Robert Ellis Orrall forges the right path forward with ‘Wrong Thing’
Acclaimed singer-songwriter reunites with classic ‘80s-era power-pop band for first album of new material in 39 years out Friday, September 12
NOW PLAYING: Listen to ‘Wrong Thing’ on Spotify
Robert Ellis Orrall performs live Saturday, September 13 at
Two To Lou music festival in Sandown, New Hampshire
New album features a rebooted ‘Crazier’, originally written with Taylor Swift and recently performed in Scotland on The Eras Tour
Listen to June live album ‘The Bear Is The Mountain’ x Watch ‘Ultimate’ on YouTube
BOSTON, Mass. [September 12, 2025] –The year was 1986, and it was one for the history books: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its first class of musicians, the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy unfolded on live television, and a baseball infamously went between Bill Buckner’s legs. Top Gun dominated the box office; Halley’s Comet raced across the sky, and, perhaps unbeknownst to them at the time, Robert Ellis Orrall and his band recorded their final album together.
Nearly 40 years later, more than a few lifetimes in rock and roll terms, the boys are back in business with a new album of (mostly) all-new material, releasing Wrong Thing via Fixation Records on Friday, September 12. The album drops just ahead of the Robert Ellis Orrall quartet appearing at the Two To Lou festival up in New Hampshire, and a few weeks after holding headliner court at The Cut in Gloucester.
Wrong Thing follows the August release of “Ultimate,” the Disney radio staple originally written for Lindsay Lohan to perform in the 2003 Freaky Friday movie, rebooted alongside the Freakier Friday sequel, and the summer release of live album The Bear Is The Mountain, which pulled from the band’s classic ‘80s-era RCA Records output that made them a staple in the vibrant Boston music scene.
The new album, a mix of 10 bluesy, yacht-rocking, pop-rock bangers and arena-ready love songs and ballads, showcases a band – Orrall on keyboards and vocals joined by his original collaborators and confidants Kook Lawry (guitars), Don Walden (bass), and David Stefanelli (drums and percussion) -- that hasn’t missed a beat in the 39 years since. And to make things feel even more like the good old days, they enlisted Grammy-winning engineer Steve Marcantonio, who worked on the mixes for the band’s debut album, Fixation.
“Back in the ‘80s, I truly thought a dream goes on forever,” Orrall says. “And it does. It really does. But it’s never the dream you thought it would be. When we toured with bands like U2 or The Kinks, playing theaters and arenas, it felt like a dream come true – of course. But it all went by in a flash. Just like life does. In the ‘80s I hoped we would play music together until we were old. Now we are old, and we’re playing music together! So, maybe it’s a slightly different dream come true.”
While the 1986 album, The War Between Us, would finally surface for proper release just last year, Wrong Thing is an album for the here and now, made in the here and now. Led by the album-opening lead single title track, a jaunty pop-rock nugget with Orrall’s classic infectiousness, Wrong Thing boasts nine tracks written and recorded for this era of the band, as well as the songwriter’s 2004 track “Crazier,” which he wrote with Taylor Swift for the Hannah Montana movie.
Wrong Thing is less a comeback and more a continuation of Orrall’s remarkable career, which took him to Nashville after his band dissolved, becoming a prolific songwriter, producer, and in-demand collaborator. He would earn five Number 1 songs to his credit across an eclectic and expansive 350-track catalog, and along the way would help launch Swift’s career, co-writing and co-producing her 10x-platinum 2006 debut album and its follow-up 2008 EP Beautiful Eyes.
He’d work with the likes of Reba McEntire, Shenandoah, Carlene Carter, and Clay Walker, earn placements in TV and movies in addition to Freaky Friday – like The Bourne Identity and Hannah Montana – and launch esteemed indie label Infinity Cat Recordings (releasing music from his beloved sons’ band JEFF The Brotherhood, as well as Diarrhea Planet, Be Your Own Pet, and others) and its Visitor’s Center and Gallery.
The members of the Robert Ellis Orrall band did not stay idle either, lending their talents to artists like Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band, Boston’s Barry Goudreau and Brad Delp, Brian Maes, Nick Lowe, and several others. Orrall now splits his time between his residence on the North Shore of Massachusetts and Florida, where when he’s not making music with his collaborators, he spends his time painting.
But a new era came calling, and this new chapter started with 2022 collaborative record 467 Surf & Gun Club, when Orrall first linked back up with his classic ‘80s-era lineup. Releasing last year’s studio album The War Between Us, recorded in 1986 at Downtown Recorders, fueled the fire and rekindled a spark the four musicians first felt four decades ago.
“The four of us realize how lucky we are to be making music together again,” Orrall admits. “We love each other. We are four brothers who experienced so much so fast, the highs and the lows, the good and the bad, and so much of it was out of our control. But we had each other's backs. And as different as four brothers can be, we are connected. Especially when we are playing music together.”
That chemistry is undeniable, both on the stage and in the recording. Wrong Thing was recorded by Orrall at That’s What Sea Shed (North) in Manchester-By-The-Sea, Massachusetts, with additional recording by Marcantonio at That’s What Sea Shed (South) in Seacrest, Florida, and by Stefanelli at The Cabin in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. It was mixed at The Music House in Franklin, Tennessee, with strings arranged and conducted by David Hofner. Additional players on Wrong Thing include the late Gary Burnette (to whom the album is co-dedicated), Eddie Grenga, Brian Maes, Kea Romani, Eric Gunderson, and Halle Ballard.
Wrong Thing finds the band flexing both chemistry and creativity, crafting a timeless sound that straddles genre lines, invites the listeners in, and puts weight back into the experience of listening to a full album from start to finish. The playful bounce of the title track sets the mood (“There ain’t no right way to do the wrong thing,” Orrall sings), paving a way for a record rife with storytelling acumen, big guitars, and heartfelt emotion.
“Some of these songs are riddles, but a lot of these songs mine some very deep feelings like unexpected loss, heartbreak, and love unrequited – my favorite theme,” Orrall notes. “‘Wildflowers And Heather’ sounds like a love song until you find out that the singer is living in denial and the object of his attention has long forgotten he exists. But he still believes in love because carrying that torch sustains him above all. ‘My Heart Hurts’ is proof that as painful as it is, love unrequited is as strong and everlasting as love can ever be. And ‘Avalanche’ is just a reminder that love is a verb. When somebody you love needs love the most, love is what you do.”
Orrall’s lyricisms take center stage in the yearning “When I Need To Feel You,” dedicated to his late cousin Judy and her husband Bill LaCapra, taking anecdotes of everyday life and juxtaposing them with the moments we truly need the ones we love: “Judy was so full of life and died much too young. In trying to understand how her husband was dealing with the grief of this unexpected loss, one of the things he told me was that he’d wrap her blanket around himself in order to feel her. I can’t imagine the depths of that kind of sorrow, but I tried to put it in a song. I sang it at her memorial in stops and starts, through my tears.”
Elsewhere, “Where The Gone People Go” exudes that classic Robert Ellis Orrall barroom energy, “Baby Changes Everything” aims for the arena rafters with the type of songwriting ambition missing from modern mainstream music, and closer “If I Were You and You Were Me” edges toward an appropriately psychedelic climax.
And then there’s “Crazier,” the Taylor Swift song audiences know from The Hannah Montana movie and soundtrack. Turns out a recent live performance of it by the world’s biggest pop-star gave Orrall a new appreciation for it, and like his recent reboot of “Ultimate,” he wanted to revisit the track with his band to give it a new shine.
“I’ve always loved the simplicity of this three-fourth time waltz, and it provided the perfect backdrop for the ‘barn dance where everyone falls in love’ scene in the movie,” Orrall says with a laugh. “But where that version was twin fiddles and mandolin, I thought it would be fun to rock it with these guys someday. I kind of forgot about it until The Eras tour when Taylor surprised the fans in Edinburgh, Scotland – watching 70,000 fans sing along to it that night reminded me!”
And Wrong Thing is reminding Robert Ellis Orrall – the man, and the band – what it’s like for four longtime friends to play music together, looking back at the craziness of the past few decades and appreciating the right here and right now for what it is. Orrall, Lawry, Walden, and Stefanelli all speak a common language – one that connects them to their youth, and remains fluent no matter what year the calendar tells us it is, or what life throws their way.
“A lot of this album sounds like we could have made it in 1982,” Orrall notes. “Don and David have always had a vibe – David’s drums seem to know the lyrics and Don’s bass plays songs within the songs. Kook’s sounds, his voicings, his perfect choices (when to play and when to embrace the silence) and his solos have always been so uniquely Kook to me. I missed playing with these guys. There’s nothing like it.”
Robert Ellis Orrall features:
Robert Ellis Orrall: Keyboards and vocals
Kook Lawry: Guitars
Don Walden: Bass
David Stefanelli: Drums and percussion
‘Wrong Thing’ artwork:
‘Wrong Thing’ credits:
All songs written By Robert Ellis Orrall
Except tracks 3 (Walden/Lawry/Stefanelli/Orrall), 4 (Swift/Orrall) 6 and 8 (Gunderson/Liles/Orrall)
Produced by Robert Ellis Orrall
Mixed by Steve Marcantonio
Recorded by Robert Ellis Orrall at That’s What Sea Shed (North) in Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA
Additional recording by Steve Marcantonio at That’s What Sea Shed (South) in Seacrest, FL and David Stefanelli at The Cabin in Hillsborough, NH
Mixed at The Music House in Franklin, TN
Gary Burnette: Additional Guitar on tracks 2, 5, 9, 10
Eddie Grenga: Additional keyboards on track 2
Brian Maes: B3 on track 4
Kea Romani: Vocals on track 4
Eric Gunderson: Piano and additional guitars on tracks 6 and 8
Halle Ballard: Vocals on track 7
Strings arranged and conducted by David Hofner
Vinyl mastered by Alex Michalski
IN MEMORY OF GARY BURNETTE and JUDY ORRALL
“Love to family, friends, and fans past, present, and future” – Robert
Robert Ellis Orrall short bio:
When RCA Records signed Robert Ellis Orrall in 1980 he had his dream band: Kook Lawry on guitar, Don Walden on bass and David Stefanelli on the drums. Forty-four years later they are back on the road and in the studio. Part of a New Wave of Boston artists that included The Stompers, Jon Butcher Axis, Til Tuesday and The Neighborhoods, REO rocked legendary venues like The Rat, The Paradise and The Orpheum Theater.
The band’s critically acclaimed albums, Fixation, Contain Yourself, and Special Pain were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales with producer Roger Bechirian (Elvis Costello, Squeeze), and supported with tours opening for U2, The Kinks, Psychedelic Furs and countless others. And their Top 40 smash hit with Carlene Carter “I Couldn’t Say No” still stands as an ‘80s classic.
When Robert moved to Nashville to write and produce (Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Lindsay Lohan), Kook, Don and David lent their talents to artists like Peter Wolf (J. Geils Band), Barry Goudreau & Brad Delp (Boston), Carlene Carter, Brian Maes, Nick Lowe, and many more.
Robert Ellis Orrall has had over 350 songs (and five #1 songs) cut around the world and soundtracked in TV and movies like The Bourne Identity, Hannah Montana, and Freaky Friday. He produced tracks for Love and Theft, Cake Bake Betty and Taylor Swift’s 10x-platinum debut album and follow-up EP.
The band regrouped to reminisce, tour, and record 467 Surf And Gun Club, an album John Hiatt called “absolutely joyful”; Michael McDonald called “relevant and timeless”; and wrote American Songwriter: “The melodies, counter melodies, and killer performances constitute a unique blend of ‘60s-pop-meets-modern-indie songwriting.”
The band is touring from now to forever, playing songs from all of their albums and albums to come. The old cliche “Let’s get the band back together” has come to life with these four best friends playing their best music.
Recent praise for Robert Ellis Orrall:
“Robert Ellis Orrall is a composer who always says something we need to hear. In that way he remains relevant and timeless. His latest offering is no less.” _Michael McDonald
“Very sophisticated and relentlessly appealing sunny SoCal folk pop a la Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, the guys who invented it. Fully realized. Absolutely joyful.” _John Hiatt
From a full-on Freaky Friday moment (where a song he wrote came belting out of Lindsay Lohan’s mouth) to crossing paths with a baby Taylor Swift and zapping us straight back to her debut era, chances are Robert Ellis Orrall has secretly been the mastermind behind one of your all-time favorite bops.” _The Honey Pop
“A busy season of live performances.” _WGBH’s The Culture Show
“A melodic flashback” _The Whole Kameese
“[H]his version [of ‘Ultimate’] is a pop rock track leaning towards power pop. It’s a fun and upbeat song that you certainly don’t need to be a fan of the original to enjoy. It’s the kind of song that doesn’t sound like it would belong on a Disney soundtrack, but once you know its origins, it makes sense.” _If It’s Too Loud
“Robert Ellis Orrall is emblematic of the irreverent, eccentric spirit that has helped forge Nashville’s contemporary independent music scene.” _Nashville Scene
“[467 Surf and Gun Club] is a delightful and touching listen. Musically, the melodies, counter melodies, and killer performances – provided by the same band members Orrall recorded and played with back in the ‘80s – constitute a unique blend of ‘60s-pop-meets-modern-indie-meets-solid-country-songwriting.” _American Songwriter
“The music throughout the record has the same vibe as Andrew Gold, Brian Wilson or latter career Elvis Costello, confident, comfortable and relaxed with nothing to prove and ultimately satisfying from start to finish. The first instinct on the closing notes of the (final) track is to immediately go back to the beginning and listen to the album all over again.” _Glide Magazine
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