New Multitudes

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New Multitudes
East St. Louis, Illinois, United States[1]
GenreFolk rock,[2] alternative country[3]
Length49:17
LanguageEnglish
LabelRounder
ProducerFarrar, Johnson, Parker, and Yames
Jay Farrar chronology
One Fast Move or I'm Gone
(2009) 		New Multitudes
(2012)
Will Johnson chronology
Molina and Johnson
(2009) 		New Multitudes
(2012) 		Scorpion
(2012)
Anders Parker chronology
Cross Latitudes
(2010) 		New Multitudes
(2012) 		There's a Blue Bird in My Heart
(2014)
Yim Yames
chronology
Tribute To
(2009) 		New Multitudes
(2012) 		Regions of Light and Sound of God
(2013)

New Multitudes is a

folk festivals. The group has plans for releasing a second volume.[6]

Development and recording

A hand-written title page reading "10 of Woody Guthrie's 25 Songs: Book One"
The Woody Guthrie foundation has preserved scraps of over 3,000 lyrics that Guthrie handwrote in notebooks and on scrap paper

New Multitudes is one of several tribute albums for American

Warner Bros. Records wanted all of Son Volt to collaborate with Bragg, but after Farrar declined, he kept the idea in mind.[8]
In 2006, he approached Nora Guthrie about returning to her father's lyrics and she agreed.

To write his own batch of songs, Farrar looked through several of the over 3,000 handwritten lyrics that Guthrie's estate has preserved before incidentally focusing on his California period.

tribute projects, such as The Klezmatics' klezmer-based Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah and Wonder Wheel.[1] Farrar had never listened to the Bragg and Wilco material to ensure that his songwriting would not be influenced by it.[8]

Immediately before going to the Archives in autumn 2006,[9] Farrar invited his Gob Iron collaborator Anders Parker to come with him and look over potential material and the two returned several times over a period of months gathering lyrics for composition before recording together starting on July 14, 2007.[10] As they found lyrics that interested them, they had reproductions mailed to their homes from the Archives to work on the material at their leisure.[9] The duo finished recording several songs throughout the year but did not have enough material to complete the album. The recordings were also made without a budget or record contract for release.[11]

Nora Guthrie played some of the 2009 recordings for Yames[11] and Farrar invited him to join the duo after discovering that he had visited the Archives as well. Yames wrote the tune for "Hoping Machine"[12] and suggested that fellow Monsters of Folk collaborator Johnson accompany them.[10] Farrar mailed Johnson some lyrics[13] and he composed "Chorine My Sheba Queen"[14] that afternoon,[15] while Yames was attracted to the lyrics of "Empty Bed Blues" while recovering from an injury.[16] Once the entire quartet had composed songs, they entered studios in Brooklyn and East St. Louis throughout 2009 and 2010, recording songs with live vocals in one or two takes,[10] crowding around a single microphone.[14] The group attempted to have the recordings ready for a 2011 release, but had to finish the album too late in the year.[11]

Farrar has characterized the songwriting process for this album as easier than his typical work composing new lyrics as it allowed him to be less self-conscious.[7]

Tour

A corner view of The Fillmore, displaying the venue's sign
The New Multitudes Tour began at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium
New Multitudes onstage with red lighting
The brief promotional tour to accompany the album found the New Multitudes performers playing Webster Hall in New York City (from left to right: Anders Parker, Will Johnson [drumming], Jay Farrar, and Yim Yames)

The quartet toured the United States to support the album,

Bobby Bare, Jr.[18] and Sarah Jaffe[19] opened for them. Early in the tour, the group discussed reconvening for further dates,[20] but decided to cap their initial outing with the Newport Folk Festival.[11]

The performers also released a four-track

10" single "Let's Multiply" exclusive for Record Store Day.[21]

Members

Dates

New Multitudes tour dates
Date City Country Venue
January 25, 2012 Glasgow United Kingdom Celtic Connections at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
March 6, 2012 San Francisco United States The Fillmore
March 7, 2012 Los Angeles
Music Box Theater
March 8, 2012 Amoeba Music in Los Angeles
Santa Monica KCRW Studios[22] (Morning Becomes Eclectic)[23]
March 9, 2012 Portland Crystal Ballroom
March 10, 2012 Seattle
Showbox at the Market
March 12, 2012 Alexandria The Birchmere
March 13, 2012 Philadelphia Union Transfer
March 14, 2012 New York City Webster Hall
March 16, 2012 Boston Paradise Rock Club
July 29, 2012 Newport Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park

Additionally, Parker performed some of the New Multitudes material at the initial benefit concert SwitchPoint hosted by IntraHealth International in Saxapahaw, North Carolina on April 20.[24]

Response

The tour was well-received, with The New York Times critic Nate Chinen describing their Webster Hall performance as familiar, but with a unique confluence of styles from each lyricist, from Yames' "hazy magnetism" to Parker's "straightforward folk-rock earnestness."[25] The Philadelphia Inquirer's review by Sam Adams praised the performers by concluding that "all four musicians are worthy of following in Guthrie's footsteps, each in his own distinctive way."[26]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Allmusic
[30]
American Songwriter[31]
The Boston GlobeFavorable[2]
Exclaim!Favorable[32]
Los Angeles Times[33]
MusicOMH[34]
The New Zealand Herald4.5/5[35]
PopMatters8/10[36]
Rolling Stone[37]

The album has received generally positive reviews from critics. At

Heatseekers.[11]

Sales chart performance

Sales chart performance for New Multitudes
Chart (2012) Peak
Dutch Alternative Albums (
MegaCharts)[39]
 23
US Billboard 200[40] 117
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[41] 5
US
Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[42]
 1
US
Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[43]
 27

Track listing

All lyrics written by Woody Guthrie, all lead vocals by co-writer.

  1. "Hoping Machine" (Farrar) – 4:52
  2. "Fly High" (Parker) – 3:45
  3. "My Revolutionary Mind" (Yames) – 4:43
  4. "VD City" (Johnson) – 4:05
  5. "Old L.A." (Parker) – 3:03
  6. "Talking Empty Bed Blues" (Yames) – 4:09
  7. "Chorine My Sheba Queen" (Johnson) – 4:50
  8. "Careless Reckless Love" (Farrar) – 5:01
  9. "Angel's Blues" (Parker) – 4:38
  10. "No Fear" (Johnson) – 3:36
  11. "Changing World" (Yames) – 3:48
  12. "New Multitudes" (Farrar) – 2:47

Limited edition bonus disc All music written and performed by Farrar and Parker.

  1. "Around New York" – 0:51
  2. "Jake Walk Blues" – 1:59
  3. "Whereabouts Can I Hide" – 2:51
  4. "Old Kokaine" – 3:04
  5. "I Was a Goner" – 3:42
  6. "San Antone Meat House" – 3:59
  7. "Dopefiend Robber" – 4:41
  8. "World's On Fire" – 3:12
  9. "When I Get Home" – 3:51
  10. "Atom Dance" – 2:34
  11. "Your Smile Cured Me" – 2:41

Personnel

Jay Farrar singing into a microphone
New Multitudes was originally a Farrar solo project and the third volume in the Mermaid Avenue series begun by Billy Bragg and Wilco

Technical

  • John Agnello – mixing
  • Larissa Collins –
    art direction
    , package design
  • Mike Martin – engineering
  • Matt Pence – mixing
  • Kevin Ratterman – mixing
  • Brad Sarno –
    mastering
  • Mark Spencer
     – mixing
  • Anna Webber – photography

Additional musicians

  • Buck Carter
  • Jimmy Griffin
  • Creston Lea
  • Konrad Meissner

See also

References

  1. ^
    Wenner Media
    . Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Morse, Steve (February 25, 2012). "Album Review | Folk: Jay Farrar, Anders Parker, Will Johnson, Yim Yames, 'New Multitudes'". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Robson, Gregory (February 28, 2012). "Farrar/Johnson/Parker/Yames- New Multitudes". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  4. ^ Tedder, Michael (January 13, 2012). "Jay Farrar, Yim Yames to Salute Woody Guthrie". NBC. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  5. ^ Schlansky, Evan (January 4, 2012). "Jay Farrar, Yim Yames' Woody Guthrie Album New Multitudes Due in February". American Songwriter. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  6. Tribune Company
    . Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  7. ^
    The New York Daily News
    . Daily News, L.P. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  8. ^
    Spinner.com
    . Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Schlansky, Evan (March 28, 2012). "New Multitudes Interview: Anders Parker". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  10. ^
    The Gannett Company. Archived from the original
    on January 18, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d e Gallo, Phil (March 9, 2012). "Jay Farrar Tackles Woody Guthrie in 'New Multitudes'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  12. ^ Schlansky, Evan (March 28, 2012). "New Multitudes Interview: Jim James". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  13. ^ Schlansky, Evan (March 28, 2012). "New Multitudes Interview: Jay Farrar". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Schlansky, Evan (March 28, 2012). "New Multitudes Interview: Will Johnson". American Songwriter. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  15. ^ Michaels, Sean (September 18, 2009). "Jay Farrar continues Woody Guthrie album series". The Guardian. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  16. ^ "From Jim James, a New Take on Woody Guthrie's 'Empty Bed Blues'". All Songs Considered. NPR. February 27, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  17. ^ Hyden, Steven (January 12, 2012). "Jim James corrals other songwriters for Woody Guthrie-inspired album, New Multitudes". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  18. Brooklyn Vegan
    . Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  19. ^ Youssef, Andrew (March 8, 2012). "New Multitudes, Sarah Jaffe @ Mayan Theater, Los Angeles 3/7/12". Stereogum. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  20. Huffington Post (original: Associated Press
    ). Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  21. ^ "Record Store Day 2012 Releases". Amoeba Music. April 12, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  22. ^ "New Multitudes feat. Jim James, Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker & More on KCRW". KCRW. March 5, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  23. ^ "Jay Farrar Live at KCRW on Morning Becomes Eclectic 03.08.12". KCRW. March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  24. ^ "SwitchPoint, the Intersection of Great Ideas and Real Impact: IntraHealth Brings Global Innovators and Industry Leaders to Saxapahaw on April 20". MarketWatch. March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  25. ^ Chinen, Nate (March 15, 2012). "Mining the Words of Woody Guthrie". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  26. Philadelphia Media Network
    . Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  27. ^ a b "New Multitudes Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  28. ^ a b Martins, Chris (February 28, 2012). "Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames: New Multitudes". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  29. ^ a b Collette, Doug (April 6, 2012). "Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames: New Multitudes (2012)". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  30. Allmusic
    . Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  31. ^ a b Schlansky, Evan (February 28, 2012). "Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames: New Multitudes". American Songwriter. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  32. ^ a b Schneider, Jason (March 6, 2012). "Farrar-Johnson-Parker-Yames New Multitudes: A Woody Guthrie Tribute". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  33. ^
    Tribune Company
    . Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  34. ^ a b Raymond, Max. "Farrar, Johnson, Parker & Yames – New Multitudes". MusicOMH. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  35. ^
    APN News & Media
    . Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  36. ^ a b Strowe, Jeff (March 13, 2012). "Jay Farrar, Anders Parker, Will Johnson, and Yim Yames: New Multitudes". PopMatters. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  37. ^
    Wenner Media
    . Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  38. About.com. Archived from the original
    on January 20, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  39. MegaCharts
    . Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  40. ^ "Will Johnson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  41. ^ "Will Johnson Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  42. ^ "Will Johnson Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  43. ^ "Will Johnson Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2018.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Multitudes&oldid=1185474642"