Check out this fresh take on “Places That Are Gone” by Eric Brace & Last Train Home, available now on their new album of covers “Used Songs For Sale.” From Eric’s post about the album:
“This song first came out in 1984, the title track to Tommy Keene’s EP, his second album as a solo artist after having played in the late ’70s with DC-area bands The Rage and Razz. The song flew through the airwaves of radio station WHFS (and other stations) an awful lot back then, and Tommy’s live shows were lessons in showmanship, taste, and craft. He showed a lot of bands (including Eric’s 1980s combos with his brother Alan) how to do all of it: Write songs, put on a show, lead a band, sing, play. Tommy Keene was the total package, and the DC-scene knew big things were on the horizon for him. But despite getting a few big record deals, stardom was never in Tommy’s cards, and the kid from Bethesda, Maryland, who almost hit the bigtime died in 2017. “Places That Are Gone” remains his best known and best loved tune. If you listen to just the lyrics of the title, you might think it’s a bittersweet song of nostalgia, but in fact it’s saying an enthusiastic goodbye to the past, and is embracing a present and a future without the shackles that people and places can put on you.
Tommy was always very encouraging to me and I wish he could hear this. Producer Jared Bartlett has given Tommy’s rock song a sonic reinvention, and it includes harmony vocals by rising young star RobinAugust, a neighbor of Eric’s on his East Nashville street.”
We’re sure Tommy would have loved it. Thanks Eric! Team TK
