Eddie Spaghetti, ‘Never Thought I Would’

Supersuckers frontman Eddie Spaghetti is back with his third solo album, 'Sundowner,' and we've got a first listen to the album's lead track, 'Never Thought I Would.'

Over the years, Spaghetti has pretty much refused to respect the commonly accepted lines between hard rock and hard country music. Luckily, he's knowledgeable and talented enough to do both well. As 'Sundowner' displays quite clearly, he's capable of knocking out a tender cover of Willie Nelson's classic 'Always on My Mind' one minute and a scorching punk rock tune the next, and still have it all sound like part of a unified whole.

Not everyone can do that. Regarding the flood of rock bands who've attempted the move to country in an effort to boost their careers, he tells Taste of Country, "I consider most of them to stink at both rocking and making country music. I mean, I guess I'm glad they're trying, but all too often a rock band thinks it's going to be easier to play some country tunes on the side, for whatever reason, and they're always wrong."

When asked about his country bona-fides, Spaghetti quickly breaks out a big mental list: "Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Earle." As for when his love for the genre first bit, he says, "I remember the record that officially turned me on to country music was a cassette tape of 'The Best of the Best of Merle Haggard' -- it had 'Mama Tried' on it and I must've listened to that thing 1,000 times one afternoon when it finally hit me: Country music is awesome!"

Seeing as how his musical palette is plenty crowded already, it surprised even the singer himself when a strong and appealing pop influence also revealed itself on 'Sundowner,' particularly on 'Never Thought I Would.'

"I really like that song a lot," he says of the track. "When it came to me, it was so out of the blue, I was kinda taken aback a bit. I remember demoing it up at home and listening to it over and over again, thinking, 'Where did that come from?'"

You can catch Eddie Spaghetti on tour supporting 'Sundowner' starting on Feb. 20 in Philadelphia, and get all the tour dates right here. Be sure to check out 'Never Thought I Would,' below, courtesy of Bloodshot Records.

Listen to Eddie Spaghetti, 'Never Thought I Would'