Earlier this year, Neko Case reissued her acclaimed 2006 LP Fox Confessor Brings the Blood for Record Store Day, but fans who want to hear more of the singer-songwriter on wax are about to get what they wished for. Case has announced the details of an upcoming box set that will compile her entire solo discography onto vinyl.
Titled Truckdriver, Gladiator, Mule, the set is due out on November 13 via Anti-.
The collection will include eight albums, remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed to 180-gram vinyl. An exclusive 80-page full-colour photography book compiled by Case, as well as a vinyl slipmat, will also be neatly packaged into the colourful accompanying storage box. It's currently available for pre-order here.
The full list of included LPs can be found below. Case's 1997 debut album The Virginian is of particular note, as this marks the first time it will be available on vinyl.
Neko also shared the following letter about the new box set:
Have you ever wanted to be in a band? It doesn't end up looking like you think it will; it's WAY more strange and interesting than you can imagine. If you are looking for glamour, however, you've come to the wrong job. Glamour is for dicks anyway.
As far back as I can remember I wanted to be an artist. I thought I would end up a painter; I even went to art school. I never did a single, solitary painting. I did a lot of printmaking, photography and played in bands. I had played drums in bands since I was 17, and I toured with bands on the road from the time I was 23. Strangely enough I had no idea that this was a "job." Music was, and is, my obsession, but I guess I couldn't see the forest through the trees. I also didn't feel worthy of calling myself a "musician." It was just too sacred.
Ten years later I had to quit both of my jobs in Chicago because I was always on the road. It finally dawned on me; maybe I WAS a musician? But where were the trappings of success? You know: money? Fringey scarves and car services? My own recording studio? Regular meals? Heat?
The "rewards" were not to come in any length of time I could speculate, or at all in some cases, but it didn't matter, because I had the people I loved. People of all stripes who have contributed in invaluable ways over the years, with skills too numerous to mention here, for I fear it would fall short of the tribute they deserve. Luckily, I still have these good people and I am so very grateful they can still stand me. But most of all, I am grateful that they were willing to be a part.
Being in a band isn't a race to an awards platform; it is a life, a great and complicated, messy, anxious, hilarious and home-made life. I wouldn't trade it for anything, ever. I gave up a lot of what makes people "normal", but it was always my choice. That is a victory in itself. This is a LONG story, which I will continue later, but for now, here are some images and music to take in and wonder about. I made all this for you and me. Without you, however, the circuit does not complete. Thank you for being here with me and making music.
Neko Case
New Years. 2015. From a crooked farmhouse on a snowy day.
Truckdriver, Gladiator, Mule:
1. The Virginian (1997)
2. Furnace Room Lullaby (2000)
3. Canadian Amp (2001)
4. Blacklisted (2002)
5. The Tigers Have Spoken (2004)
6. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (2006)
7. Middle Cyclone (2009)
8. The Worse Things Get, The More I Fight, The More I Fight, The More I Love You (2013)
Titled Truckdriver, Gladiator, Mule, the set is due out on November 13 via Anti-.
The collection will include eight albums, remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed to 180-gram vinyl. An exclusive 80-page full-colour photography book compiled by Case, as well as a vinyl slipmat, will also be neatly packaged into the colourful accompanying storage box. It's currently available for pre-order here.
The full list of included LPs can be found below. Case's 1997 debut album The Virginian is of particular note, as this marks the first time it will be available on vinyl.
Neko also shared the following letter about the new box set:
Have you ever wanted to be in a band? It doesn't end up looking like you think it will; it's WAY more strange and interesting than you can imagine. If you are looking for glamour, however, you've come to the wrong job. Glamour is for dicks anyway.
As far back as I can remember I wanted to be an artist. I thought I would end up a painter; I even went to art school. I never did a single, solitary painting. I did a lot of printmaking, photography and played in bands. I had played drums in bands since I was 17, and I toured with bands on the road from the time I was 23. Strangely enough I had no idea that this was a "job." Music was, and is, my obsession, but I guess I couldn't see the forest through the trees. I also didn't feel worthy of calling myself a "musician." It was just too sacred.
Ten years later I had to quit both of my jobs in Chicago because I was always on the road. It finally dawned on me; maybe I WAS a musician? But where were the trappings of success? You know: money? Fringey scarves and car services? My own recording studio? Regular meals? Heat?
The "rewards" were not to come in any length of time I could speculate, or at all in some cases, but it didn't matter, because I had the people I loved. People of all stripes who have contributed in invaluable ways over the years, with skills too numerous to mention here, for I fear it would fall short of the tribute they deserve. Luckily, I still have these good people and I am so very grateful they can still stand me. But most of all, I am grateful that they were willing to be a part.
Being in a band isn't a race to an awards platform; it is a life, a great and complicated, messy, anxious, hilarious and home-made life. I wouldn't trade it for anything, ever. I gave up a lot of what makes people "normal", but it was always my choice. That is a victory in itself. This is a LONG story, which I will continue later, but for now, here are some images and music to take in and wonder about. I made all this for you and me. Without you, however, the circuit does not complete. Thank you for being here with me and making music.
Neko Case
New Years. 2015. From a crooked farmhouse on a snowy day.
Truckdriver, Gladiator, Mule:
1. The Virginian (1997)
2. Furnace Room Lullaby (2000)
3. Canadian Amp (2001)
4. Blacklisted (2002)
5. The Tigers Have Spoken (2004)
6. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood (2006)
7. Middle Cyclone (2009)
8. The Worse Things Get, The More I Fight, The More I Fight, The More I Love You (2013)