Been A Long Time, is a limited edition CD-EP spanning several phases of Rico Bell"s long and curious career in the musical backwaters of England and the US. Known best as the long time accordionist/singer for the first wave punk pioneers, The Mekons, Rico has carved out a ragged and romantic identity all his own through his solo material. Rico, in contrast to the blustering chaos of the Mekons, is decidedly a downtrodden softy. His songs reflect the transistor radio he was glued to growing up in Leeds in the heyday of the Mersey beat. Simple, sad, tear-jerkers with nods towards soul, country, pop, and R+B all sung with an end-of-the-bar growl and a weary tenacity.