SHAWN MULLINS
''9TH WARD PICKIN' PARLOR''
FEBRUARY 14 2006
55:40
1. Blue As you/Pete Droge, Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet/3:15
2. Beautiful Wreck/Marshall Altman, Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet/4:09
3. Cold Black Heart/4:23
4. Faith/4:20
5. Homemade Wine/4:04
6. Talkin' Goin' To Alaska Blues/3:50
7. We Could Go And Start Again/3:41
8. Kelly's Song/2:17
9. Find Love/4:08
10. All Fall Down/5:55
11. Lay Down Your Swords, Boys/6:18
12. Solitaire/3:20
13. House Of The Rising Sun/Traditional/6:00
Tracks By Mullins, Except As Indicated
Brandon Bush /Accordion, Organ (Hammond), Wurlitzer
Rob Gal /Guitar (Electric)
Gerry Hansen /Drums, Hand Drums, Maracas, Shaker, Tambourine
Rob Henson /Bass (Upright)
Chuck Hoseman /Choir/Chorus
David LaBruyere /Bass (Electric)
Kevin Leahy /Vibraphone
Kenny Malone /Bells, Congas, Cymbals, Djembe, Rainstick
Matt Mangano /Bass (Electric)
Glenn Matullo /Choir/Chorus
Shawn Mullins /Vocals
David Patterson /Guitar (Electric)
Peter Stroud /Guitar (Electric)
Chris Thile /Mandolin
William Tonks /Guitar (Resonator), Lap Steel Guitar
Mike West /Banjo, Banjolin, Choir/Chorus, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Resonator), Mandolin
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Not surprisingly, Shawn Mullins' association with Sony didn't last long. His sophomore release for the label never found its intended audience, and with eclectic singer/songwriters not exactly in vogue in 2005, he found a more comfortable and logical home at Vanguard. Here was a company that thrived on, and had successful experience with, promoting other artists with idiosyncratic folk and folk-rock styles similar to Mullins. The feeling was mutual, since Mullins delivers a gem of an album with 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor.
With acoustic tracks recorded at the titular New Orleans studio, pre-Hurricane Katrina, Mullins has crafted a diverse offering that encompasses folk, rock, Celtic, and country, often interlocking in the same tune. He aims for early Black Crowes territory on the gospel-laced "Faith," and gives a personal spin to a self-penned murder ballad "Cold Black Heart," which is dominated by his work on charango, an Andean mandolin. The mandolin also plays a prominent role in "Homemade Wine," a moody story-song ballad about leaving town that takes advantage of Mullins' deep, expressive voice. "All Fall Down" finds its rocking heart in the Beatles' "I Want You," especially as it builds in intensity with circular chords that accentuate the melody. The disc's first single, the harder-edged "Beautiful Wreck," is also better than anything on the short-lived Thorns' project, a band in which Mullins shared the stage with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge (Droge helped co-write the track). Mullins goes traditional religious on the waltz-timed "Lay Down Your Swords, Boys," which culminates in full Salvation-Army-band mode with backing vocals. Mullins taps into his inner James Taylor on the bluesy "Solitaire," and closes out the album with a moving version of "House of the Rising Sun" that builds from acoustic to electric instrumentation as the singer interestingly takes the original female voice of the protagonist. The song seems to be his tribute to New Orleans, a city whose dusky atmosphere has subtly contributed to Shawn Mullins' most poignant, cohesive, and diverse album yet.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
An Atlanta-based folksinger best known for his Top Ten hit "Lullaby," Shawn Mullins was serving as a member of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Division when he released his first self-titled cassette (issued on his own label, SM) in 1989. Following the release of 1991's Everchanging World, he left the military after eight years of service to pursue music on a full-time basis. After three years spent fruitlessly searching for a record deal, Mullins established a new label, SMG, and released the LPs Better Days and Big Blue Sky in the interim. Jeff's Last Dance, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (live companion discs recorded jointly with Matthew Kahler) arrived in 1995, and Mullins returned a year later with the solo effort Eggshells.
Released in 1998, Soul's Core marked his first album for a major label, Columbia Records; it also signaled his critical breakthrough, as the single "Lullaby" became a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated hit. The album eventually went platinum, paving the way for an anthology of the singer's early work with 1999's The First Ten Years. Toward the end of 2000, Mullins released the official follow-up to Soul's Core, Beneath the Velvet Sun. The Essential Shawn Mullins collection arrived in 2003, followed by 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, his first release for Vanguard Records, in 2006. He remained with Vanguard for 2008's Honeydew, which was inspired by (and recorded in) his native Georgia. Mullins kept himself busy for the rest of the year, co-writing a number one hit for the Zac Brown Band ("Toes") and releasing Live at the Variety Playhouse, which captured one of his sold-out performances in Atlanta. Two years later, he released his eleventh studio album, Light You Up, which continued the rustic, Americana-styled thread he'd been spinning since 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor.
''9TH WARD PICKIN' PARLOR''
FEBRUARY 14 2006
55:40
1. Blue As you/Pete Droge, Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet/3:15
2. Beautiful Wreck/Marshall Altman, Shawn Mullins, Matthew Sweet/4:09
3. Cold Black Heart/4:23
4. Faith/4:20
5. Homemade Wine/4:04
6. Talkin' Goin' To Alaska Blues/3:50
7. We Could Go And Start Again/3:41
8. Kelly's Song/2:17
9. Find Love/4:08
10. All Fall Down/5:55
11. Lay Down Your Swords, Boys/6:18
12. Solitaire/3:20
13. House Of The Rising Sun/Traditional/6:00
Tracks By Mullins, Except As Indicated
Brandon Bush /Accordion, Organ (Hammond), Wurlitzer
Rob Gal /Guitar (Electric)
Gerry Hansen /Drums, Hand Drums, Maracas, Shaker, Tambourine
Rob Henson /Bass (Upright)
Chuck Hoseman /Choir/Chorus
David LaBruyere /Bass (Electric)
Kevin Leahy /Vibraphone
Kenny Malone /Bells, Congas, Cymbals, Djembe, Rainstick
Matt Mangano /Bass (Electric)
Glenn Matullo /Choir/Chorus
Shawn Mullins /Vocals
David Patterson /Guitar (Electric)
Peter Stroud /Guitar (Electric)
Chris Thile /Mandolin
William Tonks /Guitar (Resonator), Lap Steel Guitar
Mike West /Banjo, Banjolin, Choir/Chorus, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Resonator), Mandolin
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Not surprisingly, Shawn Mullins' association with Sony didn't last long. His sophomore release for the label never found its intended audience, and with eclectic singer/songwriters not exactly in vogue in 2005, he found a more comfortable and logical home at Vanguard. Here was a company that thrived on, and had successful experience with, promoting other artists with idiosyncratic folk and folk-rock styles similar to Mullins. The feeling was mutual, since Mullins delivers a gem of an album with 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor.
With acoustic tracks recorded at the titular New Orleans studio, pre-Hurricane Katrina, Mullins has crafted a diverse offering that encompasses folk, rock, Celtic, and country, often interlocking in the same tune. He aims for early Black Crowes territory on the gospel-laced "Faith," and gives a personal spin to a self-penned murder ballad "Cold Black Heart," which is dominated by his work on charango, an Andean mandolin. The mandolin also plays a prominent role in "Homemade Wine," a moody story-song ballad about leaving town that takes advantage of Mullins' deep, expressive voice. "All Fall Down" finds its rocking heart in the Beatles' "I Want You," especially as it builds in intensity with circular chords that accentuate the melody. The disc's first single, the harder-edged "Beautiful Wreck," is also better than anything on the short-lived Thorns' project, a band in which Mullins shared the stage with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge (Droge helped co-write the track). Mullins goes traditional religious on the waltz-timed "Lay Down Your Swords, Boys," which culminates in full Salvation-Army-band mode with backing vocals. Mullins taps into his inner James Taylor on the bluesy "Solitaire," and closes out the album with a moving version of "House of the Rising Sun" that builds from acoustic to electric instrumentation as the singer interestingly takes the original female voice of the protagonist. The song seems to be his tribute to New Orleans, a city whose dusky atmosphere has subtly contributed to Shawn Mullins' most poignant, cohesive, and diverse album yet.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
An Atlanta-based folksinger best known for his Top Ten hit "Lullaby," Shawn Mullins was serving as a member of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Division when he released his first self-titled cassette (issued on his own label, SM) in 1989. Following the release of 1991's Everchanging World, he left the military after eight years of service to pursue music on a full-time basis. After three years spent fruitlessly searching for a record deal, Mullins established a new label, SMG, and released the LPs Better Days and Big Blue Sky in the interim. Jeff's Last Dance, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (live companion discs recorded jointly with Matthew Kahler) arrived in 1995, and Mullins returned a year later with the solo effort Eggshells.
Released in 1998, Soul's Core marked his first album for a major label, Columbia Records; it also signaled his critical breakthrough, as the single "Lullaby" became a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated hit. The album eventually went platinum, paving the way for an anthology of the singer's early work with 1999's The First Ten Years. Toward the end of 2000, Mullins released the official follow-up to Soul's Core, Beneath the Velvet Sun. The Essential Shawn Mullins collection arrived in 2003, followed by 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, his first release for Vanguard Records, in 2006. He remained with Vanguard for 2008's Honeydew, which was inspired by (and recorded in) his native Georgia. Mullins kept himself busy for the rest of the year, co-writing a number one hit for the Zac Brown Band ("Toes") and releasing Live at the Variety Playhouse, which captured one of his sold-out performances in Atlanta. Two years later, he released his eleventh studio album, Light You Up, which continued the rustic, Americana-styled thread he'd been spinning since 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor.
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