When the Beckies’ sole album was released in 1976, it should have capped a remarkable era for keyboardist and songwriter Michael Brown. What had begun ten years before with the Left Banke and “Walk Away Renee” culminated in this band, whom Brown spoke highly of for the rest of his life. Despite good reviews, the album got lost in the shuffle of summer releases, unable to find a wider audience.
I first discovered the Beckies in the late 1990s, as I was diving deep into my Left Banke journey. I found a promo copy of the album on one of my first trips to Nashville. I was instantly drawn to the album, though the album’s muddy mix always seemed to hold myself and other fans back.
I met Beckies guitarist Jimmy McAllister in 2003 vis email, when he wrote a magazine to complement an article I’d written on the Left Banke. He enthused about his time with the Beckies, and the demos that the band had made leading up to the album’s recording. He sent me a CD of the band’s first demos, and promised to send me more. When Jimmy died in 2006, an avid collector in England, John Kennedy sent me the entire set of demos, saying “Jimmy wanted you to have this.”
I had been thinking about a collection of the Beckies material for some time, featuring the original Sire album alongside the demos. When Omnivore Recordings asked me last year if I had any projects to put forth, I knew that this chance had arrived.
Over the past year, I reached out to band members Scott Trusty, Gary Hodgden (West) and Mark Abel, as well as the families of Michael Brown and Jimmy McAllister. All of whom gave me their blessings for this project. Trusty and Abel both did lengthy interviews with me, filling in a timeline that has never been properly explored, as well as picking out demos for the second disc.
Omnivore licensed the album from Rhino, and mastering guru Michael Graves went to work. When I received his new mastering of the album, it was a stop everything moment for me. Songs and harmony parts that were once buried now sparkle, as do the demos that Graves also mastered for a complete package. After all these years, the Beckies now sound better than ever.
So here it is. Nearly fifty years after it was released, and nearly thirty years since I first heard of the band, the Beckies’ moment has finally arrived. I wrote the liner notes, and produced this project alongside Cheryl Pawelski, who has way more coolness and Grammys than I do.
To Michael, Jimmy, Scott, Gary, Mark and their families, thank you. To Omnivore Recordings, thank you. To those of you that have been with me, and put up with me during my time researching the Left Banke and its adjacent archives, thank you. The release of this collection marks the end of a chapter for me, but the music will always be out there, waiting for its next discovery.
Good To Know: The Beckies Story, out February 28th on Omnivore Recordings.
Left Banke, forever. Michael Brown, forever. Beckies, forever.
https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/good-to-know/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdQtqACQOZ0&list=OLAK5uy_kPwwGux14OS5vJRgFTdT7e8eue7FAMCow
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