Jamie James keeps finding buried treasure in his own catalog. The latest dig, Steppin’ Back 2009, arrives today via Oglio Entertainment and continues the archival series that has already given listeners looks at 1988, 1999, and 2004. Each installment zeroes in on a specific stretch of James’ songwriting rather than dumping everything into one sprawling retrospective, and this one brings the timeline up to sessions that sat unheard for more than 15 years.
Best known as the frontman and guitarist of the cult rockabilly trio The Kingbees, James has long been a fixture of the Los Angeles rock & roll scene. His résumé also includes a long-running musical partnership with the late Harry Dean Stanton and a stretch as guitarist for Dennis Quaid & The Sharks. Through it all, his solo work has stayed rooted in blues, roots rock, Americana, and classic rock & roll.
The 2009 recordings were cut over a few days at Bell Sound in Hollywood with a familiar circle of players. Tom Walsh handled drums, Tom “Slik” Mancillas played bass, and, for the first time on one of James’ records, friend Fred Wehba joined on guitar, trading licks throughout the sessions. Once the tracking was done, the tapes went into storage and stayed there until James recently rediscovered them and took the material to remastering engineer John Miller.
“Once again, I came across some previously unreleased recordings — this time from 2009 — and took them to remastering wizard John Miller,” James says. “He performed his usual engineering magic and brought these old tracks back to life! Of course, for this record I turned to the usual suspects and faithful friends to accompany me: Tom Walsh on drums, Tom ‘Slik’ Mancillas on bass, and, for the first time, my good friend Fred Wehba on guitar to exchange licks with me. We recorded these tracks over a period of a few days back in 2009 at Bell Sound in Hollywood, and that was pretty much the end of it — until now. It’s a collection of songs representing different moods, experiences and fantasies that moved me enough to write about them. So, thanks to Carl Caprioglio and Oglio Entertainment, and without further ado, for the first time, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Jamie James — Steppin’ Back 2009!”
The series itself grew out of James and Oglio Entertainment sifting through years of tapes and deciding the music deserved another chance. Rather than force everything into one big package, each release keeps the character of its era intact. Oglio founder Carl Caprioglio has worked with James since the label put out Kingbees material in 1998, and the relationship has only deepened.
“Jamie has been part of the Oglio family since we released his Kingbees material back in 1998, and nearly thirty years later, that relationship is still going strong,” Caprioglio says. “He’s a true rock & roll lifer, but more importantly to me, he’s become a dear friend. Getting to go through these recordings with Jamie and help bring music that might otherwise have stayed in the vaults out into the world has been incredibly rewarding.”
Looking at the full run of the series shows how James’ approach has shifted over two decades. Steppin’ Back 1988 captured a raw, plug-in-and-go band energy with Danny O’Brien and Ricky Venus. Steppin’ Back 1999 drew from the sessions around the Crossroads album and presented a more seasoned roots-rock voice. Steppin’ Back 2004 stripped everything down to two acoustic guitars, two voices, and harmonica with original Kingbees bassist Michael Rummans. Now Steppin’ Back 2009 returns to a fuller band sound recorded in Hollywood and finally given a proper release.
Taken together, the four collections form a 21-year timeline of James’ work between the better-known chapters of his career. For an artist who has never stopped writing and recording on his own terms, these vault releases fill in the gaps and show a songwriter and guitarist still chasing the songs that move him.
Steppin’ Back 2009 is available digitally now via Oglio Entertainment. Stream it and the rest of the series here.
