Modern Pain (re-issue)

Musicians
Corb Lund: acoustic guitar, lead vocals
Karie Brown: bass on ‘Expectation And The Blues,’ ‘We Used To Ride ’Em,’ ‘Untitled Waltz,’ ‘Your Game Again,’ ‘Owlsong,’ ‘La Souffrance Des Gens,’ ‘Lament For Lester Cousins,’ ‘Lives Of Attrition (The Best We Can Do),’ ‘You And Your Creeping,’ ‘Heavy And Leaving,’ and ‘Waste And Tragedy’; backing vocals on ‘La Souffrance Des Gens’ and ‘You And Your Creeping’
Kurt Ciesla: bass on ‘Manyberries,’ ‘Evil In Me,’ ‘Hockey Song,’ ‘Sixteen Tons,’ and ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way’
Ryan Vikedal: drums on ‘Expectation And The Blues,’ ‘We Used To Ride ’Em,’ ‘Untitled Waltz,’ ‘Your Game Again,’ ‘Owlsong,’ ‘La Souffrance Des Gens,’ ‘Lament For Lester Cousins,’ ‘Lives Of Attrition (The Best We Can Do),’ ‘You And Your Creeping,’ ‘Heavy And Leaving,’ ‘Waste And Tragedy,’ ‘Manyberries,’ and ‘Evil In Me’
Brady Valgardson: drums on ‘Hockey Song,’ ‘Sixteen Tons,’ and ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way’
Dug Bevans: banjo on ‘Expectation And The Blues,’ ‘We Used To Ride ’Em,’ and ‘Your Game Again’
Grant Siemens: electric guitar on ‘Sixteen Tons’ and ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way’
The Lost Cowboy Trumpeteer: horns on ‘Waste And Tragedy’

Songwriting
Written and arranged by Corb Lund
Except:
‘Hockey Song’ written by Tom C. Connors
‘Sixteen Tons’ written by Merle Travis
‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way’ written by Waylon Jennings

Production
Recorded by Trevor Rockwell at Happy Tracks, Edmonton, Alberta in 1994 on ‘Expectation And The Blues,’ ‘We Used To Ride ’Em,’ ‘Untitled Waltz,’ ‘Your Game Again,’ ‘Owlsong,’ ‘La Souffrance Des Gens,’ ‘Lament For Lester Cousins,’ ‘Lives Of Attrition (The Best We Can Do),’ ‘You And Your Creeping,’ ‘Heavy And Leaving,’ and ‘Waste And Tragedy’
Recorded by Steve Loree at Vincent Henry, Edmonton, Alberta in 1999 on ‘Manyberries’ and ‘Evil In Me’
Mixed by Scott Franchuk at Riverdale Recorders, Edmonton, Alberta in 2003 on ‘Expectation And The Blues,’ ‘We Used To Ride ’Em,’ ‘Untitled Waltz,’ ‘Your Game Again,’ ‘Owlsong,’ ‘La Souffrance Des Gens,’ ‘Lament For Lester Cousins,’ ‘Lives Of Attrition (The Best We Can Do),’ ‘You And Your Creeping,’ ‘Heavy And Leaving,’ ‘Waste And Tragedy,’ ‘Manyberries,’ and ‘Evil In Me’
‘Hockey Song’ recorded live on the radio, Washington, DC in 2003
‘Sixteen Tons’ and ‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way’ recorded live in Columbus, Georgia in 2003
Glass mastered at Precision Sound

Artwork
Comic book cover art by Bob Prodor
Design by Jeff Sylvester at Pilot Design

Publishing
‘Expectation And The Blues,’ ‘We Used To Ride ’Em,’ ‘Untitled Waltz,’ ‘Your Game Again,’ ‘Owlsong,’ ‘La Souffrance Des Gens,’ ‘Lament For Lester Cousins,’ ‘Lives Of Attrition (The Best We Can Do),’ ‘You And Your Creeping,’ ‘Heavy And Leaving,’ ‘Waste And Tragedy,’ ‘Manyberries,’ and ‘Evil In Me’ published by Corb Lund Music
‘Hockey Song’ published by Crown-Vetch Music
‘Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way’ published by Universal Songs Of PolyGram Int'l
‘Sixteen Tons’ published by Unichappell Music, Inc.

Copyright
Copyright © Corb Lund Music

Notes
Reissue of the 1995 release Modern Pain, with bonus tracks 12–16.

Liner Notes
Expectation and the Blues This is one of the first songs I ever wrote. Still not sure exactly what it means, but we recorded it again last year for the ‘Five Dollar Bill’ album. This is the original mid-nineties version.

We Used to Ride ’em This is the original version of a song that was re-recorded in 1999 for ‘Unforgiving Mistress’. It’s about my dad’s decision to retire from professional steer wrestling, as told from the perspective of a pair of spurs that were rodeoed in by my grandfather Clark Lund, Canadian legend Reg Kesler, my father DC Lund and myself. The idea for the song came from a sketch of the same name that Dad did of the spurs that appears on the original ‘Modern Pain’ cover. The spurs now sit on a shelf gathering dust, waiting...

Untitled Waltz A song for one of my oldest friends.

Your Game Again Still getting a lot of miles out of playing this one in the funky dives.

Owlsong For my Grandmother Iving, and for Craig Douglas; both owl enthusiasts.

La Souffrance des Gens Another one written at the Bar X ranch, many years ago. We liked my and Karie’s spontaneous laughter combustion in the bridge so we kept it.

Lament for Lester Cousins This has been a mainstay live for years, though most people haven’t actually heard the recorded track because they don’t have ‘Modern Pain.’ We did a newer version of it during the ‘Five Dollar Bill’ sessions and we might include that on our next album.

Lives of Attrition (The Best We Can Do) I haven’t played this live for years, but I should relearn it. I quite like it.

You and Your Creeping This is an old one about creeps who try to creep their creepy way into your life and creep away with your energy.

Heavy and Leaving I like this version. I actually think I sang parts of this better on this version than on the ‘Five Dollar Bill’ recording.

Waste and Tragedy This is the original ‘Waste and Tragedy’ track as it was recorded in 1994 with Vikedal and Downtown Karie Brown as part of the ‘Modern Pain’ record. Then the smalls ended up releasing a heavier version of the song on the 1995 record ‘Waste and Tragedy’ and I’ve kept this rendition on mothballs for a decade or so. It’s pretty cool.

Evil In Me We had a couple tracks that didn’t fit on ‘Unforgiving Mistress’ that we recorded with Steve Loree as part of that session in 1999. These are them, these are them.

Manyberries A mostly true story about an old cowboy.

Hockey Song This was from a live performance we did on the radio in Washington, DC. It marks the recorded debut of our drummer Brady Valgardson, who will be on our next studio album. Credits to Tim Hus from Calgary, Alberta for the fourth verse and to DAC for the rap. The guitar is out of tune a little bit, but it’s kinda got some hair on it that way and I like it.

Sixteen Tons This one and the Waylon tune after it were recorded live in Columbus, Georgia as part of a marathon 2 1/2 hour set. It features the newest member of our group, Grant Siemens on the Telecaster. The audience was half bikers from a Harley rally going on outside and half U.S. military guys from the nearby Fort Benning army base. It was a good show...

Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way One of my favorite Waylon Jennings songs that speaks to me very personally about watching your life go by on the road. Dig the Tele and RIP Waymore.

Wow. It seems like ages since we recorded this album in Trevor’s Basement, and I guess it has been. The band has come a long way since then; in fact the members have all changed except me. It’s gone from a side project I did when I had time off from smalls’ tours to a full time venture. We’ve toured England, Scotland, all over the States, everywhere in Canada and we’re going to Australia shortly, as I write to you from Fred Eaglesmith’s bus, rolling south, somewhere in Virginia. We’ve put out two subsequent albums. We’ve hit the charts. Still broke, mind you. I was sort of afraid to go back to mix ‘Modern Pain’ again because I hadn’t actually listened to it for years, and I thought it might make me cringe. But I really like this recording. It’s a little garage-y here and there, and there are a couple of moments, but the whole thing still has kind of a cool charm to it. I’m thrilled and thankful that my songs have taken me as far as they have, and I’m especially grateful to the people who embraced the band from the beginning, when we first put out ‘Modern Pain’. Your response was a great confidence builder that helped me to grow as a musician, and I hope the process continues: we’ve a ways to go yet. So I hope you all enjoy the re-release. See you on the ice. And I hope we all meet Utah, at the roundup far away.

Tracks 1 thru 11 recorded at Happy Tracks, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1994 by Trevor Rockwell. Tracks 12 and 13 recorded at Vincent Henry, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1999 by Steve Loree.

Tracks 1 thru 13 mixed at Riverdale Recorders, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 2003 by Scott Franchuk. www.riverdalerecorders.com Track 14 recorded live on the radio, Washington, DC, USA in 2003.

Tracks 15 and 16 recorded live in Columbus, GA, USA in 2003. Comic Book Cover Art by Bob Prodor. bobprodor@yahoo.ca Design by Jeff Sylvester at Pilot Design www.pilot-design.com

Many thanks to all the above, and to the following people: My great pal Deb Dilworth for years of doing just about everything to keep this thing going. Marlene D’Aoust for managing my career. Chris Hopkins for booking my show. My roadworthy band, Kurt Ciesla, Brady Valgardson and Grant Siemens. Harry Stinson for musical mentorship. Stony Plain Records. My trusty diesel mechanic, Hans Woynarski. Grant McKinney and all at Northwest Truck. Gord Collins for the gonzo legal work. Rod Weir at Acoustic Music for keeping my guitars playable. www.acousticmusicshop.com Craig Nickel webmaster. www.darkandstormynight.org

DC and Patty, Kris and Kev. Okie Blowers everywhere. All good things, Corb Lund. PO Box 7830 Ritchie RPO, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6E 6K1. www.corblundband.com info@corblundband.com