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Joan Osborne — Relish [20th Anniversary Edition] (2015)

Joan Osborne — Relish [20th Anniversary Edition] (March 21, 1995/October 30, 2015)

 Joan Osborne — Relish [20th Ann. Ed.] (March 21, 1995/October 30, 2015) Joan Osborne — Relish [20th Anniversary Edition] (March 21, 1995/October 30, 2015)•   Truth is Joan Osborne’s grittier (and simultaneously more fun) ‘Relish’ sounds like the work of someone who stumbled into a music career. Joan had initially dreamed of becoming a documentary film maker, but after a fateful night in a cafe singing an Ella Fitzgerald inspired take on an old number while accompanied by the house pianist, she felt a slow draw to a different creative world. Her first thoughts on the direction of her life make sense — on ‘Relish’ the lyrics seem far less didactic and self–centred when compared with some of her contemporaries’. The modus operandi is one of a storyteller and observer.
•   Holds up over time. When Alanis Morissette was cleaning up at the Grammy’s with her album Jagged Little Pill, the other top female artist at the time was Joan Osborne with her single “One of Us”. While “One of Us” started getting pegged as fluff, I always thought that Osborne’s album should have been getting some of those awards Alanis was taking home. While I thought Relish was the better album, I really wasn’t playing it very often and it quickly got lost in the shuffle. Every so often I pulled the cd out and was surprised by how good it is.
•   It is now back in rotation on my cd player. If memory serves me, the only singles off this album were “One of Us” and “Right Hand Man” (I remember seeing those two performed on Saturday Night Live). However, favorites of mine also include “Lumina”, “Crazy Baby”, “St. Teresa”, and “Ladder”. Actually, to be honest, this is a very solid album and while I haven’t heard much from Osborne’s other albums, this one stands up over time. — Joe Sherry  © Author Kurt Doc Huot. Joan Osborne performed at The Grand in Wilmington, Delaware tonight with Paul Thorn and The Holmes Brothers
Birth name: Joan Elisabeth Osborne
Born: July 8, 1962 in Anchorage, KY
Location:
Genre: Pop Rock, Alternative, Folk Blues Rock, Singer–Songwriter
Album release: March 21, 1995
Recorded: 1994–1995 at The Crawlspace (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); additional recording at Big Blue (Katonah, New York) and PIE Studios (Glen Cove, New York).
Record Label: Island Def Jam / Mercury Records
Duration:     104:12
Tracks:
01. St. Teresa     5:20
02. Man in the Long Black Coat (Bob Dylan)      4:49
03. Right Hand Man (Osborne, Bazilian, Hyman, Chertoff, Don Van Vliet)     4:57
04. Pensacola     4:32
05. Dracula Moon     6:32
06. One of Us (Bazilian)     5:21
07. Ladder     4:11
08. Spider Web (Joan Osborne, Chertoff, Gary Lucas, Sammy Merendino, Chris Palmaro) 5:34
09. Let’s Just Get Naked (Joan Osborne, Bazilian)     5:08
10. Help Me (Sonny Boy Williamson II, Ralph Bass)     5:14
11. Crazy Baby (Joan Osborne)      6:31
12. Lumina (Joan Osborne, Bazilian)      3:08
13. One of Us (Demo)
14. Pensacola (Demo)
15. Mighty One
16. Here Comes What’s Coming
17. One of Us (Live at WXPN World Cafe)
18. Crazy Baby (Live)
19. St. Teresa (Live)
20. Spider Web (Live)
℗ 1995 The Island Def Jam Music Group
℗ 2015 Mercury Records•   All songs written by Joan Osborne, Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman and Rick Chertoff unless otherwise indicated.
•   “One of Us” contains an introduction of “The Airplane Ride,” a spiritual written by J. S. McConnel and sung by Nell Hampton, under license from Alan Lomax. Used by permission.
•   “Ladder” contains a sample from “Mambo Sun,” written by Marc Bolan under license from Straight Ahead Productions Ltd. TRO/Essex Music International (ASCAP) as recorded by T. Rex. Used by permission.
Personnel:
•   Joan Osborne — vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar
•   Eric Bazilian — guitar, mandolin, chant, saxophone, harmonica, electric piano
•   Mark Egan — bass
•   Rob Hyman — piano, organ, synthesizer, Mellotron, backing vocals, drums on 6
•   Andy Kravitz — drums, percussion
Additional personnel:
•   Rick Di Fonzo — acoustic guitar on 2 8
•   Sammy Merendino — drums on 2 9, rhythm collage on 7 8
•   Chris Palmaroelectric piano on 2 8, organ on 7, virtual fiddle on 8, Mellotron on 8 9
•   William Wittman — electric guitar on 2, guitar on 7
•   Rick Chertoff — percussion on 3 5
•   Leo Osborne — backing vocals on 3
•   Lee Campbell — actual fiddle on 8
•   Omar Hakim — drums on 8
•   Gary Lucas — guitar on 8 9
•   Wade Schurman — harmonica on 8 9
•   Catherine Russell — backing vocals on 8
Production:
•   Produced By Rick Chertoff
•   Tracks 1 — 11 Recorded & Mixed By William Wittman; Track 12 Recorded & Mixed By Rob Hyman
•   Assistant Recording Engineer at Big Blue: Mark Mason
•   Additional Recording & Mix Engineering At PIE Studios By Rob Polhemus
•   Mastered By George Marino at Sterling Sound (NYC)
Charts:
√   Swedish Albums Chart     #6
√   UK Albums Chart     #5
√   U.S. Billboard 200     #9
√   U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers     #1
√   Austrian Album Charts (Ö3)     #8
Certifications:
RIAA — USA 
•   Gold November 20, 1995
•   Platinum January 16, 1996
•   Double Platinum March 22, 1996
•   Triple Platinum July 16, 1996Background:
•   Relish is a mixture of raw styles of contemporary folk, rock, and sometimes pop–rock sounds.
•   Its biggest hit single, “One of Us”, was used as the theme to the 2003–2005 television series Joan of Arcadia, although the show used a re–recorded version rather than the original version. The album and the song were both nominated for multiple Grammy Awards in 1996. The song was written by Eric Bazilian of the Hooters.
•   “Man in the Long Black Coat” is a cover of the Bob Dylan song from his 1989 album Oh Mercy.
•   The final track, “Lumina”, was used on the first episode of the HBO's hit show The Sopranos. It was also used in an episode in the 4th series of the CBS hit show “The Good Wife” in 2013.Review
By Gary Dretzka; June 29, 1995 | Score: ****
•   It’s possible to recommend this terrific album simply on the basis of a single tune, heard on the radio once and immediately etched on the mind. The slacker hymn “One of Us” — written by Eric Bazilian, formerly of the Hooters, and sung with tenderness by Osborne — is a moving, hook–filled tune that addresses both the loneliness and wonder of a generation left behind: “What if God was one of us,” goes the chorus, “Just a slug like one of us/Just a stranger on the bus/trying to find his way home . . . back up to heaven, all alone . . . like a holy rolling stone.” Osborne, in her major–label debut, does more with a “yeah, yeah, yeah,” than almost anyone since the Beatles. Fortunately, the album contains a number of other memorable numbers, including the soaringly imagistic “St. Teresa,” and the sexy “Right Hand Man” and “Let’s Just Get Naked.” The whimsical, R&B–colored “Spider Web” opens, “I dreamed about Ray Charles last night and he could see just fine. . . . No `Georgia on My Mind’ no more/I stay in bed with MTV.” At a time when young, soulful singer–songwriters seem to be arriving by the busload, here’s a unique and explosive new talent that demands to be heard. •   http://articles.chicagotribune.com/
Also:
BY JOSEPH HUDAK | October 8, 2015
•   http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/joan-osborne-on-20th-anniversary-of-relish-polarizing-one-of-us-20151008
Review by fogza | August 12th, 2013 | Score: 4
•   Review Summary: This is a surprising collection of strong material that is perhaps misrepresented by the unlikely hit single ‘One of us’.
•   http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/58407/Joan-Osborne-Relish/Personal life:
•   Joan Osborne has a daughter, born in December 2004.
•   Osborne is currently a member of Trigger Hippy, along with Steve Gorman, Tom Bukovac, Jackie Greene, and Nick Govrik. Trigger Hippy released their debut album on September 30, 2014.
•   Trigger Hippy is an American Rock and Roll band composed of Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman, guitarist Guthrie Trapp, singer Joan Osborne and bassist Nick Govrik. Formerly of the group are Widespread Panic guitarist Jimmy Herring, former Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed, session guitarist Tom Bukovac and singer/songwriter and Black Crowes guitarist Jackie Greene.
Website: http://www.joanosborne.com/’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’•’

Joan Osborne — Relish [20th Anniversary Edition] (2015)

ALBUM COVERS XI.