As I Look Back

Collection of songs by Midwest-born singer-songwriter Kristi Kimsey, recorded in the 1970s and lost for nearly half a century. Made up by the gurus making blues inexplicably pop: Kristi’s husband, producer/engineer Chris Kimsey, Keith Richards, and more special musicians. Mastered and half-speed cut by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, and pressed via RTI. Designed by Commission Studio, and packaged in a box made of white paper and red translucent sheet specially made in Japan.

With a soul singer’s power and a jazz singer’s agility, Kristi Kimsey settles gracefully intothe grooves of her songs, plays around with meter and melody, and teases out all thepossibilities held within every note. She’s a commanding vocalist who never delivers aline the same way twice. The recordings on As I Look Back, set to tape in the late 1970s and only just recently rediscovered, chronicle an important era in her life when she was coming into her own as an artist. They also document her close-knit circle of friends andfellow artists, which included Alvin Lee, Keith Richards, Frank Carillo, and Kristi’s husband, producer/engineer Chris Kimsey—all of whom contributed to her debut. Her story is one of perseverance, acceptance, innovation, and—most of all, she declares unabashedly—love. “Then and now, this whole project is about love. The songs are allabout loving someone and being loved and expressing that.”