Red to Blue
1986 studio album by Leon Redbone
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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]
- Mediasound, New York City, New York
- Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| Red to Blue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 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
The 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
| 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
| 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