Oteil Burbridge Unveils New Album, “Lovely View of Heaven”
This summer, Dead & Company made their final tour. For bassist Oteil Burbridge, though, the music never stops.
He’s just released the details of a new solo album called Lovely View of Heaven, which pays tribute to the music of the late Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter. The songwriting duo penned many of the Dead’s most influential songs.
“In a real sense it is Garcia, Hunter and Burbridge,” the bassist wrote in an email. “I have rewritten a small amount of it. Or rather added to it. As you will hear. My hope is that it will not put off the listener but rather reveal another angle of perspective. You can still sing along but you may find the furniture moved around. It’s still your favorite chair but the rooms are redecorated.”
The album was recorded in Iceland. Beyond sharing his favorites from the Garcia/Hunter catalog, the album’s creation was a deeply personal journey for processing his grief following the deaths of his father, his brother Kofi Burbridge, and his mentor Col. Bruce Hampton.
“Looking back, I don’t feel like I was able to really process all the pain from these huge losses until I started working on these ballads,” he shares. “All these arrangements were written through many tears. And all the vocal tracks were recorded that way as well.”
Naturally, Burbridge sings and plays bass on the album. Along with the announcement, he’s shared the first single from it.
His version of “Stella Blue” features Tom Guarna on guitar, Pete Lavezzoli on drums, Adam Tenenbaum on “guitar sounds,” and Jason Crosby on piano, organ, and strings. It’s streaming now, but you can also check out the official music video.
Lovely View of Heaven will be released on September 15th and is available for preorder through his website. The release lines up with a fall tour of Oteil & Friends.
Lovely View of Heaven Track List:
- Stella Blue
- High Time
- Days Between
- Mission in the Rain
- So Many Roads
- Believe It Or Not
- China Doll
- Standing on the Moon
- High Time
