Don Caballero - American Don: Deluxe Edition [3LP/ Ltd Ed Maui Blue & Orchid Vinyl]

Original 2xLP recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in 2000 and remastered by Bob Weston in 2025. Never-before-released live studio album, True Live Tapes, recorded by Greg Norman in 2000 and mastered by Bob Weston in 2025.  

After finishing American Don with (Steve) Albini, we were nearing the peak of interpersonal tensions that would eventually wash us overboard. I (Eric) became convinced we lost the true essence of the songs in the recording process. It was not a unanimous decision to record with Steve.

We wrote the album entirely on guitar loops and Team Storm & Stress wanted to go further in the studio with Pro Tools, which felt related to both what we were doing and where we were going. Steve had just finished building the magnificent A room at Electrical and Damon insisted we would record there for the drums. He never budged on it.

As soon as we got there we realized all the songs, which were written in stacks of overdubs on our pedals, would only allow for mono guitar recordings. We worked around this by performing the songs to a single loop and overdubbing all the guitars later allowing for a full stereo field to match the glorious bombast of Steve’s drum recordings.

This approach dramatically changed how we played. While it allowed for magic moments of improv (Peter Criss intro), once the album was done, it sounded bloated and the performances sluggish. With increasing certainty I was sure the sound of the Akai Headrush, and the tempos it set for Damon was the heartbeat of these songs. Ian agreed.

In an audacious last ditch hail mary, I had the idea to call Greg Norman (who worked for Steve!) and asked if we could secretly come to his studio in S. Chicago *road hot* after our next shows and re-record the album LIVE. It was an enormous gesture that could’ve never worked, but miraculously everyone agreed to do it and we gave it a try. Greg captured us at our most fiery hot personally and professionally. The tempos are faster and no one is holding back with anything to lose. These true live tapes show the songs exactly as we played them on the road where they were developed between June of 1999 and July of 2000.

Now, 25 years later, the Greg Norman tapes have been dusted off, baked, and transferred to digital. With the aid of modern restoration tools, and the expertise of Sir Bob Weston, we were able to re-mix and master these recordings for the first time. - Eric Emm, bassist

American Don

A1        Fire Back About Your New Baby's Sex
A2        The Peter Criss Jazz

B3        Haven't Lived Afro Pop
B4        You Drink A Lot Of Coffee For A Teenager

C5        Ones All Over The Place
C6        I Never Liked You

D7        Details On How To Get Iceman On Your License Plate
D8        A Lot Of People Tell Me I Have A Fake British Accent
D9        Lets Face It Pal, You Didn't Need That Eye Surgery

American Don True Live Tapes    

E1        Fire Back About Your New Baby's Sex
E2        Haven't Lived Afro Pop
E3        The Peter Criss Jazz

F4        Ones All Over the Place
F5        I Never Liked You
F6        Details On How To Get Iceman On Your License Plate
F7        Let's Face It Pal, You Didn't Need That Eye Surgery