john LEVeNTHAL
rumble strip
CD available now for pre-order
A RumbleStripRecords.net exclusive
"John Leventhal’s visionary musical genius allows him to dwell in a tune, seeing the notes and the spaces in between them, and to create elegant tunes that capture the imagination...Rumble Strip showcases Leventhal’s creative ingenuity as well as his fluid, eloquent, and understated guitar work. He’s one of the top guitarists playing today, and this album underscores that his playing is always in the service of the song. Listeners can hope that it won’t be long before they get another solo album from Leventhal.”
—No Depression
No Depression
GLIDE MAGAZINE
"Humbly pitched by Leventhal as kind of a musical scrapbook, this is so much more. This guitar-focused work will likely induce repeated listens due to its balance of ambient electric with pure acoustic picking. His unexpected chord changes, colorful blending of guitar tones, and rather odd pairings even in deceptively simple riffs make it challenging to absorb all these features in just one sitting. Even its unfinished, unresolved moments brim with marvelous musicianship and inventive ideas.”
—Glide Magazine
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REINVENTING THE WHEEL TOUR
Celebrating 30 Years Of Songs And Stories And The Re-Release Of The Wheel
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NEW MUSIC ALERT FROM
RUMBLESTRIP HQ
Of the many hats John Leventhal has worn during his 45-year journey as musician—producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and recording engineer—”solo artist” has never been among them. That all changes with Rumble Strip (January 26), the six-time Grammy-winner’s debut album that showcases some of the most adventurous work of his career.
“I’ve always had a catalog of ideas that have never found a home,” Leventhal says. “In the back of my mind, I thought that one of these days I should try to harvest some of those ideas and confront the personal gauntlet of making a solo record.”
Check out two new songs:
“That’s All I Know About Arkansas” featuring vocals and lyrics by Rosanne Cash
“JL’s Hymn No. 2” written and recorded in the same evening. “I’ve always loved a good hymn,” says John. “A good one can look sorrow straight in the eye, and still leave you with some hope.”
Pre-save the album here.
Thanks for listening!
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30TH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED & REMASTERED EDITION OF THE WHEEL AVAILABLE NOW ON RUMBLESTRIP
US TOUR ANNOUNCED
HEAR “THE WHEEL” (REMASTERED) & WATCH “THE WHEEL” LIVE AT ACL
Renowned singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of her landmark album The Wheel with an expanded, remastered deluxe edition, out November 17. The Wheel 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes the original, remastered album, alongside a second live LP, featuring Cash’s 1993 Austin City Limits appearance and a rare broadcast of the Columbia Records Radio Hour. With the masters now owned by Rosanne, this is the first-ever vinyl release for The Wheel, and the inaugural release for RumbleStrip Records (Thirty Tigers), the label founded by Cash and husband John Leventhal, six-time Grammy winning producer and songwriter.
Listen to the remastered version of “The Wheel” and watch the live performance from Austin City Limits, from July 26, 1993. Formats include the deluxe 2LP 180-gram vinyl edition, the original remastered LP, and a 2CD deluxe edition, available for pre-order here.
In November, Rosanne and John will be revisiting the music and stories behind The Wheel on a special run of shows. Tickets are on sale now, and dates will be paired with an appearance by the duo at local record stores.
Recorded in the early ‘90s when Rosanne first moved to New York City and co-produced by Cash and Leventhal, The Wheel sparked a reinvention of her sound and career. The album is the beginning of a lifelong creative partnership. Together, they have made seven albums including the three-time Grammy winning The River & the Thread, Black Cadillac, The List, 10 Song Demo, Rules of Travel and She Remembers Everything, alongside dozens of side projects and thousands of live performances. Cash and Leventhal have also written the music and lyrics for the upcoming Broadway musical Norma Rae.
It all started when Rosanne wrote seven songs for The Wheel and played them for John—the title song, “You Won’t Let Me In,” “Change Partners,” “Sleeping in Paris,” “From the Ashes,” “Roses in the Fire,” and “If There’s a God on My Side.” “I told him they were ‘elemental’— full of references to the natural world: wind, fire, rain, moon, snow. I wasn’t even sure what I was talking about when I said it, but I had noticed that I was using a lot of nature metaphors, many of them violent. He sort of cocked his head, a little confused, and said, ‘Okay. But are they good songs?’”
The Wheel sessions were “a thrilling mix of truly gifted people,” remembers Rosanne, who was joined by Benmont Tench, Bruce Cockburn, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Marc Cohn and Steuart Smith, among others. “John and I grew closer with every session, and by the end of the record we were a couple. The music was both a revelation and the revelator.”
“Most remarkable about these tightly scripted songs is Cash's resilience…” writes Rolling Stone in a 4-star review from 1993. The record also made Entertainment Weekly’s Best of the Year list: “This crystal-clear, intensely sung record rings startlingly true as it details the end of a marriage-and the renewal that can follow.”
“It’s satisfying and sweet to reintroduce The Wheel in this 30th anniversary year,” adds Rosanne. “I can’t look back at that time and separate the music from Love. What was true then has become more true and more alive every day since.”
Upcoming plans from RumbleStrip Records include a series that re-explores Rosanne’s recently-acquired catalog of master recordings from 1978-1993. In early 2024, the label will release Leventhal’s first solo album.
The Wheel 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition was produced by John Jackson (ex-Legacy Recordings, The Jayhawks) and long-time manager Danny Kahn, who will both oversee the future archival releases and run the label’s operations, and mastered by Dan Millice.
Photography by Pam Springsteen 1993 / 2023
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RUMBLESTRIP STORE EXCLUSIVE
Signed Photo Card
ROSANNE CASH
the wheel 30th anniversary deluxe edition
double lp vinyl
This special remastered limited vinyl edition contains the original album and a second LP of live rarities which includes Rosanne's 1993 performance on Austin City Limits, and 5 songs from a 1993 episode of the syndicated Columbia Radio Hour. The gatefold package contains archival imagery and new liner notes from Rosanne.
RUMBLESTRIP STORE EXCLUSIVE
Signed Photo Card
ROSANNE CASH
the wheel 30th anniversary re-issue
single lp vinyl
A remastered version of the original 1993 CD and cassette is now available on vinyl for the very first time. The jacket sleeve contains lyrics to all 11 songs and photography by Pamela Springsteen.
RUMBLESTRIP STORE EXCLUSIVE
Signed Photo Card
deluxe double cd edition
The limited edition vinyl is also available in this specially designed Deluxe 2 CD package. The 6 panel 2 pocket cardboard with a 16 page booklet contains archival imagery, new liner notes from Rosanne and additional photographs from the 1993 NYC photo shoot with Pamela Springsteen. The second CD is a collection of live rarities which includes Rosanne's 1993 performance on Austin City Limits, and 5 songs from a 1993 episode of the syndicated Columbia Radio Hour.
About rumblestrip
Founded by Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal, RumbleStrip Records is the natural culmination of the duo’s 30 years of collaboration and partnership.
The label will be home to special projects, archives and reissues, including the first vinyl pressing of Rosanne’s landmark release, The Wheel, remastered as an expanded edition to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary. RumbleStrip will also be issuing a series that explores Rosanne’s recently-acquired catalog of master recordings from 1978-1993, and in early 2024, Leventhal will release Rumble Strip, his debut solo album.
Rosanne's long-standing, exclusive partnership with Blue Note records remains intact for her upcoming solo releases. Eventually, Rosanne and John look forward to bringing new or unknown and undervalued artists to the RumbleStrip label. RumbleStrip is distributed by Thirty Tigers.
About rosanne cash
“One of the most ambitious and literary songwriters of her generation” (Rolling Stone), Rosanne Cash is America’s foremost musical woman of letters, a literate and incisive artist whose poignant and distinctive vocals turn every song into a revelatory tale. A singular artist at the peak of her interpretive powers, Cash has earned four Grammy awards—three for The River & The Thread (2014, Blue Note)—and 12 additional nominations. Among many other accolades, in 2021 she became the first woman to receive the Edward MacDowell award for music composition. Her acclaimed memoir Composed was published in 2010. www.RosanneCash.com
About john leventhal
John Leventhal is a six-time Grammy Award-winning musician, producer, songwriter, and recording engineer who has produced albums for William Bell, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Michelle Branch, Rosanne Cash, Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin, Sarah Jarosz, Jim Lauderdale, Joan Osborne, Loudon Wainwright III, and many others. He produced and co-wrote Rosanne Cash's three-time Grammy winning The River And The Thread (2014), and earned Grammy awards for his work with WIlliam Bell, Sarah Jarosz, and Shawn Colvin, including Record and Song Of The Year for producing and co-writing her hit, “Sunny Came Home” (1997).