Today, Guitar World has teamed up with Nashville's Landslide Records to premiere "Make That Move," a previously unreleased track by Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks. The song is from Powerful Stuff!, a brand-new collection of heretofore-unreleased, vintage tracks by the veteran rockers. It'll be released by Landslide April 27.
"Make That Move" is an undeniably catchy minor-key rocker that serves up a heaping helping of reverb-drenched spy-surf guitar licks.
Webb Wilder in action. (Image credit: Harry Simpson)
“The song was first done by a British neo-rockabilly band called Levi and the Rockats," Wilder tells us. "It was suggested to us by R.S. Field, who always had his ear to the ground for cool stuff. The guitars were by Donny ‘the Twangler’ Roberts and me, with Kelley Looney on bass and Jimmy Lester on drums." The song, which was remixed by Wilder and George Bradfute in 2018, originally was tracked in July 1993 at the Sanctuary in Nashville.
The material on Powerful Stuff!, which was recorded between 1985 and 1993, is split between original songs and covers, all of which inexplicably escaped release back in the day. Special guests on the album include keyboardist Al Kooper, guitarist David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Storyville) and bassist Willie Weeks (George Harrison, Eric Clapton).
Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks will perform at the Powerful Stuff! release party 7 p.m. April 29 at Nashville’s Exit/In, where several tracks from the CD were originally recorded live in 1986. The current band lineup includes Wilder (guitar, vocals), Bob Williams (guitar), Tom Comet (bass) and Rick Schell (drums).
Wilder is a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and a member of the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame. The band’s 1986 debut album, It Came from Nashville, a brazenly rocking bar-band rave-up, recently was named one of the top 50 all-time best Southern rock albums by Paste Magazine.
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
(Image credit: Landslide Records)
Powerful Stuff! Track List:
1. Make That Move (S. Preston) 2. New Day (W. Wilder, T. Anderson) 3. No Great Shakes (R. Field, W. Wilder) 4. Lost in the Shuffle (R. Field, M. Smith) 5. Powerful Stuff (R. Field, W. Wilson, M. Henderson) 6. Ain’t That a Lot of Love (H. Banks, W. Parker) 7. Wild About You Baby (B. Shad) 8. Animal Lover (R. Field) 9. Nutbush City Limits (T. Turner) 10. High Rollin’ (R. Field) 11. Catbird Seat (S. Forbert) 12. Hey Mae (D. Kershaw, R. Kershaw) 13. Revenooer Man (J. Paycheck) 14. Is This All There Is? (R. Field, D. Roberts) 15. Dead and Starting to Cool (R. Field) 16. Lucille (R. Penniman, A. Collins)
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
