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]
| Red to Blue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1985 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Jazz, blues | |||
| Length | 31:51 | |||
| Label | August | |||
| Producer | Beryl Handler, Leon Redbone | |||
| Leon Redbone chronology | ||||
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Production
editThe 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
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide | [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
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Diamonds Don't Mean a Thing" | Leon Redbone | 3:02 |
| 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" | Redbone | 2:34 |
| 6. | "Aw You Salty Dog" | Redbone | 3:18 |
| 7. | "Border of the Quarter" | Owen Davis | 3:01 |
| 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
editMusicians
edit- Leon Redbone – guitar, vocals
- Dr John – piano
- Arnie Kinsella – drums
- Giampaolo Biagi – drums
- Hank Williams Jr. – vocals (track 2)
- Eddie Davis – guitar
- Eric Weissberg – steel guitar, pedal steel guitar, pedal steel banjo
- Steve Fishell – steel guitar
- David Bromberg – dobro, vocals (track 10)
- Howard Alden – guitar, banjo
- Gary Peacock – bass (upright), vocals
- Vince Giordano – bass, bass (upright), drums, percussion, sax (bass), tuba
- Alvin E. Roger – violin
- Richard Hendrickson – violin
- Richard Maximoff – violin
- Andy Stein – violin, backing vocals
- Biréli Lagrène – guitar (track 9)
- Big Jonny Dong – tuba
- Dan Barrett – trombone
- Joel Helleny – trombone
- Scott Black – cornet
- Ken Peplowski – clarinet
- Charlie Wilson – clarinet
- Bobby Gordon – clarinet
- Joe Muranyi – clarinet
- Terry Waldo – piano
- The Roches – backing vocals
Technical
edit- Leon Redbone, Beryl Handler – producers
- Doug Epstein – engineer
- Victor Deyglio, Bruce Smith – assistant engineers
- Michael Tarsia – dialogue engineer
- Greg Calbi – mastering engineer
- Emmett Miller & His Georgia Crackers – arrangements
- Joe Renzetti – string arrangements
- Michael Horen – cover art
- Leon Redbone – cover drawing
References
edit- ^ Racine, Marty (March 9, 1986). "Records". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 12.
- ^ MacDonald, Patrick (April 18, 1986). "Night Notes". Tempo. The Seattle Times. p. 4.
- ^ Trussell, Robert C. (April 9, 1986). "Leon Redbone remains eclectically eccentric". The Kansas City Star. p. 6B.
- ^ Williams, Stephen (January 27, 1987). "Redbone's Ragtime Vaudevillian Show". Part II. Newsday. p. 8.
- ^ "Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 6. February 8, 1986. p. 72.
- ^ Ayers, Chuck (January 31, 1986). "Leon Redbone". The Morning Call. p. D1.
- ^ Quill, Greg (August 29, 1986). "A rambling conversation with crooner/beer-booster Redbone". Toronto Star. p. D17.
- ^ a b Rense, Rip (July 25, 1986). "Redbone still around — and still sentimental". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C17.
- ^ Conan, Neal (December 10, 2007). "The Roches Perform Live in NPR's Studio 4A". Talk of the Nation. NPR.
- ^ Gettelman, Parry (May 21, 1989). "He's a Bud man". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 17.
- ^ a b "Red to Blue Review by Cub Koda". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
- ^ MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 656.
- ^ Wilson, John S. (February 14, 1986). "Jazz-Pop Album of the Week". The New York Times. p. C26.
- ^ Rose, Forrest (April 6, 1986). "Leon Redbone album another bluesy classic". Columbia Daily Tribune. p. 64.
- ^ Mackie, John (April 19, 1986). "Leon Redbone: Red to Blue". The Vancouver Sun. p. D4.
- ^ Yandel, Gerry (June 6, 1986). "Record Reviews: Jazz". Weekend. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 34.
- ^ "Red to Blue". Detroit Free Press. June 8, 1986. p. 5E.