''Born Again Savage'' is the fifth solo studio album by American musician

Little Steven Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

(stage name of Steven Van Zandt), released in September 1999 by Renegade Nation. It was his first album since 1989's ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

''. ''Born Again Savage'' was a return to the raw,

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

sound of his second album, ''

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

'' from 1984. The main topic of the album is religion. The

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...

on all songs is bassist

Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock music, rock band U2. Born in Oxfordshire, England, he lived in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland after his family moved to ...

(of U2) and drummer

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, who was one of the original Disciples of Soul, sang background vocals on the album. After its release, Van Zandt returned to play with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

for 18 years until reforming the Disciples of Soul for the 2017 album '' Soulfire''.

Background

The songs on ''Born Again Savage'' were originally written by Van Zandt in 1989-1990 and were eventually recorded in 1994. After initially being rejected by his then current label, the album was finally released in November 1999 when Van Zandt started his own record label, Renegade Nation. To promote the album, there was a promotional single edit of "Camouflage of Righteousness" released through mp3.com, edited to 4:36; down from the album version's 5:01. Not as many copies of the album were sold as expected. The album's main theme is the lack of religion and spiritual ideas in daily life. However, "Flesheater" deals with animal rights and vegetarianism, and "Guns, Drugs and Gasoline" touches upon the use of fossil fuel. "Politics, religion and sex interrelate throughout the album," Van Zandt said. In 2019, the album was remastered for release as part of Van Zandt's career-spanning box set '' Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work''. The digital deluxe edition of the album was released on November 22, 2019 containing one bonus track, a 2019 solo acoustic rendition of Van Zandt's song "It's Been a Long Time" originally recorded by

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes are an American musical group from the Jersey Shore sound, Jersey Shore formerly led by Southside Johnny. They have been recording albums since 1976 and are closely associated with Bruce Springsteen and The ...

and released on their 1991 album '' Better Days''.

Liner notes

Little Steven wrote in the liner notes of the album:

Track listing

All tracks are written by

. # "Born Again Savage" - 4:38 # "Camouflage of Righteousness" - 5:01 # "Guns, Drugs, and Gasoline" - 4:59 # "Face of God" - 7:38 # "Saint Francis" - 8:17 # "Salvation" - 5:09 # "Organize" - 2:13 # "Flesheater" - 6:07 # "Lust for Enlightenment" - 8:38 # "Tongues of Angels" - 8:19 ;2019 digital deluxe edition bonus track #

"It's Been a Long Time" (solo acoustic, 2019 - previously unreleased) - 4:16 * "Camouflage of Righteousness" appears in ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' episode " Whitecaps" and "Salvation" appears in the episode " Moe n' Joe". * Tracks used in the series ''

Lilyhammer ''Lilyhammer'' is a crime comedy-drama television series starring Steven Van Zandt about a former New York–based gangster named Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer, Norway. The first season premiered ...

'' co-produced and featuring

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared i ...

: "Guns, Drugs and Gasoline" (S3E3), "Flesheater" (S3E7)

Personnel

;Musicians *

– vocals, guitars, arranger *

– bass *

– drums * Steve Jordan – background vocals *

– background vocals * Ben Newberry – background vocals * Frank Newberry – background vocals * "Dizzy" Daniel Moorehead – saxophone ;Technical * Little Steven – producer * Ben Fowler – engineer * Zoe Thrall – engineer * Scott Austin – assistant engineer *

Kevin Shirley Kevin Shirley, also known as The Caveman, is a South African music producer, engineer, audio mixer, and musician. He has produced music for many artists, including Silverchair, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels, and C ...

– mixing * Rich Alvy – mixing assistant * Dan Gellert – additional engineer * Andrea Yankovsky – additional assistant engineer *

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

– mastering (at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

) * Alex Ewen – art design * Lorraine Cullin – art design assistant *

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6January 1832 – 23January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrati ...

– original wood engravings * Ronnie Farley – photography

''Born Again Savage''.

Liner Notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

. Renegade Nation, 1999.

Chart

Ruhlmann, William.
Born Again Savage - Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, 2015. Retrieved 2015-1-1. * The ''Born Again Savage'' album itself did not chart.

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Steven Van Zandt albums Albums produced by Steven Van Zandt Albums recorded at Power Station