Born Again Savage


Born Again Savage is the fifth solo studio album by American musician Little Steven, released in September 1999 by Renegade Nation. It was his first album since 1989's Revolution.
Born Again Savage was a return to the raw, garage rock sound of his second album, Voice of America from 1984. The main topic of the album is religion. The rhythm section on all songs is bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Jason Bonham. Jean Beauvoir, 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 and the E Street Band 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 and released on their 1991 album Better Days (Southside Johnny & [The Asbury Jukes album)|Better Days].

Liner notes

Little Steven wrote in the liner notes of the album:

Track listing

All tracks are written by Little Steven.
  1. "Born Again Savage" - 4:38
  2. "Camouflage of Righteousness" - 5:01
  3. "Guns, Drugs, and Gasoline" - 4:59
  4. "Face of God" - 7:38
  5. "Saint Francis" - 8:17
  6. "Salvation" - 5:09
  7. "Organize" - 2:13
  8. "Flesheater" - 6:07
  9. "Lust for Enlightenment" - 8:38
  10. "Tongues of Angels" - 8:19
;2019 digital deluxe edition bonus track
  2. "It's Been a Long Time" - 4:16
;Musicians
;Technical
  • Little Steven – producer
  • Ben Fowler – engineer
  • Zoe Thrall – engineer
  • Scott Austin – assistant engineer
  • Kevin Shirley – mixing
  • Rich Alvy – mixing assistant
  • Dan Gellert – additional engineer
  • Andrea Yankovsky – additional assistant engineer
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Alex Ewen – art design
  • Lorraine Cullin – art design assistant
  • Gustave Doré – original wood engravings
  • Ronnie Farley – photography

    Chart

SingleChart Position
"Salvation"Mainstream Rock40

  • The Born Again Savage album itself did not chart.