Jeff Slate to Release ‘A World Called Desire: The Townshend Tapes Redux’

A World Called Desire: The Townshend Tapes Redux, a long-lost 1993 album from veteran rock songwriter, guitarist and cultural historian Jeff Slate, produced by Simon Townshend and Slate, will be released on Record Store Day Black Friday, November 27, 2026, on Shamus Records. Listen to the album’s first single, “Babylon,” below. Can’t wait? You can order the vinyl edition here.

The recordings capture a pivotal moment in Slate’s creative life: Pete Townshend, riding high from the Tony-winning Broadway production of The Who’s Tommy, invited Slate out on his “Psychoderelict” tour to discuss a production partnership. What followed was a week at Avalon Studios outside New York, where Slate, alongside Simon Townshend, drummer Mark Brzezicki, keyboardist Josh Phillips, and multi-instrumentalist Bob Stander, recorded what would become this album.

“I was always incredibly proud of this material,” says Slate. “It just wasn’t meant to be at the time. But hearing the tracks now, more than thirty years later, what felt dated in 1993 feels timeless now.”

The project lay dormant for decades, shelved as the grunge era shifted musical tastes and other projects took precedence. When Avalon Studios eventually closed, Stander reached out, having discovered additional multitrack reels that Slate believed were lost. The rediscovery sparked a years-long finishing process, with Slate, Stander and company completing arrangements and overdubs to realize the rocking album Slate always envisioned.

The supporting ensemble reads like a career retrospective: Simon Townshend provides backing vocals and guitar alongside his production work; Brzezicki (drums, percussion) was a Psychoderelict project veteran, as was Phillips, who plays piano, Hammond and keyboards, and Stander, who helped Slate realize a project originally begun more than 30 years ago.

Listen to “Babylon” which showcases the interplay between Slate, Stander and Simon Townshend’s guitar work, anchored by Brzezicki’s muscular drumming and Phillips’ lush keyboards

Other highlights include “Time the Healer” and “Oh, Dolly.” The album was mixed by Duane Lundy and mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios.

Jeff Slate

Slate, a multi-instrumentalist with his own towering résumé spanning decades of rock’s inner circle, has recorded and toured with Townshend, Roger McGuinn, Jeff Tweedy, Sheryl Crow, Margo Price, The Wallflowers and beyond. He’s penned a Roy Orbison biography as well as liner notes for Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix reissues, and regularly guest-hosts on SiriusXM. His previous solo work has featured musicians from Guns N’ Roses, Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, members of David Bowie’s and Paul Weller’s bands and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.

Some of Slate’s other recordings are available here.