Currency of Man

Last updated

Currency of Man
Currency of Man.jpg
Studio album by
Melody Gardot
ReleasedJune 1, 2015 (2015-06-01)
Studio
Genre
Length48:52
Label Decca
Producer Larry Klein
Melody Gardot chronology
The Absence
(2012)		Currency of Man
(2015)		 Live in Europe
(2018)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10 [1]
Metacritic 78/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Absolute Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]
American Songwriter Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Arts Desk Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Louder Than War 8/10 [8]
Louder Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Sydney Morning Herald Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Currency of Man is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Melody Gardot. It was released on June 1, 2015, by Decca Records and produced by Larry Klein. [11] [12] In 2016, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. [13]

Contents

Reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the release received an average score of 78, based on six critical reviews, indicating "Generally favourable reviews". [2] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 7.1 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [1]

Cristopher Loudon of JazzTimes stated, "...Gardot’s distinctively airy voice has undergone significant transformation, and is now muscular and freshly imbued with a deeply resonant soulfulness. Klein responds with meaty, potent arrangements-electrified, with plenty of horns and even a gospel choir-that both complement and elevate this new sound. And though Gardot has, since her late-aughts breakthrough, proven a formidable songwriter, Currency of Man‘s 10 compositions evince heightened power and authority, elevating her to the plateau of Leonard Cohen and Klein’s ex, Joni Mitchell, with shades of Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan." [14] David McGee of The Absolute Sound noted, "Currency of Man employs still more sound collages while deploying horns and strings in spare, small jazz combo atmospheres to frame Gardot’s seductive vocals that speak of societal ills in evocative, poetic terms." [3] Thom Jurek of AllMusic stated, "Vocally, Gardot is stronger than ever here, her instrument is bigger and fuller yet it retains that spectral smokiness that is her trademark. Currency of Man is a further step away from the lithe, winsome pop-jazz that garnered her notice initially, and it's a welcome one." [4]

Mattew Wright of The Arts Desk commented, "There’s something for everyone, at least. You could play the album at a family event and everyone would like at least one song. Gardot seems to have the voice to say something worthwhile, but in order to make it work, she needs to put away the toys and sing from the heart." [6] The Guardian review by Kate Hutchinson added, "On her last album she explored world music; on Currency of Man, she’s gone "conscious". It’s not quite Erykah Badu, but when you’re a Grammy-winning easy-listening artist, it’s an admirable direction." [7] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter noted, "Don’t let the jazz reference deter you from this tour de force of original tunes, all penned by Gardot. It’s a perfect combination of restrained vocal phrasing with madly creative production and a certain candidate for one of the finest albums of the year." [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Melody Gardot, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."It Gonna Come" 5:26
2."Preacherman"Gardot, Chuck Staab4:31
3."Morning Sun (For Ezra Richardson)" 5:06
4."Same to You" 4:59
5."Don't Misunderstand"Gardot, Jesse Harris 4:15
6."Don't Talk" 4:17
7."If Ever I Recall Your Face" 6:52
8."Bad News" 4:38
9."She Don't Know" 3:59
10."Once I Was Loved" 4:49
Total length:48:52
The Artist's Cut Edition [15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Misunderstand"Gardot, Jesse Harris 4:40
2."Don't Talk" 4:11
3."It Gonna Come" 5:31
4."Bad News" 4:57
5."She Don't Know" 3:55
6."Palmas Da Rua" 0:50
7."Same To You" 4:28
8."No Man's Prize" 4:49
9."March For Mingus" 1:02
10."Preacherman"Gardot, Chuck Staab6:16
11."Morning Sun" 5:05
12."If Ever I Recall Your Face" 6:51
13."Once I Was Loved" 4:50
14."After The Rain" 3:08
15."Burying My Troubles" 7:45
Total length:68:18
Japanese Edition [16]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Preacherman" (Radio Edit)Gardot, Chuck Staab3:36
Total length:71:54

Personnel

Charts

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 "Currency of Man by Melody Gardot". Metacritic . Retrieved November 20, 2020.
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  4. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Currency of Man – Melody Gardot". AllMusic . Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Horowitz, Hal (June 2, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency Of Man". American Songwriter . Retrieved November 20, 2020.
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  7. 1 2 Hutchinson, Kate (May 28, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency of Man review – another new direction for an innovative soul singer". The Guardian . Retrieved November 20, 2020.
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