Album Notes

John Stewart is a legend in the music industry as a songwriter and fearless musical adventurer. "Stewart's body of work captures and integrates the best of the folk and rock world," according to Billboard. His career encompasses early-'60s "commercial" folk, the singer-songwriter movement that evolved from folk, late-'60s country rock and his own unique mixture of plainspoken and metaphysical lyrics. In 1961 he joined the Kingston Trio, and toured and recorded with them for six years. During his final days in the Trio, John wrote "Daydream Believer", which became a worldwide hit for the Monkees. In 1968 John campaigned with Bobby Kennedy, traveling and performing songs before his speeches. His songs have been covered by everyone from Harry Belafonte and Pat Boone to Rosanne Cash, Joan Baez and Nanci Griffith to the Four Tops and Violent Femmes.

John Stewart recorded the songs on "Wires from the Bunker" in California between 1983 and 1985, several years after the 1979 release of his million-selling album, "Bombs Away Dream babies," which contained the Top 5 hit single, "Gold" (plus two other Top 20 singles) and appearances by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. Then the tapes lay forgotten until he cleaned out his garage and sent them to friend and fan Tom Delisle, who helped to realize this project. The CD is composed of 18 songs and features John on guitars, Chris Whalen on bass and Bill Mutter on drums. Highlights include the rocking "American Way," which features Lindsey Buckingham on guitars and vocals, and the first song that John ever wrote, "Molly Dee," which the Kingston Trio recorded when John was just 19 years old. This song, "Escape of Old John Webb," and "Tears of the Sun" all include Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard (original members of the Kingston Trio) on vocals. Also on the CD is "Liddy Buck," written about Buckingham, whose first solo album included a song about Stewart called "Johnny Stew."

"Wires from the Bunker" is finally being released almost twenty years after these frequently hypnotic and driving rock-folk songs were recorded. From the depths of John's garage, across the frozen highways of America, and straight to this Appleseed collection are a missing part of John Stewart's singular career.