Backbone (Backbone album)

Backbone
Studio album by Backbone
Released	January 13, 1998
Recorded	1997
Genre	Blues-rock
Length	51:17
Label	Grateful Dead
Producer	Rick Barnett
Bill Kreutzmann chronology
The Apocalypse Now Sessions (1980) Backbone (1998) Trichromes (2002)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Music Box	[2]

Backbone is an album by the American rock band Backbone, a trio led by former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Their only album, it was released by Grateful Dead Records on January 13, 1998. It contains ten original songs, plus a version of the Grateful Dead tune "New Speedway Boogie".^[3]

In addition to Kreutzmann, the band Backbone included guitarist Rick Barnett and bassist Edd Cook.^[4] Their music was heavily influenced by blues and R&B, and included substantial amounts of improvisational jamming.^[1][2]

Track listing

1. "Preserve the Blues" (Rick Barnett) – 4:34
2. "Sittin' Here Thinkin'" (Barnett, Philbrick) – 3:03
3. "Make Me Laugh" (Barnett) – 6:27
4. "Breathe Deeply" (Barnett) – 4:42
5. "Nothing's Different" (Edd Cook) – 3:26
6. "Fly Away" (Barnett, Bill Kreutzmann, Cook) – 4:10
7. "Only Son" (Barnett, Kreutzmann, Brandon) – 5:51
8. "New Speedway Boogie" (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 5:47
9. "Stayed Away Too Long" (Barnett) – 4:12
10. "Earthchild (Barnett, Kreutzmann) – 3:45
11. "Ocean Laughter" (Barnett, Kreutzmann, Becker) – 4:52

Personnel

Backbone

• Bill Kreutzmann – drums
• Rick Barnett – guitar, vocals
• Edd Cook – bass, saxophone, vocals

Additional musicians

• Janice Barnett – background vocals
• Michael Ruff – Hammond organ, piano
• Bruce Harris – Hammond organ
• Nadia Deleye – background vocals on "New Speedway Boogie"

Production

• Rick Barnett – producer, recording
• Casey Jones – second engineer
• John Cutler – mixing
• Jeffrey Norman – mixing
• Joe Gastwirt – mastering
• Steve Parish – crew
• Billy Grillo – crew
• Ken Friedman – photography
• John Werner – photography
• Todd Michael – photography
• Amy Finkle – package design

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Backbone at Allmusic
2. Metzger, John. Backbone, The Music Box, November 1998
3. Backbone at the Grateful Dead Family Discography
4. Stolder, Steven. "Pop Quiz -- Q&A with the Dead's Bill Kreutzmann", San Francisco Chronicle, January 11, 1998