Following up on ‘Whitecaps on the Hudson’, an album we featured on Mesmerized earlier this summer, anti-folk icon BLOCK has recently returned with another stunning re-issue in collaboration with Meridian (ECR Music Group). This time around, the record getting the re-issue treatment is a rather crucial one, an album that single-handedly launched BLOCK’s entire career. ‘Lead Me Not Into Penn Station’ is exactly that: a vibrant, euphoric and wholesome album that opened the door to a wider audience.
What’s interesting is that ‘Lead Me Not Into Penn Station’ has never been formally released. Completed in 1996, the LP got handed out at BLOCK’s shows and in the back of his cars. Such a grassroots quality didn’t stop it from becoming a cult feature of the anti-folk movement, helping define the New York-based movement that would go on to become a global phenomenon. It’s very interesting hearing BLOCK speak about his life back then.
“‘Lead Me Not Into Penn Station’ was written and recorded in the first period right after I’d moved from Chapel Hill to the East Village of New York City. I felt like I’d died and gone to heaven: it felt like everyone was either a musician, a painter, or a filmmaker; some sort of artist. I lived on 5th Street right above the Sound Exchange record store. We were all trying to do something new. Such a magical time.” Thanks to artist, producer, and ECR Music Group President Blake Morgan, the record now has a new lease of life; We’ll cherish it.
Recommended! Discover ‘Lead Me Not Into Penn Station’ on Spotify:
