| Water to Drink | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Victoria Williams, J. C. Hopkins | |||
| Victoria Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
Water to Drink is an album by the American musician Victoria Williams, released in 2000. [1] [2] She had originally intended to record an album of standards, but was discouraged by Atlantic Records. [3] Williams promoted the album by touring with Lou Reed. [4]
Produced by Williams and J. C. Hopkins, the album was recorded mostly at Williams's home studio, in Joshua Tree. [5] [6] The title track was written by Antônio Carlos Jobim. [7] Williams used a kalimba on some of the tracks. [8] Van Dyke Parks composed the string parts for some songs. [8] Greg Leisz played pedal steel on the album; David Piltch played bass. [9] [10] Mark Olson, Williams's then-husband, sang on "Joy of Love". [11] Petra Haden sang and played violin on several tracks. [12] "Junk" employs a Mellotron; "Gladys and Lucy" a horn section. [13] [14]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The Atlanta Constitution | B+ [15] |
| Birmingham Post | [16] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B [17] |
| The Gazette | [18] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [19] |
| Orange County Register | B+ [14] |
| Rolling Stone | [20] |
| Spin | 8/10 [9] |
Entertainment Weekly noted that "Williams has a strange, little-girl voice that channels big emotions and annoys small-minded quirkophobes." [17] The Atlanta Constitution wrote that Williams has "tamed the wilder edges of her oddball compositions so that her shambling country-gospel-pop sound has steeped into something you might call homespun jazz." [15] Spin praised Haden's "shimmering backing vocals." [9] Rolling Stone concluded: "Both homespun and hymnlike, the songs on Water to Drink are the fullest expression yet of Williams' cockeyed genius." [20]
The Los Angeles Times opined that Williams "is among the least jaded contemporary songwriters, a chronicler of the incidental moments that transform the prosaic into the transcendent." [19] The Hartford Courant determined that "her cutesy turn on 'Claude' has her sounding like a nails-on-chalkboard version of Carol Channing." [11] The Gazette called Water to Drink "a crazy quilt of musical styles all stitched together with waif-like vocals." [18] The Irish Times determined that, "at her best her music evokes the richness of southern American rural culture, intimate reflections packaged in delightful light folksy melodies." [21]
AllMusic wrote that "the constraints of performing another composer's songs tone down the blur of her ideas, giving her space where she can spread out and share her immense talent." [7]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Grandma's Hat Pin" | |
| 2. | "Gladys and Lucy" | |
| 3. | "Water to Drink" | |
| 4. | "Light the Lamp Freddie" | |
| 5. | "Claude" | |
| 6. | "Joy of Love" | |
| 7. | "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" | |
| 8. | "Lagniappe" | |
| 9. | "Junk" | |
| 10. | "Little Bird" | |
| 11. | "Young at Heart" | |
| 12. | "Little Bit of Love" |
Henry Jones Jr. was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments.
Petra Haden is an American musician and singer.
Spain are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993, and led by singer/bassist Josh Haden. Their syncretic music contains elements of country, blues, folk, jazz, and slowcore. In a career spanning more than two decades, Spain has released five studio albums, a live album, and a best-of collection.
After Dark is the second album by the American band Cruzados, released in 1987. "Bed of Lies" reached No. 4 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart; "Small Town Love" peaked at No. 39. The band supported the album with a North American tour that included a leg opening for Fleetwood Mac. They broke up the following year.
"Sitting at the Wheel" is a 1983 hit single by The Moody Blues, written by John Lodge. It was released in the US as the lead-off single from The Present in August 1983 and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 3, 1983. In the UK, "Sitting at the Wheel" was released in November 1983 as the second single from The Present, following "Blue World".
"Girlfriend" is a song by English rock band Wings, from their 1978 album London Town. It was written by Wings frontman Paul McCartney, who originally intended it to be sung by Michael Jackson. Jackson then covered the song the following year on his 1979 album Off the Wall, and in 1980 it was released as the 5th and final single of that album.
Bop-Be is the final album on the Impulse label by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett's 'American Quartet'. Released in 1978, it features performances by Jarrett, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian. Its tracks were recorded in October 1976, along with those that produced Byablue. These two albums document the swan song of Jarrett's American Quartet and, aside from "classical music", the last albums Jarrett released on a label other than ECM.
How to Meet Girls is the second album by Nerf Herder. It was released in 2000 on Honest Don's Records.
Zing Zong is an album by the Congolese musician Kanda Bongo Man, released in 1991. The album is dedicated to the memory of Soki Vangu and his brother Soki Dianzenza, who were in the earlier Zairean soukous band Orchestre Bella Bella. Both brothers died within a year of each other. "Freres Soki" is a tribute to them, and "Zing-Zong" is a reworking of a Bella Bella hit, "Houleux Houleux". Kanda supported the album with a North American tour.
Wrapped in Sky is an album by the American band Drivin N Cryin, released in 1995. The album marked a return to the band's earlier, folkier sound.
Pretty & Twisted is the debut album by the American alternative rock band Pretty & Twisted, released in 1995. It was the band's only album.
Sound ... Goodbye to Your Standards is an album by the English band the Mighty Lemon Drops, released in 1991.
War and Peace is the second album by the American musician Syd Straw, released in 1996. Straw had been without a record label for four years prior to signing with Capricorn Records. The album title jokingly refers to War and Peace's almost 60-minute running time.
She Haunts My Dreams is the second album by the American band Spain, released in 1999. The band was signed to DreamWorks Records shortly before the album's release, although Restless Records held Spain to its contract.
Destiny's Gate is an album by the American musician Tish Hinojosa, released in 1994. Hinojosa intended the album to incorporate "polished" country and pop, while retaining her Rounder Records contract for music that was in the traditional Tex-Mex border style.
Qué Pasa is an album by the Argentine musician Gato Barbieri, released in 1997. It was his first studio album in more than a decade. Barbieri supported it with a North American tour. The album was a hit on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album chart.
The Tattooed Heart is an album by the American musician Aaron Neville, released in 1995. The first single was "Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You ", which Neville sang on an episode of All My Children. The album peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard 200. It sold more than 500,000 copies. Neville promoted the album by touring with his brothers.
NRBQ is an album by the American band NRBQ, released in 1999. According to NRBQ, the album is untitled, with just the band's name on the cover. It was NRBQ's final studio album for Rounder Records.
Across the Water is an album by the American musician Bernard Allison, released in 2000. Allison supported the album with a North American tour. It was Allison's second album to be released in the United States.
In Good Company is an album by the American musician Joe Williams, released in 1989. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male". Williams supported the album with a North American tour. In Good Company peaked in the top five of Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart.
