Dan Auerbach‘s Easy Eye Sound has shared a new Son House single, “Empire State Express”, set to appear on the forthcoming posthumous album, Forever On My Mind. “Empire State Express” follows “Preachin’ Blues” as the second single from the record, due out on March 18th.
Forever On My Mind will feature new versions of eight songs, including the recording of “Empire State Express” that Easy Eye Sound released on Wednesday. Also on the album will be the title track, which never saw an official recording but appeared in live sets throughout Son House’s career.
Originally tracked during a November 23rd, 1964 performance at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN, the recordings laid dormant in the hands of Dick Waterman, one of the key figures in the 1960’s blues revival and the man who rediscovered Son House after the musician had receded from performing and recording for two decades. Nearly six decades after the Wabash performance, Auerbach got the tapes from Waterman and began producing the record.
“Easy Eye Sound makes blues records, and not many people make blues records anymore,” Auerbach told American Songwriter. “This record continues where we started off, with our artists Leo Bud Welch and Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes, and Robert Finley.”
“It also is part of my history—some of the first blues music I heard was Son House. I was raised on his Columbia LP, Father of Folk Blues. My dad had that album and would play it in the house when I was a kid, so I know all those songs by heart.”
This latest single arrives paired with a Ryan Nadzam-directed music video, rife with clips of a bustling 20th century New York that flash on the screen as the legendary bluesman gruffly strums his resonator guitar. Throughout the song, Son House sings lines like, “I went down to the station/I leaned against the door/You know I know the Empire State/Any time I hear her blow,” matching up with the various clips of train engines that helped transform New York into the metropolis that it is today.
Easy Eye Sound will release Forever On my Mind on black and orange vinyl, CD, and digital platforms. Check out the new single and music video for “Empire State Express” below. Furthermore, head here to pre-order the forthcoming album, due out on March 18th, and scroll down for a detailed tracklist.
Son House – “Empire State Express” [Official Music Video]
