Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real - Naked Garden

Product Description When we walked out of Shangri-La recording studio on the sixth day, we knew we had captured something special. The process had been simple: we would gather around a coffee table on the lawn, Lukas would present a new song on an acoustic guitar, and then we’d go inside and roll tape. The atmosphere was joyful and mellow, yet intensely productive—we rarely spent more than two takes on a song before moving on to the next one. It was so productive, in fact, that there was simply no way to fit all the material on one release. So think of this project as something of an epilogue to our previous album, Turn Off The News (Build A Garden). Some of these tracks are alternate performances of songs from that record. Others, like “Bad Case”, appear in their early developmental stages. But the majority of this album comprises songs that, for one reason or another, didn’t make the final cut, and yet were just too special to keep to ourselves. Some strings are out of tune. Some lyrics are inconsistent. There’s microphone bleed, tape machine buzz, conversations and laughter between takes… that’s how we like it. Our hope is that Naked Garden offers a glimpse behind the curtain, at POTR in our most raw, honest, and naked state. For our band’s name is truly our mantra, and if nothing else, this project is an attempt to make good on our promise. Review Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real offer 10 outtakes and five alternative versions of songs that appeared on last year's ''Turn Off the News (Build a Garden)'' with their latest album, ''Naked Garden.'' It's not just a record for completists. The alternate versions and outtakes offered here stand on their own merits. But for fans of Nelson, it offers a glimpse into his artistic process. An acoustic version ''Civilized Hell,'' slowed down here, packs a different kind of punch than the rocked-up version did that was released last year. There's also another full-band version of the song on ''Naked Garden,'' for those who just can't get enough. One highlight, the previously unreleased ''The Way You Say Goodbye,'' features Nelson sounding more like Roy Orbison than his dad Willie Nelson. Hearing his take on the country waltz song is worth the price of admission alone. There's also some fun banter included in between tracks, making it feel like the listener is there with the band in the studio. Not everything's perfectly presented here, but that's by design. --Scott Bauer / Associated Press