ARTIST: Cassandra Wilson
TITLE: Thunderbird
LABEL: Blue Note
GENRE: Jazz
BITRATE: 193kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 49min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-04-04
RIP DATE: 2006-03-08
Track List
----------
01. Go To Mexico 4:14
02. Closer To You 5:49
03. Easy Rider 7:03
04. It Would Be So Easy 5:10
05. Red River Valley 5:52
06. Poet 5:27
07. I Want To Be Loved 4:03
08. Lost 3:34
09. Strike A Match 4:47
10. Tarot 3:52
Release Notes:
Cassandra Wilson never fails to surprise and inspire.
Sexy, honey-velvet vocals wrapped around her own jazzy blue compositions or
inventive interpretations of othersÆ material led TIME magazine to name her
ôAmericaÆs Best Singerö in recent years. On her new CD Thunderbird, which
Blue Note Records will release on April 4, 2006, she has collaborated with
red hot producer T Bone Burnett to surprise, yet again.
ôWorking with T Bone took the songs into a whole other place,ö explained
Wilson. ôHe guided me into the deepest recesses of the material, and that
attention to detail and nuance allowed me to delve into my own innermost
emotions.ö WhatÆs emerged is a post modern and, at times, primal take on
roots music that begins with the title itself.
The legend of the thunderbird is an ancient myth that survives today in
some Native American cultures. In the eyes of the ancients, it was a
divine and magical animal sent by the gods to protect them from the powers
of evil. The thunderbird brought calm and growth to the region. For
Cassandra, the spiritual and magical aspects to this creature perfectly
described the environment from which these 10 songs grew.
Deftly combining her own compositionsùthe irresistible ôGo To Mexico,ö the
sultry ôIt Would Be So Easy,ö the lovely ôPoetö and the spiritual and
celebratory ôTarotöùwith carefully chosen songs that spoke to her like
ôCloser To Youö by Jakob Dylan, ôEasy Riderö by Blind Lemon Jefferson, the
traditional song ôRed River Valleyö and Willie DixonÆs ôI Want To Be
Loved,ö Wilson has woven her plaintive, delicious voice in and out of
these tales of betrayal, intimacy and wonder. T Bone contributed two songs
to the album in ôLostö and ôStrike a Match.ö
ôWith æEasy Rider,Æ I had always heard the 'C.C. Rider' version of this
song covered, but never heard anyone do the Blind Lemon version, which
resonated with me,ö Wilson says. ôJakobÆs song æCloser to YouÆ was, to me,
the epitome of intimacy and I just had to do it, couldnÆt help myself!ö
she teases.
The instrumentation chosen for the songs was also a different experience
for Cassandra. The groundbreaking sound that Cassandra crafted with
producer Craig Street in the mid-1990Æs on such classic Blue Note
recordings as Blue Light æTil Dawn and the Grammy-winning New Moon
Daughter, was defined by itÆs sparse acoustic guitars. However, keyboards
play a much larger role in many of the songs on thunderbird, courtesy of
keyboardist (and sometimes electric bassist) Keefus Ciancia, who is also
the co-producer of the album.
ôI hadnÆt worked with keyboards for a long time,ö says Cassandra,
referring to her co-producer as ôan alchemist. Keefus is amazing. HeÆs a
texture person, very organic and between T Bone, Keefus and I came a lot
of the nuances.ö Also on the album are uber musicians Marc Ribot and
Colin Linden on guitar, Mike Elizondo on electric bass, Reginald Veal on
acoustic bass and Jim Keltner, Bill Maxwell and Jay Bellerose on drums.
Gregoire Maret also plays harmonica on ôTarot.ö
Ultimately, T Bone was the glue that kept it all together and it was his
ôsecret ingredients,ö as Cassandra describes them, that added that aural
special something you just couldnÆt put your finger on. So what were T
BoneÆs ôspecial ingredients?ö ôI canÆt talk about those,ö she says.
ôOtherwise, heÆd have to kill me.ö