Blessed Are the Faithful

The mid-1980s witnessed a roots-rock uprising that presaged the alt.country scare by at least ten years. It was a far-reaching scene that revolved around bands like Nashville’s Jason & the Scorchers, California’s Los Lobos, Rank and File, and the Blasters, as well as Boston’s Del Fuegos and Wisconsin’s BoDeans.

The hardest rocking of them all was the Del-Lords, composed of guitarists Scott “Top Ten” Kempner (ex-Dictators) and Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (Joan Jett’s Blackhearts), future Cracker drummer Frank Funaro, and bassist Manny Caiati. The New York City quartet’s intensity drew comparisons to the Clash, while melodically and lyrically invoking Springsteen or Johnny Cash.

American Beat Records just reissued the first three Del-Lords albums. The first two, Frontier Days and When Johnny Comes Marching Home, unbelievably are making their debut on CD. The third, Based On a True Story, was issued on CD, but in extremely limited quantities. With new liner notes from Kempner and five bonus tracks on each disc, now is the perfect time to discover one of America’s great, if almost forgotten, bands. I spoke to Ambel about the reissues and though he claims no involvement with them seeing the light of day, he’s clearly thrilled by the release.

“When the idea came up, I lobbied for the bonus tracks and that’s what I’m most excited about,” he reports. “Especially having the songs that Manny sings. I think each record sounds better with the bonus tracks included. I have to say I wish there was some kind of mastering involved - I spoke to Scott and it seemed like the only way that it could get done was [the label’s] way - but at least we have the stuff on CD now.”

Remastering might have improved the sound, which hasn’t been updated from the initial releases, originally on the now-obscure Enigma/EMI label, but American Beat is a reissue label that operates on a shoestring budget. Still, Ambel acknowledges he's grateful they stepped in. “With the whole record company dynamic, there had to be somebody to talk to and the fact that all these records reverted to Rykodisc, at least the American Beat people could talk to somebody and get the go-ahead. Before it was all in some corporation and several weird record deals. I don’t even know who you would have talked to.”

For those that remember them, songs like “Get Tough,” “Burnin’ in the Flame of Love,” “Love Lies Dying,” “St. Jake,” “Judas Kiss,” and “A Lover’s Prayer” serve as a flashback to simpler times, but continue to sound as fresh as the day they were recorded. One touchy point for Del-Lords fans at the time was the use of Neil Geraldo (Mr. Pat Benatar) as producer for the second and third albums. Ambel, who aspired to that position at the time, has gone on to be a producer in demand, working with artists like the Bottlerockets, Blue Mountain, and a host of aspiring latter day roots-rockers.

“I never really thought he was the right guy for the band,” he admits. “But I think he did a good job. We would do so many takes it was incomprehensible to me. I learned a lot about producing from those experiences. That’s what made me want to be a producer.”

What we really want to know is will there be a Del-Lords reunion any time soon? “It would be fun to do and there’s one producer who’s interested in Spain,” Ambel claims. “That was a place we did well. We’re thinking about it. Everybody agreed to it, we’re just trying to see if the details can be worked out.”