Red to Blue

Last updated

Red to Blue
Red to Blue.jpg
Studio album by
Leon Redbone
Released1986
Recorded1985
Studio
Genre Jazz, blues
Length31:51
Label August
Producer Beryl Handler, Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone chronology
Leon Redbone Live
(1985)		Red to Blue
(1986)		 No Regrets
(1988)

Red to Blue is an album by the American musician Leon Redbone, released in 1986. [1] [2] It was his first album for August Records, a label started by Redbone. [3] Redbone supported the album with a North American tour. [4]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by Beryl Handler and Redbone. [5] David Bromberg accompanied Redbone on the cover of the Bob Dylan song "Living the Blues". [6] Hank Williams Jr. provided a spoken part for the cover of his father's version of "Lovesick Blues". [7] Biréli Lagrène played guitar on "Whose Honey Are You?" [8] The Roches contributed backing vocals; Dr. John played piano. [9] [10] The album title comes from a Jelly Roll Morton quote that describes the transition from Spanish musical styles to blues-based ones. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]

The New York Times wrote that "Leon Redbone carries to a peak his mixture of jazz-filtered old pop songs, blues and 'contemp-folk' with the assistance of a pool of traditional jazz and folk-jazz musicians who light momentarily like hummingbirds in these performances, then take off again." [13] The Columbia Daily Tribune said that the album "saunters and shuffles like an old hepcat, past his prime but still jiving along at his own unhurried pace." [14]

The Vancouver Sun determined that "Redbone's almost hallucinogenic, sweeping you up in the gentle swing of his music and transporting you back to a '30s dance hall." [15] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution deemed the album "his standard fare—barely intelligible vocals that get so loooow, clarinets, coronets, guitars, banjoes and tuba." [16] Likewise, the Detroit Free Press considered it "the same old hambone." [17]

AllMusic praised "the usual Dixieland backing augmenting his tasteful fingerpicked guitar work." [11]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Diamonds Don't Mean a Thing"Leon Redbone3:02
2."Lovesick Blues" Cliff Friend, Irving Mills 2:44
3."Reaching for Someone and Not Finding Anyone There" Walter Donaldson, Edgar Leslie 2:08
4."Somebody Stole My Gal" Leo Wood 2:08
5."Steal Away Blues"Redbone2:34
6."Aw You Salty Dog"Redbone3:18
7."Border of the Quarter"Owen Davis3:01
8."Someday Sweetheart" Benjamin Franklin Spikes, John Spikes 2:37
9."Whose Honey Are You?" J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie 2:11
10."Living the Blues" Bob Dylan 2:22
11."Nobody Cares If I'm Blue" Harry Akst, Grant Clark 2:41
12."Think of Me Thinking of You"Charlie Abbott, Johnny Marvin, Dale Wimbrow 3:23

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

References

  1. ↑ Racine, Marty (March 9, 1986). "Records". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 12.
  2. ↑ MacDonald, Patrick (April 18, 1986). "Night Notes". Tempo. The Seattle Times. p. 4.
  3. ↑ Trussell, Robert C. (April 9, 1986). "Leon Redbone remains eclectically eccentric". The Kansas City Star. p. 6B.
  4. ↑ Williams, Stephen (January 27, 1987). "Redbone's Ragtime Vaudevillian Show". Part II. Newsday. p. 8.
  5. ↑ "Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 6. February 8, 1986. p. 72.
  6. ↑ Ayers, Chuck (January 31, 1986). "Leon Redbone". The Morning Call. p. D1.
  7. ↑ Quill, Greg (August 29, 1986). "A rambling conversation with crooner/beer-booster Redbone". Toronto Star. p. D17.
  8. 1 2 Rense, Rip (July 25, 1986). "Redbone still around — and still sentimental". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C17.
  9. ↑ Conan, Neal (December 10, 2007). "The Roches Perform Live in NPR's Studio 4A". Talk of the Nation. NPR.
  10. ↑ Gettelman, Parry (May 21, 1989). "He's a Bud man". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 17.
  11. 1 2 "Red to Blue Review by Cub Koda". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  12. ↑ MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 656.
  13. ↑ Wilson, John S. (February 14, 1986). "Jazz-Pop Album of the Week". The New York Times. p. C26.
  14. ↑ Rose, Forrest (April 6, 1986). "Leon Redbone album another bluesy classic". Columbia Daily Tribune. p. 64.
  15. ↑ Mackie, John (April 19, 1986). "Leon Redbone: Red to Blue". The Vancouver Sun. p. D4.
  16. ↑ Yandel, Gerry (June 6, 1986). "Record Reviews: Jazz". Weekend. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 34.
  17. ↑ "Red to Blue". Detroit Free Press. June 8, 1986. p. 5E.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.