Summer of Sorcery

Summer of Sorcery
Studio album by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul
Released	May 3, 2019 (2019-05-03)
Recorded	September–October 2018
Studio	Renegade Studio, New York City
Genre	R&B, rock, blues, soul [1]
Length	59:53
Label	Wicked Cool Records UMe
Producer	Steven Van Zandt Geoff Sanoff Marc Ribler
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul chronology
Soulfire Live! (2017) Summer of Sorcery (2019) The Early Work (2019)
Singles from Summer of Sorcery
"Superfly Terraplane" Released: March 8, 2019 "Communion" Released: April 5, 2019 "A World of Our Own" Released: April 12, 2019 "Love Again" Released: April 26, 2019

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100 [2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
American Songwriter	[4]
Classic Rock	[5]
Maximum Volume Music	9.5/10 [6]
The Spill Magazine	[7]

Summer of Sorcery is the seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Little Steven, released under the name Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. ^[8] It was released on May 3, 2019 under Universal Music Enterprises. ^[9] It is Little Steven's first album of new material since 1999's Born Again Savage . ^[10] The album consists of 10 new songs plus a reworking of "Education" from his 1989 Revolution album, and the outtake "Suddenly You" from the Lilyhammer score. ^[11]

Critical reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Summer of Sorcery received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 71 out of 100 from 6 critic scores. ^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steven Van Zandt.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Communion"	6:02
2.	"Party Mambo!"	4:33
3.	"Love Again"	4:35
4.	"Vortex"	4:47
5.	"A World of Our Own"	4:37
6.	"Gravity"	5:26
7.	"Soul Power Twist"	4:38
8.	"Superfly Terraplane"	4:32
9.	"Education"	4:51
10.	"Suddenly You"	3:05
11.	"I Visit the Blues"	4:38
12.	"Summer of Sorcery"	8:09

Personnel

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul

• Steven Van Zandt – vocals, guitar, arranger
• Marc Ribler – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, music director
• Andy Burton – B3 Hammond organ, piano, synthesizer
• Lowell "Banana" Levinger – piano, Wurlitzer electric piano
• Jack Daley – bass
• Rich Mercurio – drums
• Anthony Almonte – percussion
• Eddie Manion – baritone saxophone, horn director
• Stan Harrison – tenor saxophone, flute
• Clark Gayton – trombone
• Ravi Best – trumpet
• Ron Tooley – trumpet
• Jessie Wagner – backing vocals
• Sara Devine – backing vocals
• Tania Jones – backing vocals
• The Disciples of Soul – additional backing vocals, handclaps

Additional musicians

• Yeissonn Villamar – piano, backing vocals (track 2)
• Jorge González – bongos, cowbell, backing vocals (track 2)
• Juan Gerena – guiro, backing vocals (track 2)
• Luisito Quintero – timbales, backing vocals (track 2)
• Ryan Celli – backing vocals (track 2)
• Jonathan Dinklage – violin, viola (tracks 3–5, 12)
• Anja Wood – cello (tracks 3–5, 12)
• Joel Feitzinger – synth programming, vibraslap (track 4)
• Gary Trew – backing vocals, handclaps (track 8)
• Michael Wolf – keyboards (track 10)
• Matt McDonald – trombone (track 11)
• Duane Eddy – guitar (track 12)
• Sergio Ruelas Jr. – guitar (track 12)

Technical

• Steven Van Zandt – producer
• Geoff Sanoff – co-producer
• Marc Ribler – co-producer
• Joel Feitzinger – assistant co-producer
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing
• Sergio Ruelas Jr. – mixing assistant
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Louis Arzonico – art direction, design
• Carlo Massarini – sleeve photography
• Jeff Ross – back cover photography
• Ryan Celli – gatefold photography

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [12]	131
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [13]	200
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [14]	39
Scottish Albums (OCC) [15]	18
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [16]	94
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17]	40
UK Albums (OCC) [18]	94
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [19]	92

References

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/summer-of-sorcery-mw0003260307
2. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic . Retrieved July 6, 2019.
3. Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic . Retrieved July 6, 2019.
4. Horowitz, Hal (May 1, 2019). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter . Retrieved July 6, 2019.
5. Needs, Kris (May 2, 2019). "Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul: Summer Of Sorcery album review". Classic Rock . Retrieved October 4, 2022.
6. Thorley, Andy (June 2, 2019). "Review: Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul – Summer Of Sorcery (2019)". Maximum Volume Music. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
7. Badgley, Aaron. "Spill Album Review: Little Steven and The Disciples Of Soul – Summer Of Sorcery". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
8. "Steven Van Zandt on His New Album & Staying as Nonpartisan as I Can During the Current Political Landscape". Billboard . May 20, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
9. Browne, David (March 8, 2019). "Inside Steven Van Zandt's New Album "Summer of Sorcery"". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July 6, 2019.
10. "Press release: Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul To Celebrate 'Summer Of Sorcery'". PR Newswire. March 8, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
11. "Press release: Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul's Highly Anticipated New Album 'Summer of Sorcery' Out Today Via Wicked Cool/UMe". PR Newswire . May 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
12. "Ultratop.be – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
13. "Ultratop.be – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
15. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
16. "Spanishcharts.com – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
19. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 31, 2025.