I'm New Here

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I'm New Here
Richard Russell
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Spirits
(1994) 		I'm New Here
(2010) 		We're New Here
(2011)
Singles from I'm New Here
  1. "Me and the Devil"
    Released: February 22, 2010

I'm New Here is the 15th and final

studio album by American vocalist and pianist Gil Scott-Heron. It was released on February 8, 2010, by XL Recordings
and was his first release of original music in 16 years, following a period of personal and legal troubles with drug addiction.

The record was produced by XL owner

post-industrial blues album,[2] with spoken word folk songs and trip hop interludes.[3]

I'm New Here received positive reviews from most critics and debuted at number 181 on the US

Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues" (1937). A remix of the album, titled We're New Here, was produced by the xx's Jamie xx and released by XL in 2011.[4]

Musical style

Scott-Heron sang and played piano on the album.

I'm New Here is a departure from the rhythmic,

electro, and ambient music.[8][18][19][20] Greg Kot from the Chicago Tribune called it a "post-modern" blues album,[10] while Rolling Stone magazine's Will Hermes described it as "a steely blues record at heart — the sound of a damaged man staring in the mirror without self-pity but not without hope".[11] City Pages critic Rick Mason deemed the music "hard-edged post-industrial blues".[2]

The album contains a sonically dark and gritty soundscape characterized by low-tone synths and spatial beats.

Robert Johnson and Allen Ginsberg".[23]

Scott-Heron's

crooning.[5] Music writers have noted that Scott-Heron's vocal ability has changed, perceiving it as rougher, slurred, and aged.[7][13][15][17][19][23][24] Simon Price of The Independent described his voice on the album as "bourbon-soaked".[25]

Themes

I'm New Here features introspective, confessional lyrics expressing themes of regret, reconciliation, and redemption,[13][26][27][24] which deviate from his earlier music's agitprop lyrics and social, political themes.[5][15][28][29] On Scott-Heron's thematic departure, critic Paul Trynka wrote "The man who depicted Winter in America is now in his own autumn; a season replete with both beauty and sadness".[21] The Skinny's Bram Gieben perceived "flashes of Burroughs-like darkness, the wry humour of post-addiction Richard Pryor" in Scott-Heron's performance.[24] Although Scott-Heron's lyrics concerning his bleak life experiences are understated and reflective, they express pride, dignity, defiance, and unapologetic confession.[13][28][30] According to Robert Ferguson of Drowned in Sound, Scott-Heron expresses "confession, but no apology" to "pick over the bones of his life, acknowledging the hard times and his own mistakes, but standing proud of all they have led him to become".[7]

"Your Soul and Mine"
The spoken word piece based on Scott-Heron's 1970 poem "The Vulture" features dubstep-styled sonics over a cello loop.
"New York Is Killing Me"
Written as a 12-bar blues,[12] the song is about alienation in New York City and is built around handclaps and distorted bass.[9][15]
Problems playing these files? See media help.

The album's bookending and two-part poem "On Coming from a Broken Home" features piano and a

broken home:[19][32] "Womenfolk raised me, and I was full-grown before knew I came from a broken home".[28] It defends Scott-Heron's upbringing and arguing that his grandmother's love and devotion taught him passionate humanity, despite lacking of a positive male figure.[13] According to music writers, "On Coming from a Broken Home" introduces and concludes the album's prominent theme of unapologetic confession.[7][15][28]

"Your Soul and Mine" adapts lyrics from Scott-Heron's spoken word piece "The Vulture", originally featured on Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970).[33] It contains a dubstep-styled collage of effects over a cello loop similar to the style of Burial and Massive Attack.[19][34] The song's blank verse recitation discusses the evils, represented as a metaphorical vulture, that inhabit and destroy African-American ghettos.[34][35] The "vulture" also represents death from Scott-Heron's point of view, who concludes the song with the theme of defiance.[19][35]

Release and promotion

I'm New Here was released by

UK R&B Chart.[43] It spent two to three weeks on most international charts.[44] In 2010, it was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 30,000 copies throughout Europe.[45]

The album's lead single, "Me and the Devil", was released on February 22, 2010 as a

7" and music download.[46] It did not chart as a single on the Billboard charts.[47] On September 26, British director Chris Cunningham premiered the 10-minute film New York Is Killing Me at the Museum of Modern Art, projected on three screens side by side. For this "audio-visual remix" he replaced 90% of Scott-Heron's musical track with train sounds and environmental recordings to create a "musique concrète" version of the original composition.[48]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[49]
Metacritic78/100[50]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
The Daily Telegraph[23]
The Guardian[18]
The Independent[28]
Mojo[21]
NME9/10[3]
Pitchfork8.5/10[15]
Q[51]
Rolling Stone[11]
Spin7/10[52]

I'm New Here was met with mostly positive reviews from critics. At

average score of 78, based on 28 reviews.[50]

Reviewing the album for Slant Magazine, Jesse Cataldo called it "post-structural, indefinably plotted" and "masterfully stark",[53] while Dan Cairns of The Sunday Times regarded it as "an extraordinarily powerful album" featuring "superb Scott-Heron originals".[20] AllMusic's Thom Jurek said it "contains the artful immediacy that distinguishes Scott-Heron’s best art".[19] Siddharta Mitter from The Boston Globe believed Russell's "swirling miasma of sound wholly suits Scott-Heron’s mood, which is angry yet humble, and even more his voice, which is rich and intent as ever".[6] In The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick found the lyrics to be of "depth, wisdom and experience", delivered in "a voice rich with musicality, all set in a sonic context that locates him in the present moment".[23] Rupert Howe of Q said Russell's arrangements "brilliantly frame [Scott-Heron]'s rich burr and terse street poetry with brooding electronica and stark blues handclaps".[51] In the opinion of The Village Voice's Stacey Anderson, "it's more emotional, more optimistic, than his past political provocations, and he hasn't sounded this lively in ages".[54] Pitchfork ranked I'm New Here number 45 on its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2010,[55] and number 176 on its list of the 200 Best Albums of the 2010s.[56] It also placed "New York Is Killing Me" at number 141 on its list of "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s."[57]

Some reviewers were less enthusiastic. Writing for Chicago Sun-Times, Jim DeRogatis deemed the album's sound "alien and unsuccessful" while describing Scott-Heron's performance as "bland philosophizing and surprisingly hollow personal reflections".[58] Will Layman from PopMatters said it was "a thin affair—musically weak and lyrically narrow" while finding its material "unimaginative".[12]

Reworkings

The entire album has been reworked twice: as We're New Here by Jamie xx, released in 2011,[59] and as We're New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven, released in 2020.[60]

Track listing

  • All tracks were produced by Richard Russell.
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 1)"Gil Scott-Heron2:20
2."
Robert Johnson
3:33
3."I'm New Here"Bill Callahan (album track from A River Ain't Too Much to Love)3:33
4."Your Soul and Mine"Richard Russell, Scott-Heron2:02
5."Parents" (Interlude)Scott-Heron0:18
6."I'll Take Care of You"Brook Benton2:58
7."Being Blessed" (Interlude)Scott-Heron0:12
8."Where Did the Night Go"Scott-Heron1:14
9."I Was Guided" (Interlude)Scott-Heron0:14
10."New York Is Killing Me"Scott-Heron4:29
11."Certain Things" (Interlude)Scott-Heron0:08
12."Running"Russell, Scott-Heron2:00
13."The Crutch"Russell, Scott-Heron2:44
14."I've Been Me" (Interlude)Scott-Heron0:16
15."On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 2)"Scott-Heron2:15
Limited edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Piano Player" (Intro)Scott-Heron0:24
17."Home Is Where the Hatred Is"Scott-Heron3:20
18."Winter in America"Scott-Heron5:33
19."Jazz" (Interlude)Scott-Heron3:24
20."Is That Jazz"Scott-Heron4:35
21."A Place to Go" (Interlude)Scott-Heron0:49
22."My Cloud"Scott-Heron3:55

Personnel

Credits for I'm New Here adapted from liner notes.[61]

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[62] 62
French Albums (
SNEP)[44]
 100
Greek Albums (IFPI)[63] 19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[64] 88
Irish Albums (IRMA)[65] 30
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[66] 97
UK Albums (OCC)[42] 39
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[43]
 6
US Billboard 200[37] 181
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[67] 28
US
Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[68]
 5
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[69] 38

References

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Further reading

External links

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