Todd Snider - Aimless Records Presents: Rest In Chaos (Purple Version) (2024) [Hi-Res]

Singer/songwriter Todd Snider first garnered attention for his timely alt-rock satire “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues,” a folk-rock song that struck a chord with younger people fed up with angry alternative rock bands, and at the same time, appealed to aging rockers who grew up with the folk revival of the 1960s. Snider was born in Portland, Oregon, and grew up in Santa Rosa, Austin, Houston, and Atlanta. After moving to Memphis in the mid-’80s and establishing residency at a local club named the Daily Planet, he was discovered by singer/songwriter Keith Sykes, a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band. Sykes began to work with Snider to help advance his career, and after passing on demo tapes of Snider to Buffett, he was signed to the star’s Margaritaville Records. Snider’s debut album, Songs for the Daily Planet was released in the fall of 1994; “Talkin’ Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” was added to the album as an afterthought only after intense lobbying by a Canadian music critic, and ultimately became a minor hit.

On his second effort, 1996’s Step Right Up, Snider and his band, the Nervous Wrecks (comprised of lead guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Will Kimbrough, bassist Joe Mariencheck, drummer Joe McLeary, and keyboardist David Zollo), continued blending bluegrass, blues, folk-rock, and country-rock to forge their own distinctive sound. On his third album, 1998’s Viva Satellite, Snider took a Tom Petty approach, replacing much of his acoustic setup with twang-drenched electric guitar. In 2000, he signed to John Prine’s Oh Boy label and returned to his singer/songwriter roots with Happy to Be Here. He recorded three more records for the label, 2002’s New Connection, 2003’s Near Truths and Hotel Rooms Live, and 2004’s East Nashville Skyline. That Was Me: The Best of Todd Snider 1994-1998 was released on Hip-O in 2005, and the next year Snider’s eighth album, Devil You Know, came out. In 2008 Snider released the politically charged Peace Queer, an eight-song collection of antiwar songs as filtered through Snider’s signature wit and amiable pathos. The Excitement Plan appeared from Yep Roc Records in 2009. In 2011, he released the two-disc concert set Live: The Storyteller, while 2012 saw both a traditional studio outing, Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables, plus a tribute album, Time as We Know It: The Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker. Eastside Bulldog released in 2016.

In 2019, Aimless Records released Snider’s 13th studio album, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. Coproduced with Chad Staehly, Snider returned to his folk roots on the solo acoustic album, playing all the instruments on the 10 songs recorded at Cash Cabin Studio in the fall of 2018. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires added backing vocals to two of the tracks, “The Blues on Banjo” and “A Timeless Response to Current Events.” Isbell also added a backing vocal to the single “Like a Force of Nature.” Half the songs on the record were among those he recorded with Hard Working Americans at the studio in 2017. Robert Christgau gave the album an A grade in his Consumer Guide. Rolling Stone gave it four stars. The record went to number three on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart, number 11 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart, number 21 on the Vinyl Albums chart, and number 23 on the Album Sales chart.

With the release of First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder by Aimless on April 23, 2021, Snider fulfilled his longtime vision of combining funk with folk. He produced the record and played most of the instruments on it, including electric bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo and piano. He also sang all the backing vocals. Robbie Crowell handled drums and percussion. Tchad Blake mixed the record, as well as contributed a few sonic and musical touches. No Depression said the record showed Snider “in all his glory.” Rolling Stone said it was “a raw portrait of a world-class songwriter processing calamity and chaos in real time.” Robert Christgau gave the album a B+ in his Consumer Guide. The album reached number 21 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart and number 36 on the Album Sales chart. 2022 saw the release of the concert LP Live: Return of the Storyteller.