"So one day Jack Rhodes sat outside his studio... throwing a pile of songs into the air. Wondering where they would go," Franz Dobler writes in the liner notes of the debut album.
In fact, many years later, Steffen Zug, aka Steve Train, stumbled upon unreleased, partially damaged tape recordings by legendary songwriter Jack Rhodes from the years 1956-59. What were these songs...?
Clearly not of our time, clearly raw, unfinished, at times offensive and above all incredibly unique and intense.
Inspired by the magical songs penned by Rhodes, they quickly assembled a band of musician friends and other rogues to finally record these demos – in the spirit of their creator. This task was all the more interesting because almost every musician came from a different musical background: from blues to gypsy jazz, with detours into rockabilly, country, punk rock, hardcore, folk, western swing, and even '60s garage rock...
It was ultimately this diversity that provided fertile ground for the seeds of Rhodes' songs. The first recordings were made shortly afterward. Over time, the band became more and more musically sound, and after the second recording session, the moment had finally arrived: the first public performance of "Steve Train and his bad Habits" was both the record and CD release. The debut album, "The Lost Jack Rhodes Tapes," was released on Bad-S Records. The music of the six men in black, which includes guitars, drums, piano, double bass, electric bass, steel guitar, and accordion in its repertoire, seemed to fit no conventional category...
01 Down among the dead men
02 My love gives me love
03 Similau
04 True lovin' woman
05 Jezebel
06 Why don't you love me
07 Don't knock what you don't understand (Bonus)
