No Regrets (Leon Redbone album)

No Regrets is an album by the musician Leon Redbone, released in 1988.[1][2] It followed a period where Redbone had concentrated on music for commercials.[3] Redbone supported the album with a North American tour; he also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[4][5] The album was reissued in 2004.[6]

No Regrets
Studio album by
Released1988
Recorded1988
StudioNashville Sound Connection, Nashville TN
GenreCountry, jazz
Length38:55
LabelSugar Hill
ProducerBeryl Handler, Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone chronology
Red to Blue
(1986)
No Regrets
(1988)
Christmas Island
(1988)

Production

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Recorded in Nashville, the album was produced by Beryl Handler and Redbone.[7][8] Béla Fleck played banjo on the album.[9] Jerry Douglas contributed on pedal steel and dobro; Cindy Cashdollar played steel guitar on some tracks.[10][11] "My Good Gal's Gone Blues" and "Somewhere Down Below the Dixon Line" were written by Jimmie Rodgers.[12] "It's a Lonely World" is a version of the Ernest Tubb song; Tubb was one of Redbone's primary influences.[13][14]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide     [8]

The Chicago Tribune wrote: "Employing a bluesy sound often reminiscent of primitive New Orleans jazz ... Redbone achieves an uncanny resemblance to the sound and spirit of country music's early recordings."[15] The Washington Post concluded that "Redbone's a kind of cartoon persona with one of popular music's most eccentric voices: muzzy, slurred and entirely enjoyable if you get the joke."[13] The Key West Citizen called the album "a stunning collection of classic country and jazz songs."[16]

The Atlanta Journal praised the "smoothly delivered songs."[3] The Austin American-Statesman stated that Redbone's "smooth, penetrating bass voice sparks renewed life into lost ditties."[7] The Nanaimo Daily News noted that, "as usual, Redbone's bluesy and laidback and in fine form."[17]

Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. of AllMusic wrote that, "while the songs and vocals are technically solid, they lack the spark that made earlier Redbone albums something special."[9]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."She Ain't Rose"Kellye Gray, Gary Vincent2:12
2."Wild and Wicked Ways"Sam Nichols2:33
3."She's My Gal"Leon Redbone2:38
4."Crazy Arms"Ralph Mooney, Chuck Seals3:45
5."Long Gone Lonesome Blues"Hank Williams2:41
6."Somewhere Down Below the Dixon Line"Jimmie Rodgers, Will Ryan2:49
7."Lazy Bones"Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer3:19
8."It's a Lonely World"Redd Stewart, Ernest Tubb3:02
9."Another Story, Another Time, Another Place"Arlie Duff2:34
10."You Nearly Lose Your Mind"Tubb2:36
11."Mr. & Mrs. Used to Be"Billy Joe Deaton2:34
12."Some Sweet Day"Tony Jackson, Abe Olman, Ed Rose2:25
13."My Good Gal's Gone Blues"Rodgers3:20
14."Are You Lonesome Tonight"Lou Handman, Roy Turk2:27

Personnel

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Musicians

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  • Leon Redbone – vocals, guitar
  • Roy Huskey Jr. – double bass (upright)
  • Brian Nalepka – double bass (upright)
  • Mark O'Connor – violin, viola, mandolin, mandola
  • Béla Fleck – banjo
  • Al Vescovo – pedal steel guitar
  • Jerry Douglas – pedal steel guitar, dobro
  • Cindy Cashdollar – lap steel guitar, dobro
  • Terry Waldo – piano
  • Bunky Keels – piano
  • John Gill – drums, tenor banjo
  • Lori Lynn Smith – vocal (track 11)

Technical

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  • Beryl Handler, Leon Redbone – producers
  • Doug Epstein, Bil Vorn Dick – engineers, mixing engineers
  • John Gill – arrangements, music coordination
  • Jim Loyd – mastering engineer
  • Raymond Simone – cover design
  • Leon Redbone – cover concept
  • Dan Lamb – photography

References

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  1. ^ "Music". The Indianapolis Star. 22 Apr 1988. p. D10.
  2. ^ "Leon Redbone will return...". The Chronicle-Telegram. Elyria. March 20, 1988. p. 50.
  3. ^ a b DeVault, Russ (12 May 1988). "Leon Redbone Inhabits a Country All His Own". The Atlanta Journal. p. 3B.
  4. ^ Van Matre, Lynn (22 Apr 1988). "Leon Redbone, Friday at the Vic". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
  5. ^ Bledsoe, Wayne (6 Mar 1988). "Leon Redbone". Music. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 20.
  6. ^ "New Releases". The Gazette. Montreal. 22 July 2004. p. D4.
  7. ^ a b McConnell, Jim (4 Nov 1988). "Redbone's Passion Is the 'Old' Stuff". Austin American-Statesman. p. F4.
  8. ^ a b MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 656.
  9. ^ a b c "No Regrets Review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  10. ^ Rowe, Norman (24 Apr 1988). "Companions Call Virginia Home". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. J11.
  11. ^ Corcoran, Michael (4 Oct 2007). "The ringing sounds of Cindy Cashdollar". Austin American-Statesman. p. T18.
  12. ^ Mazor, Barry (2009). Meeting Jimmie Rodgers: How America's Original Roots Music Hero Changed the Pop Sounds of a Century. Oxford University Press. p. 298.
  13. ^ a b Brown, Joe (6 May 1988). "Redbone's Buried Country Treasures". The Washington Post. p. N21.
  14. ^ Zailian, Marian (9 Apr 1989). "Unusual Repertoire: Leon Redbone Has a Bone to Pick". Sunday Datebook. San Francisco Chronicle. p. 50.
  15. ^ Hurst, Jack (10 Apr 1988). "Recordings". Arts. Chicago Tribune. p. 24.
  16. ^ Kennedy, Tracy (May 22, 1988). "Leon Redbone – No Regrets in Key West". Key West Citizen. p. 4B.
  17. ^ Brunet, Ivan (25 Nov 1988). "Music Update". Upbeat. Nanaimo Daily News. p. 15.