Lonely Just Like Me

Last updated
Lonely Just Like Me
Lonely Just Like Me.jpg
Studio album by
Released1993
Genre Soul, country soul
Label Elektra/Nonesuch
Producer Ben Vaughn, Thomas Cain
Arthur Alexander chronology
Arthur Alexander
(1972)
Lonely Just Like Me
(1993)
The Ultimate Arthur Alexander
(1993)

Lonely Just Like Me is the third studio album by the American musician Arthur Alexander, released in 1993. [1] [2] It was Alexander's first album in 21 years. [3] He died shortly after its release. [4] [5] Alexander considered the music to be "country soul". [6]

Contents

The album was reissued in 2007, with additional tracks that had been recorded for NPR. [7]

Production

The album was produced by Ben Vaughn and Thomas Cain, as part of Elektra/Nonesuch's "American Explorer" album series. [8] [9] Some songs were demoed in a hotel room in Cleveland; Alexander had been working as a bus driver in the city. [10] Donnie Fritts, who had worked with Alexander during his Muscle Shoals days, cowrote a few songs; Muscle Shoals alumni Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn played on the album. [11] [12] It was recorded in Nashville. [13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Vancouver Sun Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [16]

The Chicago Tribune called the album "one of the finest examples of [the country soul] sound to appear since the Muscle Shoals heyday." [14] The Orlando Sentinel wrote: "On the heartbroken yet resilient 'All the Time', Alexander makes 'do-doodaly-doo' sound like the saddest syllables in the world—next to his words: 'If they took apart my heart/ just to see what they could see/ well they'd see misery/ where you keep hurting me'." [11] The Globe and Mail deemed it "a wistful, graceful take on classic soul that shows off Alexander's skills both as a songwriter and as a singer." [17] The Los Angeles Times noted that "his voice isn't always as taut as when he was younger but it still carries the uncommon sense of melancholy that characterized his early records." [18]

(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide praised the "surprisingly emotional new material." [15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."If It's Really Got to Be This Way" 
2."Go Home Girl" 
3."Sally Sue Brown" 
4."Mr. John" 
5."Lonely Just Like Me" 
6."Every Day I Have to Cry" 
7."In the Middle of It All" 
8."Genie in the Jug" 
9."Johnny Heartbreak" 
10."All the Time" 
11."There is a Road" 
12."I Believe in Miracles" 

Related Research Articles

<i>I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You</i> 1967 studio album by Aretha Franklin

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You is the tenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on March 10, 1967 by Atlantic Records. It was Franklin's first release under her contract with the label, following her departure from Columbia Records after nine unsuccessful jazz standard albums, and marked a commercial breakthrough for her, becoming her first top 10 album in the United States, reaching number 2 on the Billboard 200. Two singles were released to promote the album: "Respect" and "I Never Loved a Man ". The former topped the Billboard Hot 100, while latter reached the top 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Alexander</span> American country-soul songwriter and singer (1940–1993)

Arthur Alexander was an American country-soul songwriter and singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for AllMusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and that, though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his contemporaries." Alexander's songs were covered by such stars as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Otis Redding, Tina Turner, Pearl Jam, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Wexler</span> American music producer, journalist (1917–2008)

Gerald Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integral in signing and/or producing many of the biggest acts of the time, including Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers, Chris Connor, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Wilson Pickett, Dire Straits, Dusty Springfield and Bob Dylan. Wexler was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 2017 to the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Dan Penn is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including "The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" with Chips Moman and "Cry Like a Baby" with Spooner Oldham. Penn also produced many hits, including "The Letter", by The Box Tops. He has been described as a white soul and blue-eyed soul singer. Penn has released relatively few records featuring his own vocals and musicianship, preferring the relative anonymity of songwriting and producing. Dan Penn produced an album on Ronnie Milsap in 1970 on Warner Bros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spooner Oldham</span> American songwriter

Dewey Lindon Oldham, Jr. "Spooner Oldham" is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman", Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally", and Aretha Franklin's "I Never Loved a Man ". As a songwriter, Oldham teamed with Dan Penn to write such hits as "Cry Like a Baby", "I'm Your Puppet", and "A Woman Left Lonely" and "It Tears Me Up".

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or as a group, have been associated with more than 500 recordings, including 75 gold and platinum hits. They were masters at creating a southern combination of R&B, soul and country music known as the "Muscle Shoals sound" to back up black artists, who were often in disbelief to learn that the studio musicians were white. Over the years from 1962 to 1969, there have been two successive groups under the name "Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section" and the common factor in the two was an association with Rick Hall at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals.

<i>Boz Scaggs</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Boz Scaggs

Boz Scaggs is the second studio album by American musician Boz Scaggs, released in 1969 by Atlantic Records. A stylistically diverse album, Boz Scaggs incorporates several genres, including Americana, blue-eyed soul, country, and rhythm and blues. The lyrics are about typical themes found in blues songs, such as love, regret, guilt, and loss. Scaggs recorded the album at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with producer Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section heavily contributed to the album, which included a young Duane Allman, before his rise to fame with the Allman Brothers Band.

<i>Funky Situation</i> Album by Wilson Pickett

A Funky Situation is a studio album by the American musician Wilson Pickett, released in 1978.

<i>Memphis Underground</i> 1969 studio album by Herbie Mann

Memphis Underground is a 1969 album by jazz flutist Herbie Mann, that fuses the genres of jazz and rhythm and blues (R&B). While Mann and the other principal soloists were leading jazz musicians, the album was recorded in Chips Moman's American Sound Studio in Memphis, a studio used by many well-known R&B and pop artists. The rhythm section was the house band at American Studios. The recording was engineered and produced by Tom Dowd.

<i>Dig</i> (Boz Scaggs album) 2001 studio album by Boz Scaggs

Dig is an album by the American musician Boz Scaggs, released in 2001. It peaked at No. 146 on the Billboard 200. Scaggs promoted the album with a North American tour and an appearance on the television show Ally McBeal. A limited edition of the album included a disc containing a 5.1 channel DVD-Audio and Dolby Digital surround sound mix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FAME Studios</span> Historic site in Muscle Shoals, Alabama

FAME Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording locations of the American music industry, FAME has produced many hit records and was instrumental in what came to be known as the Muscle Shoals sound. It was started in the 1950s by Rick Hall, known as the Founder of Muscle Shoals Music. The studio, owned by Hall until his death in 2018, is still actively operating. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on December 15, 1997, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. The 2013 award-winning documentary Muscle Shoals features Rick Hall, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and the Muscle Shoals sound originally popularized by FAME.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Better Move On (song)</span> 1961 single by Arthur Alexander

"You Better Move On" is a 1961 rhythm and blues song by Arthur Alexander. It reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1962. Versions by Billy "Crash" Craddock, George Jones and Johnny Paycheck were hits on the Country charts.

Donald Ray Fritts was an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he was Kris Kristofferson's keyboardist for over forty years. In 2008, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Hall</span> American record producer

Roe Erister "Rick" Hall was an American record producer, songwriter, and musician who became known as the owner of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. As the "Father of Muscle Shoals Music", he was influential in recording and promoting both country and soul music, and in helping develop the careers of such musicians as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Duane Allman and Etta James.

<i>You Shoulda Told Me You Were...</i> 1991 studio album by Kid Creole and the Coconuts

You Shoulda Told Me You Were... is a studio album by the American musical group Kid Creole and the Coconuts, released in 1991. It includes the single "(She's A) Party Girl".

<i>Love Me Tender</i> (B. B. King album) 1982 studio album by B.B. King

Love Me Tender is a studio album by the American blues musician B.B. King. It was released via MCA Records in 1982. King supported the album by appearing on Austin City Limits.

<i>Every Dog Has His Day</i> 1988 studio album by Lets Active

Every Dog Has His Day is an album by the American band Let's Active, released in 1988. It was the band's final album.

<i>Human Soul</i> 1989 studio album by Graham Parker

Human Soul is an album by the English musician Graham Parker.

<i>Burning Questions</i> (Graham Parker album) 1992 studio album by Graham Parker

Burning Questions is an album by the English musician Graham Parker, released in 1992. It was his only album for Capitol Records. Backed by his band, the Small Clubs, Parker supported the album with a North American tour.

<i>Old Enough</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Lou Ann Barton

Old Enough is an album by the American musician Lou Ann Barton, released in 1982. It was a commercial disappointment that resulted in personal and music business problems for Barton. The album was reissued in 1993 and in 2007.

References

  1. "Arthur Alexander Biography". AllMusic.
  2. "Why don't we know Arthur Alexander as well as we know his songs?". Goldmine. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 104.
  4. "Farewell, King Arthur: A Final Chord for the Man Who Wrote the Songs". The Buffalo News.
  5. "Arthur Alexander, Singer, Dies at 53; Influence on Rock". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  6. Moon, Tom (9 May 1993). "Bus-driving soul pioneer gets his act back into gear". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. M1.
  7. "Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter". Record Collector.
  8. 1 2 "Lonely Just Like Me". AllMusic.
  9. 1 2 MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 10.
  10. "Arthur Alexander: Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter Album Review". The Austin Chronicle.
  11. 1 2 3 Gettelman, Parry. "Arthur Alexander". Orlando Sentinel.
  12. Foege, Alec (Aug 1993). "Alabama Getaway". Spin. Vol. 9, no. 5. p. 26.
  13. Guralnick, Peter (2014). Sweet Soul Music (Enhanced Edition): Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom. Little, Brown.
  14. 1 2 Heim, Chris. "Arthur Alexander Lonely Just Like Me". Chicago Tribune.
  15. 1 2 (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 11.
  16. Mackie, John (20 May 1993). "Soul: Arthur Alexander: Lonely Just Like Me". Vancouver Sun. p. F10.
  17. Dafoe, Chris (3 Aug 1993). "Lonely Just Like Me Arthur Alexander". The Globe and Mail. p. C2.
  18. Lewis, Randy (15 Apr 1993). "Arthur Alexander 'Lonely Just Like Me'". OC Live. Los Angeles Times. p. 5.