What’s the Frequency, NRBQ?

Sixteen live recordings, radio tracks, single sides, alternate takes and other rarities from NRBQ are being compiled and released by Omnivore on Oct. 2 under the title In * Frequencies, the first such outtakes assemblage for the group that’s existed for the better part of 55 years in assorted configurations.

The hodgepodge dates backwards to a 1968 soundcheck recording and moves forward to 2018’s previously digital-only “April Showers,” jumping around chronologically along the way. All but four tracks on In * Frequencies are otherwise unissued. Other than “Showers,” the previously released songs consist of ultra-rare singles such as 1970’s “Sho’ Need Love,” slapped on a 45 in 1970 under the mock group name Dickens.

“When these songs surfaced on the tapes I felt like I was meeting an interesting woman for the first time,” comments founding member Terry Adams. “I had to say, ‘What’s a song like you doing on a tape like this?’”