Winter Pays For Summer by Toad the Wet Sprocket front man Glen Phillips is one of those great under-appreciated albums that for my money (and probably Glen’s too) is one that didn’t find nearly half the audience that it deserved at the time it was released in 2005.  But then again, with 40 reviews on Amazon averaging out to 5 stars, perhaps more people got their ears around the album after all, and that’s a good thing. Winter is probably the most Toad-like release in the solo catalog of Phillips and in my opinion, it’s the most well-formed album of the bunch.

But as it turns out, it took some work to get there.  Phillips today pulled the covers back to reveal a digital download of Tornillo, the David Garza produced album originally laid to tape in 2003 in Tornillo, TX.  11 tracks were recorded for the effort and subsequently were put on the shelf.  Eventually, a hefty handful of tracks from the album were re-recorded and saw the light of day on Winter.

Is Tornillo worth $7 for the digital download?

Absolutely.

It’s an interesting alternate view of what might have been, if Tornillo had made it to the record shelves. Comparing the early versions of the Winter tracks to the ones that were later released, the final cuts definitely ended up having more bite and beef in the recording.  The original versions feel stripped down by comparison.  But instead of castoffs, the Tornillo tracks feel like an album and a very different one at that.

And now, finally you have the opportunity to hear it.

Here are some words from Glen about the album:

I finally went back to the vaults and collected the tracks from my “lost record”, Tornillo. It was recorded in 2003, features many of the songs which later appeared on Winter Pays for Summer, and has never been heard by the general public. I leave it for you to decide if shelving it was a good idea or not. It is available now at Bandcamp for $7 (or more if you wish), and is streamable for free. I hope you enjoy perusing the historical documents, such as they are. And just in time for the Holidays, too!

That would be enough for me, but Phillips had one more trick up his sleeve for today.  In a note on his website, Glen writes:

You will receive an email later this week from Toad the Wet Sprocket, with a download link for our first recording more than a decade! It’s kind of an audio Christmas card and thank you note for those of you who’ve kept in touch with us, in the form of a song (“It Doesn’t Feel Like Christmas”, by Sam Phillips). The email will be from info [AT] toadthewetsprocket.com instead of this address, so check your spam filters. If you have friends who might want a copy, encourage them to visit the newly redesigned toadthewetsprocket.com and sign up for the list.

There you have it.  Don’t miss out.  You can download Tornillo now by visiting this link.

P.S.  Can I stay away, knowing that Toad the Wet Sprocket is playing a show in Pittsburgh next April, a mere two hours away from me?