Bernard Fowler // Inside Out
liner notes
This LP is dedicated to the black and Hispanic brothers that I grew up with. Together we listened to the music, ate food and kissed the girls, and to this very day I still feed off of those experiences.
What began as light-hearted fun became very serious once I started the recording process. It all started during sound check on The Rolling Stones’ Zip Code tour in 2015. I’d come on stage a little before sound check to practice my conga playing. Then the guys all turned up for sound check, and our musical director/keyboardist Chuck Leavell yells out the name of a song. Still at my congas, I started to play around and recite the lyrics in a poetry or Beatnic style to the song Chuck called out. And everyone seemed to get a kick outta that.
For the next few days it became a thing. On maybe the third or fourth day, Mick walks over to me and says “Bernard, I’ve heard Rolling Stones songs played in many different ways, but I’ve never heard it like this before.” To which I replied, “when the tour is over, I’m gonna cut this.” His reply, “you should.”
And so when the tour ended, true to my word, I started. I got out my Rolling Stones songbooks and dived in. Most of the songs that people are familiar with didn’t seem to work so well, so I had to explore, and in doing so, I started to find these lyrical gems. Some seemed to jump out at me and for a moment, I’d forget that what I was reading were lyrics to songs that they had recorded – and songs that I’d heard before. I already knew how good those songs were - it was the subject matter that surprised me. These lyrics weren’t from the cats I’d been working with for the last 30 years, but from some chthonic place by someone new. I didn’t know the cats that wrote like this, and I wondered how many of their fans knew these cats that I seemed to have just rediscovered.
Could it be that the Stones are actually some black guys disguised as English gentlemen? I don’t know. You tell me. Back at sound check, Mick had immediately heard the vibe I was going for and we started to have a conversation about the Last Poets. He told me that he had met them and seen them perform. That didn’t surprise me because Mick always has his ear to the ground, but what did surprise me was where he saw them: in someone’s living room in London.
The spoken truth, told the right way, can spread like wildlife and help change minds and help people change the injustices of the world. The US, UK and the world still have a lot in common, and sex, love and drugs are just a part of it. Injustice is injustice no matter where you are in the world. The Rolling Stones lyrics cover most of it.
I had an amazing time rediscovering these songs, making this recording wasn’t easy to do, I’d gladly do it all over again even if I knew the bumps in the road ahead. Later, I played a taste for Keith, and he looked at me and said “Damn, Fowler, you went deep.” High praise indeed.
Thanks again to all the cats that participated in the making of Inside Out, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you, Rolling Stones, for letting me hear these songs over and over again - there is always something new to hear in them. I always say that I’m only as good as who I’m with, and damn, I’m good when I’m hanging out with ya’ll.
And to all the Rolling Stones fans out there, this album will help you hear songs you’ve heard before in a different light. They may take on a different meaning. This album is dedicated to you too.
- Bernard
Credits
Tie You Up
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Walfredo Reyes Jr. – percussion
Lenny Castro – percussion
Steve Jordan – drums
Clayton Cameron – snare brush
Dancing with Mr. D.
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Ray Parker Jr. – guitar
Geo Evan – guitar
Darryl Jones – bass
Vince Wilburn Jr. – drums
Background vocals – Bernard Fowler, Darry Jones,
Vince Wilburn Jr, Geo Evan
Undercover of the Night
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Walfredo Reyes, Jr – percussion
Lenny Castro – percussion
Steve Jordan – drums
Clayton Cameron – snare brushes
Josh Eagan – drum
Ron Dziubla – saxophone
Carmine Rojas – soldier
Rachel Morales – woman player
Time Waits for No One
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Ray Parker Jr. – guitar
Geo Evan – guitar
Jimmy Rip – guitar
Darryl Jones – bass
Vince Wilburn Jr. – drums
Walfredo Reyes, Jr. – Percussion
Background vocals – Darryl Jones, Vince Wilburn Jr,
Geo Evan, Bernard Fowler
Sister Morphine
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Ray Parker Jr. – guitar
Geo Evan – guitar
Darryl Jones – bass
Vince Wilburn Jr. – drums
Munyugo Jackson – percussion
Michael Bearden – keyboards
Keyon Harrold – trumpet
All The Way Down
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Ray Parker Jr – guitar
Geo Evan - guitar
Darryl Jones – bass
Vince Wilburn Jr – drums
Walfredo Reyes Jr – percussion
Must Be Hell
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Walfredo Reyes, Jr. – percussion
Lenny Castro – percussion
Tim Ries – saxophone
Sympathy for the Devil
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals, percussion
Walfredo Reyes Jr - percussion
Lenny Castro – percussion
Mike Garson – keyboards
Steve Jordan – drums
Clayton Cameron – snare brush
Background vocals – Darryl Jones, Vince Wilburn Jr.,
Geo Evan, Bernard Fowler
Dancing with Mr D (bonus track)
Lyrics: Jagger/Richards
Music: Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler - lead vocals, percussion
Walfredo Reyes Jr – percussion
Lenny Castro – percussion
Steve Jordan – drums
Clayton Cameron – snare brushes
Background vocals – Bernard Fowler, Darryl Jones,
Vince Wilburn Jr., Geo Evan
Produced by
Bernard Fowler
Engineering
Kenneth Eisennagle
Sam Madill
Myron Chandler
Khaliq Glover
Lee Bench
John Crainfield
Robi Banerji
Mixed by
Lee Bench
Sam Madill
Tech
Dave Hampton
CARTAGE
Paul “Jamo” Jamison
Studios
Stakehouse Recording Studio
5161 Cartwright Ave
Los Angeles, CA 91601
Dot’s Way Recorders
Los Angeles
Management
Michele Clarke
MASTERING
Howie Weinberg
Art Direction & Design
Frank Harkins
Painting
Geronimo (geronimotheartist.com)
Photography
Frank Harkins
Photography Assistant
Jim Williams
Special Thanks
Filipe ‘jibaro’ Luciano, The Last Poets