SE 5, EP 9: John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal

Send us Fan Mail On this weeks episode, we discuss an LP by John Wesley Harding (né Wesley Stace), 1996’s John Wesley Harding’s New Deal. After releasing two EPs and three full length albums with a full band for Sire Records, Harding decided to strip down his sound for his debut on his new label Forward Records (an imprint of Rhino Records). Harding much preferred the intimacy of acoustic live performances and created an album that embraced that aesthetic whole heatedly. Described by Harding as “ gangsta folk ,” John Wesley Harding’s New Deal is a beautiful record and a fan favorite. It was the first time Harding had the freedom to make the record he always wanted to make. The song arrangements are simple and direct, putting the focus of the lyrics., which are both sly and whimsical, and full of British charm. And as an added bonus, the album even includes a fantastic sequel of sorts to the Kink’s “Waterloo Sunset .” Visit us at

You can listen to SE 5, EP 9: John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

SE 5, EP 9: John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal is an episode from This is Vinyl Tap by This Is Vinyl Tap.

This episode is 117:12 long.

This episode was published on Apr 29, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from This is Vinyl Tap when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.