Salt as Wolves is the tenth album by American singer/songwriter Jeffrey Foucault, released in 2015. It debuted at number 7 in the Billboard Top Blues Album Chart for the week of November 7, 2015.[1]
| Salt as Wolves | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 October 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2015, Pachyderm Studios | |||
| Genre | Americana, Folk music | |||
| Label | Blueblade Records | |||
| Producer | Jeffrey Foucault, Bo Ramsey, Billy Conway | |||
| Jeffrey Foucault chronology | ||||
| ||||
The planning of the album started when Foucault was in Iowa sharing the stage with The Pines, a Minneapolis-based group that included the sons of Bo Ramsey, who had produced Foucault's album Ghost Repeater. Ramsey sat in with the group and afterwards Foucault arranged for him to work on the recordings for Salt as Wolves. (The album title comes from the Shakespeare play Othello.) "Blues for Jessie Mae" is a tribute to blues singer Jessie Mae Hemphill.[2]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The New York Times | (not rated)[3] |
Writing for The New York Times, critic Ben Ratliff wrote that "Foucault sings in a rich, textured, word-smearing voice about subjects of burned-out middle age: love, lying, regret, highways, hauntings, escape, aloneness, forgiveness, the value of a simple thing, the void without it." He called the album " immaculately tailored within a certain tradition... It is aesthetically informed up to the eyes. It sounds casual, but it can grow oppressive quickly.[3]
Track listing
editAll songs by Jeffrey Foucault unless otherwise noted.
- "Des Moines" – 3:14
- "Rico" – 4:12
- "Left This Town" – 3:10
- "I Love You (And You Are a Fool)" – 2:29
- "Blues for Jessie Mae" – 3:53
- "Slow Talker" – 3:57
- "Jesus Will Fix It for You" (Jessie Mae Hemphill) – 4:41
- "Oh Mama" – 4:20
- "Hurricane Lamp" – 2:59
- "Strange Heat and Thunder" – 3:15
- "Paradise" – 3:17
- "Take Your Time" (Foucault, Billy Conway) – 3:55
Personnel
edit- Jeffrey Foucault – vocals, guitar
- Caitlin Canty – background and harmony vocals
- Billy Conway – drums
- Bo Ramsey – guitar
- Jeremy Moses Curtis – bass
References
edit- ^ "Blues Music: Top Blues Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
- ^ Barrett, Joel. "Jeffrey Foucault 'Salt As Wolves': More Than a Blues Record". No Depression. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ a b Ratliff, Ben. "'Salt as Wolves' Sets Middle-Aged Burnout to a Blues and Country Backdrop". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2016.