Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul have announced the release of their eagerly awaited new album. SUMMER OF SORCERY, the legendary rock ‘n’ rollers’ first album of new material, arrives May 3rd via Wicked Cool/UMe.
SUMMER OF SORCERY is available for pre-order now here. The album will be released on CD, digitally and on vinyl as double LP on 180-gram black vinyl. A limited edition version will be available as a double LP on 180-gram psychedelic swirl vinyl exclusively via uDiscover. All digital pre-orders will be joined by an instant grat download of the LP’s jet-fueled first track release, ‘Superfly Terraplane’.
Little Steven, real name Steven Van Zandt, is probably best known as being a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. where he plays guitar and mandolin. He’s also in recent years got into acting, playing Silvio Dante on ‘The Sopranos’ from 1999 to 2007, and Frank Tagliano / Giovanni “Johnny” Henriksen on the Netflix Original Series, ‘Lilyhammer’, which he also co-wrote.
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul will celebrate SUMMER OF SORCERY with a wide-ranging world tour, beginning May 16th at Liverpool’s 02 Academy and then making headline stops across the United Kingdom, before heading into Europe and the rest of the world.
MAY
Thurs 16th – Liverpool, O2 Academy
Sat 18th – Leeds, O2 Academy
Mon 20th – Glasgow, O2 Academy
Wed 22nd – Bristol, O2 Academy
Fri 24th – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town
Sun 26th – Derbyshire, Bearded Theory Festival
“My first five albums in the ‘80s were both very personal, and very political,” explains Little Steven aka Steven Van Zandt. “I wanted the new material to be more fictionalised. The way records were when I grew up. Before it was an artform. The concept was capturing and communicating that first rush of summer. The electricity of that feeling of unlimited possibilities. Of falling in love with the world for the first time. Obviously, there are occasional personal references, and a bit of what’s going on socially scattered throughout, but I achieved what I set out to do. I created a collection of fictional movies scenes that feel like summer. I’m quite proud of it.”
Cool! You can take a man out of New Jersey, but taking New Jersey out of a man? That;s damn near impossible. I think Little Steven is welcome to change his name to “Big Steve” any time! If you miss what we had back in those early days, but with full stereo flavor, this album is going to be for YOU! I always knew that he was a smart, cool cat. But he soared higher than we ever knew he would.
If you haven’t already, make sure you watch “Lilyhammer” on Netflix! Steven is absolutely brilliant (and the ensemble cast are also excellent!).
I will check it out for sure!
It might be a little difficult to get into at the start but it’s definitely worth it. I managed to binge all three seasons in very swift time.
Not just smart and a cool cat, but super talented as well – he co-wrote (at least) the second and third seasons of Lilyhammer, and when he joined The Sopranos he’d had ZERO acting experience. Amazing. Don’t forget he masterminded Artists Against Apartheid back in the 80s and wrote and produced the song ‘Sun City’.
BTW – any idea why one of his nicknames is Miami Steve, seeing as how he’s from Noo Joizey?
Yes! I agree. Amazing artist and creator to be sure. I do remember the “Sun City” song and the artists who met and signed the document that they would never play in South Africa until there was a reform. I would also say that he was responsible for keeping the E-Street Band together as long as he did. I’m not sure the exact origin of the “Miami Steve” moniker but Bruce used it a lot. But everybody had a special title at that time-which I think was the best time for them. There was a level of unity in the band that comes from working every night you can and barely scraping by. When super stardom exploded it blew the band apart. Once Bruce started doing all that solo stuff, he changed the sound and a lot of the fun disappeared.
It’s a shame really!
It kind of is and sadly, members of the old guard have headed up to the big bandstand in the sky. “Big Man” Clarence Clemons and “Phantom”Danny Federici will be missed. When I was a kid, my mom worked at a daycare center with “Granny” Federici who took care of “Brucie and the boys” as she called them for a lot of the early years. They used to take her to NYC for their shows and she loved it. I think that feeling of fun, friendship, and family really appealed to cooks, gas pump jockeys, and those that felt alone and shut out. However, the changes also gave Steven his chance to fly and fulfill his other creative ambitions, so not all bad!
Indeed!
Love the commentary here and appreciate the insight. I’ve been a big Springsteen, Little Steven and Southside fan since the mid-seventies and can recall vividly the evolution of the E Street Band. Little Steven didn’t hold the band together in fact he left just prior to their biggest commercial success (Born in the USA) for his solo career and was replaced by Nils Lofgren. Bruce broke up the band for a bit mainly to start a family with Patti and stretch his legs a bit with his new band which I saw live and thought were really good. Lucky Town and Human Touch were really great good albums. I saw Steve’s Soulfire show last fall and loved it. He is one cool dude. Anyone in a Candy Apple Superfly Terraplane has to be!
-Jersey Guy 3 decades removed