Tackett all played on the album, too.

JD brought along a set of songs that reflected the diversity of his musical influences and also touched on his own musical history. Listeners picked up the Roy Orbison inspiration in the shimmering title song, a Top 10 Pop smash and AC chart topper which also crossed over to the Billboard Country chart. The moving rumination on "White Rhythm And Blues", featuring Phil Everly on harmony, had been introduced in 1978 by Linda Ronstadt while the tender, melancholy "The Last In Love", penned by Souther and Frey, was 1st sung by Nicolette Larson on her debut album. The team of JD and Glenn also wrote the album's raucous romp "'Til The Bars Burn Down". JD took the opportunity to revisit another pair of tunes. "The Moon Just Turned Blue" was his 1st song to be recorded by another group, in this case, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. "Trouble In Paradise" was a highlight of The Souther Furay Hillman Band's 2nd album, but the "You're Only Lonely" version hewed closer to the songwriter's original vision for the song. The moving "Songs of Love" had been demoed for "Black Rose" but made its 1st appearance on "You're Only Lonely", accented by Fred Tackett's acoustic guitar. The tex mex flavored "If You Don't Want My Love" boasted appearances by Don Felder, Jai Winding, and Mike Botts.

Omnivore's CD reissue, produced by Souther and Cheryl Pawelski, adds 2 previously unreleased bonus tracks, the outtake "Ever Faithful Woman", with a killer Kortchmar solo, and a demo of "Bad News Travels Fast", the final version of which would appear on "Home By Dawn". The audio has been exquisitely remastered by Michael Graves. The 16 page booklet, with stellar design from Greg Allen, features rare and previously unseen photos of Souther plus memorabilia. Joe Marchese has written the liner notes, based on a new interview with JD Souther. Additionally, a vinyl version of the original album sequence, also including expanded artwork and liner notes, will be released on the same day.

With its blend of rock'n'roll, blues, country, pop, jazz, and beyond, "You're Only Lonely" remains a timeless, yet fresh collection of songs, alternately rollicking and thoughtful, wistful and romantic, from one of America's finest singer songwriters and a star studded group of pals. Souther explained his philosophy in the liner notes, "We always said our motto was 'we're building to last'. We really spent a lot of time on the songs. The other motto was, 'no filler'. You don't make a single and then put a bunch of filler on an album. You make an album and hope you have a single". "You're Only Lonely" epitomizes that motto. Look for it on CD and LP on July 26th, 2024, from Omnivore Recordings.