1986 studio album by Leon Redbone
| Red to Blue | ||||
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| Studio album by Leon Redbone | ||||
| 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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Red to Blue is an album by the American musician Leon Redbone, released in 1986. It was his first album for August Records, a label started by Redbone. Redbone supported the album with a North American tour.
Production
The album was produced by Beryl Handler and Redbone. David Bromberg accompanied Redbone on the cover of the Bob Dylan song "Living the Blues". Hank Williams Jr. provided a spoken part for the cover of his father's version of "Lovesick Blues". Biréli Lagrène played guitar on "Whose Honey Are You?" The Roches contributed backing vocals; Dr. John played piano. The album title comes from a Jelly Roll Morton quote that describes the transition from Spanish musical styles to blues-based ones.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide | |
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." 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."
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." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution deemed the album "his standard fare—barely intelligible vocals that get so loooow, clarinets, coronets, guitars, banjoes and tuba." Likewise, the Detroit Free Press considered it "the same old hambone."
AllMusic praised "the usual Dixieland backing augmenting his tasteful fingerpicked guitar work."
Track listing
| 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
Musicians
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
| Leon Redbone | |
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| Studio albums |
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