There was a sigh of relief in Roger Clyne's voice, as if some weight had come off his narrow shoulders and freed him to return to life as he knows it.
"I'm very happy that we finally have it to share. It took awhile," he said during a phone call in early April, a few weeks before his much-anticipated Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers disc "Unida Cantina" was released.
The album was a long time in the making, time marked not by years on the calendar but major events. A longtime band member departed. A new one came on board. Then a flood drowned Music City and plans to record in Nashville were rerouted south to Mexico.
Familiar territory - that's where Clyne laid down 2008's "Turbo Ocho" and where he holds his annual Circus Mexicus charity blowouts. But this time, he came armed with a new approach.
"We had the songs worked out and written and basically sort of honed," Clyne said, speaking from his home in Tempe where he lives with his wife and three children.
People are also reading…
The result is a baker's dozen of new songs that will remind longtime fans of Clyne's 1990s Refreshments days. There's that familiar guitar-driven energy, where vocals counterpoint active, recognizable guitar hooks in songs like the rocking "Just Got High" and the bold splash of "All Over the Radio."
Clyne credits much of the sound and energy to newly integrated guitarist Jim Dalton, who replaced longtime axman Steve Larson in late 2009. Dalton eagerly embraced Clyne's idea to revisit the guitar spirit of the Refreshments.
"We went through with these songs to make sure it was going to work and not sound derivative," said the Tucson-born Clyne, 43. "I was really excited by everything he did and I think maybe that excitement was contagious.
"Your band changes a lot when you change 25 percent of its chemistry," he added. "We're all really excited to have someone who is this excited about playing. The whole band wanted to refocus."
The new makeup makes for a dynamic energy to "Unida Cantina," from the Spanish accents and Southwestern influences of "Maria," the tale of a woman worth dying for, to the straight-ahead acoustic pop of the lovely ballad "Small World." The disc feels live, the way you imagine it will sound when Clyne takes the Rialto Theatre stage Saturday.
The Tucson concert is among a handful of shows Clyne is doing before he and the band take off for a 30-day run throughout the western United States.
"We've been on the road I think this will be my 12th year with the Peacemakers and I've been touring coming up on 16 years. And it's really nice to be able to go to New York City or Portland, Ore., or Jacksonville, Fla., and play to a big crowd," Clyne said. "And even if the crowd isn't 'big,' the culture's the same. … My fans are compassionate and kind."
If you go
• What: Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
• Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
• Tickets: $21 in advance at www.rialtotheatre.com; $23 day of show.
• Details: 740-1000.
