Another volume of the gospel according to Todd Snider is heading for shelves, streaming services, and streetcorners on September 23rd with Live: Return of the Storyteller. The 27-track collection of songs, stories, and stoner fables documents some of the singer-songwriter’s first live shows in 2021 following the COVID lockdowns. Return of the Storyteller also serves as a sequel to the Bastard from Beaverton’s acclaimed 2011 live document, The Storyteller.
Recorded between August and December 2021 at venues across the country, Return of the Storyteller spans the breadth of Snider’s entire career. From his 1994 debut Songs From the Daily Planet through last year’s First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder, Snider delivers a crash course in his patented brand of road wisdom. Along the way, he pays tribute to his lost friends and mentors including John Prine, Col. Bruce Hampton, Neal Casal, Jerry Jeff Walker, and more as well as touches on his time with jam band Hard Working Americans.
The 16 songs only make up part of the album, after all, it is called Return of the Storyteller. Between tracks, Snider recounts his decades spent on the road, picking up whatever lessons the highways had to teach him along with way. Tales as fantastic as haunted ghost children of California and raising hell with the inventor of Crocs are balanced out with the simple realities of a working songwriter, and what happens while you’re “Working On A Song”.
Snider said of the album,
this album is dedicated to all the people
who come to these shows
whether this last tour was the first one you caught
you’ve been coming since 94,
or you joined the family somewhere in between
you have my undying gratitude
traveling and singing has been the great joy of my life
and it’s not lost on me who makes it possible
thank you.
Along with Friday’s announcement, Snider shared a live cut of “Just Like Old Times”. Also found on 2011’s The Storyteller, this take on the fan-favorite finds Snider a little older and hopefully a little wiser. Though he can’t hit those high notes he could a decade ago, his strained voice rings with the wisdom of experience. The song also gained an added relevance in 2020, as it was used as the basis for the feature film, Hard Luck Love Song.
Watch the tour diary-style music video for the live version of “Just Like Old Times” found on the upcoming Todd Snider live album, Return of the Storyteller, available here for pre-order. Pre-order the album for a chance to win a guitar pick and harmonica Snider used on his 2021 tour. Snider also recently added new dates to his American Troubadour Tour, including shows with Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Todd will celebrate the release of Return of the Storyteller with a show at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on September 24th, joined by Ramblin Jack.
Todd Snider – “Just Like Old Times” (Live)
