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
Released1986
Recorded1985
Studio
GenreJazz, blues
Length31:51
LabelAugust
ProducerBeryl Handler, Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone chronology
Leon Redbone Live
(1985)
Red to Blue
(1986)
No Regrets
(1988)

Production

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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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Diamonds Don't Mean a Thing"Leon Redbone3:02
2."Lovesick Blues"Cliff Friend, Irving Mills2:44
3."Reaching for Someone and Not Finding Anyone There"Walter Donaldson, Edgar Leslie2:08
4."Somebody Stole My Gal"Leo Wood2:08
5."Steal Away Blues"Redbone2:34
6."Aw You Salty Dog"Redbone3:18
7."Border of the Quarter"Owen Davis3:01
8."Someday Sweetheart"Benjamin Franklin Spikes, John Spikes2:37
9."Whose Honey Are You?"J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie2:11
10."Living the Blues"Bob Dylan2:22
11."Nobody Cares If I'm Blue"Harry Akst, Grant Clark2:41
12."Think of Me Thinking of You"Charlie Abbott, Johnny Marvin, Dale Wimbrow3:23

Personnel

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Musicians

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Technical

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  • 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

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  1. ^ Racine, Marty (March 9, 1986). "Records". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 12.
  2. ^ MacDonald, Patrick (April 18, 1986). "Night Notes". Tempo. The Seattle Times. p. 4.
  3. ^ Trussell, Robert C. (April 9, 1986). "Leon Redbone remains eclectically eccentric". The Kansas City Star. p. 6B.
  4. ^ Williams, Stephen (January 27, 1987). "Redbone's Ragtime Vaudevillian Show". Part II. Newsday. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 6. February 8, 1986. p. 72.
  6. ^ Ayers, Chuck (January 31, 1986). "Leon Redbone". The Morning Call. p. D1.
  7. ^ Quill, Greg (August 29, 1986). "A rambling conversation with crooner/beer-booster Redbone". Toronto Star. p. D17.
  8. ^ a b Rense, Rip (July 25, 1986). "Redbone still around — and still sentimental". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. C17.
  9. ^ Conan, Neal (December 10, 2007). "The Roches Perform Live in NPR's Studio 4A". Talk of the Nation. NPR.
  10. ^ Gettelman, Parry (May 21, 1989). "He's a Bud man". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 17.
  11. ^ a b "Red to Blue Review by Cub Koda". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  12. ^ MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 656.
  13. ^ Wilson, John S. (February 14, 1986). "Jazz-Pop Album of the Week". The New York Times. p. C26.
  14. ^ Rose, Forrest (April 6, 1986). "Leon Redbone album another bluesy classic". Columbia Daily Tribune. p. 64.
  15. ^ Mackie, John (April 19, 1986). "Leon Redbone: Red to Blue". The Vancouver Sun. p. D4.
  16. ^ Yandel, Gerry (June 6, 1986). "Record Reviews: Jazz". Weekend. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 34.
  17. ^ "Red to Blue". Detroit Free Press. June 8, 1986. p. 5E.