Album Notes

It all started with an offhanded comment from a journalist. After a particularly well played and well received show in Texas, Tom Gillam and his band Tractor Pull toweled off backstage. “You really should record a live CD” remarked the journalist, “your live show is so much different than your studio releases, it seems a shame not to let people hear what you, and your band do onstage” and with that a seed was planted.
“Play loud…Dig deep, live somewhere in America” the first live collection from Tom Gillam & Tractor Pull is not so much a live album as it is, in Gillam’s own words “a statement”. “From the beginning we made a conscious effort to keep the studio side of the band, and the live side separate”, even going so far as to play completely different versions of already recorded tracks or doing unreleased material. “Playing live is a communal thing while listening to a CD tends to be personal, with this release we tried to marry the two together”, and it really seems to work. Fans of the “classic era” of live albums will not be disappointed by “Play loud…Dig Deep”, lots of care went into not only song selection but the overall sound of the album.” I wanted something that I could listen to alongside my favorite live LP’s, not a thrown together fan souvenir”
Drawn from performances during their 2007-08 “Never Look Back” tour “Play loud...” gives the listener an “aural overview” of what a typical night might sound like. Starting with their signature warm up “intro” followed by the “full on guitar assault” of “Outside The Lines”( from Gillam’s 2005 “Shake My Hand”) and a spot on version of “Rainbow Girl (Never Look Back) it’s quite evident that the “play loud” part of the title is right on the money. Those familiar with TG&TP’s live show will be happy to note the inclusion of “The Girl I knew somewhere/ Nova’s journey” the bands reworking of an old Mike Nesmith (The Monkees) tune. What starts off sounding like a typical pop song quickly becomes an 11minute musical journey that showcases not only the beautiful melodic guitar interplay of Gillam and guitarist Craig Simon, but the bands ability to change musical scenery at the drop of a hat and seamlessly bringing it all back full circle.
The set list includes a generous helping from Tom Gillams last three studio releases 2001’s Dallas, 2005’s Shake my Hand and of course ‘07’s Never Look Back.
In Tom’s own words; “I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time, to really let people know what we’re capable of live” and with “Play loud…Dig Deep” it seems that Tom Gillam & Tractor Pull have.