ALWAYSBACK

7080 - GARLAND JEFFREYS - I'm Alive (2005)

GARLAND JEFFREYS
''I'M ALIVE''
JUNE 20 2006
78:35

1 /I'm Alive 4:03
2 /Return of the Matador 5:50
3 /Proud Highway 5:02
4 /35 Millimeter Dreams 3:12
5 /I May Not Be Your Kind 3:48
6 /Wild in the Streets 2:59
7 /Spanish Town 7:44
8 /Ghostwriter 5:41
9 /Christine 3:24
10 /96 Tears
Rudy Martinez 3:04
11 /R.O.C.K. 3:48
12 /New York Skyline 3:30
13 /Don't Call Me Buckwheat 4:18
14 /Hail Hail Rock 'N' Roll 3:52
15 /The Answer 4:40
16 /Sexuality
Joe Dworniak / Garland Jeffreys 3:57
17 /Boys and Girls
Garland Jeffreys / Peter Zizzo 5:01
18 /Matador 4:42

Johnny Ace /Bass
Herb Alpert /Trumpet
Richard Arrigo /Guitar (Electric)
Toby Baker /Arranger, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Producer, Programming
Rubens Bassini /Percussion
Roy Bittan /Piano
Andrew Bodnar /Bass
Mark Bosch /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Slide Guitar
John Boudreaux /Drums
Jeff Bova /Keyboards
Michael Brecker /EWI, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Randy Brecker /Trumpet
Danny Cahn /Trumpet
Tim Cappello /Organ
Tim Carmen /Organ (Hammond)
Porter Carroll /Vocals (Background)
Chris Champion /Loop
Simon Climie /Arranger, Digital Editing, Percussion, Producer, Programming
Al Cohn /Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Burt Collins /Trumpet
Mark Dann /Overdubs
Jill Dell'Abate /Vocals (Background)
Dr. John /Arranger, Clavinet
Joe Dworniak /Keyboard Programming, Piano
Danny Federici /Organ, Organ (Hammond)
Anton Fig /Drums, Percussion
Alan Freedman /Arranger, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Arty Funero /Farfisa Organ
Steve Gadd /Drums, Percussion
Steve Goulding /Drums
Diana Grasselli /Vocals (Background)
Diva Gray /Vocals (Background)
Winston Grennan /Drums
Paul Griffin /Organ (Hammond), Piano
Don Grolnick /Organ, Piano (Electric)
Anthony Jackson /Bass
Garland Jeffreys /Guitar (Acoustic), Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Steve Jordan /Drums, Producer
David Kahne /Guitar (Acoustic), Hi Hat
Rich Lamb /Overdubs
David Lasley /Vocals (Background)
Rick Marotta /Drums
Eddie Martinez /Guitar
Hugh McCracken /Guitar (Classical), Guitar (Electric), Slide Guitar
Arnold McCuller /Vocals (Background)
Paulette McWilliams /Vocals (Background)
Joe Mennonna /Bass, Drum Programming, Keyboard Bass, Keyboards
Phil Messina /Trombone
Cindy Mizelle /Soloist, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Pino Palladino /Bass
David Peel /Vocals (Background)
Janice Pendarvis /Vocals (Background)
Lynn Pitney /Vocals (Background)
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie /Drums, Percussion
Vernon Reid /Guitar (Electric)
David Sanborn /Sax (Soprano)
Duncan Sheik /Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
G.E. Smith /Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
David Spinozza /Arranger, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Horn Arrangements, Piano, Producer, String Arrangements
Vaneese Thomas /Vocals (Background)
Handel Tucker /Keyboards, Strings
Myriam Naomi Valle /Vocals (Background)
Maria Vidal /Vocals (Background)
Peter Zizzo /Drum Loop, Drum Programming, Keyboard Bass, Keyboard Programming, Organ, Piano, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals (Background)

REVIEW
by Mark Deming
Nine years after he last put made an album (1997's Wildlife Dictionary) and 14 years since he was able to put a record out in the United States (1992's Don't Call Me Buckwheat), it's good to hear from Garland Jeffreys regardless of the circumstances, and while it's hard not to wish there were more than three new songs on I'm Alive, the record (as its title suggests) is a welcome reminder of a potent talent who has been flying under the radar far too long in America. I'm Alive is a de facto "Best of Garland Jeffreys" collection, featuring 15 classics from his back catalog along with three songs original to this album. While this set doesn't represent every album Jeffreys has made since launching his recording career in 1970, I'm Alive effectively skims the cream of his music, and great music it is. As a songwriter, Jeffreys is one of those rare rock & roll wordsmiths whose best work reveals a genuine poetic sensibility without falling prey to pretension; there's a healthy portion of street soul and gritty, hard-won gritty wisdom in Jeffreys's music, while his views on love, art, race, and the world around him are smart, passionate, sensuous, articulate, and alive to the thrill of discovery that's part of the creative process. And Jeffreys is a powerful, expressive vocalist who can belt out rock & roll or groove on Latin and reggae rhythms with equal effect. While Jeffreys has made a handful of good albums and at least one great one (1981's Escape Artist), I'm Alive is the all-killer, no-filler collection Jeffreys' admirers have long been waiting for, with the three new songs (all top-shelf work) accompanied by such overlooked classics as "35 Millimeter Dreams," "Wild in the Streets," "R.O.C.K.," "Don't Call Me Buckwheat," "Spanish Town," "I May Be Your Kind," and plenty more. If you're not familiar with the work of Garland Jeffreys, I'm Alive is a superb introduction to a superb and wildly underappreciated artist. If you're already a fan, savor those fine new numbers, enjoy the classics, and hope Jeffreys is good to his word about visiting the studio more often in the future.

BIOGRAPHY
by Mark Deming
A critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Garland Jeffreys has earned a loyal international audience for his intelligent and passionate songs, informed by a variety of musical styles from rock and R&B to reggae and dance music, and dealing with topics both personal and political, often at the same time. While not especially prolific -- he released a mere five studio albums between 1981 and 2011 -- Jeffreys' work reveals a rock & roller's soul and a poetic sensibility that have earned him the respect of musical peers such as Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, David Johansen, and John Cale.

Jeffreys was born in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, New York in 1944. Of African-American, Puerto Rican, and European heritage, he was raised in a multi-cultural household and a neighborhood that was not always accepting of his family's racial diversity. Jeffreys' parents enjoyed jazz vocalists such as Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, and Dinah Washington, and as a teenager, he developed a taste for doo wop and rhythm & blues; as the '50s gave way to the '60s, he became a passionate fan of soul music and Bob Dylan's early work. After graduating from high school, Jeffreys studied art history at Syracuse University, where he struck up friendships with fellow students and music fans Lou Reed and Felix Cavaliere; Jeffreys also expanded his cultural boundaries by studying for several months in Italy. After completing his studies in 1966, he began appearing at folk and rock clubs in Manhattan, often performing material that dealt with racial issues and using props and make-up to emphasize his messages. In 1969, Jeffreys formed a band called Grinder's Switch with three musicians from Woodstock, New York -- Ernie Corallo on guitar, Stan Szelest on keyboards, and Sandy Konikoff on drums. John Cale recruited Grinder's Switch to form the core of the backing band (credited as Penguin) on his first solo album, 1969's Vintage Violence, and the album included one of Jeffreys' songs, "Fairweather Friend." (Jeffreys also wrote a poem about Cale for the liner notes.) Grinder's Switch were signed to Vanguard Records and cut an album that was released not long before the band split up in 1970.

Jeffreys began working as a solo act again, and was signed by Atlantic Records. His 1973 solo debut was a commercial disappointment, but that same year, he released a standalone single, "Wild in the Streets" b/w "35 Millimeter Dreams." The A-side, arranged by New Orleans keyboard legend Dr. John, became an underground hit, and when Jeffreys moved to A&M Records, the track was included on his first album for the label, 1977's Ghost Writer, which led to Jeffreys being named Best New Artist of the Year by Rolling Stone. Jeffreys' tenure with A&M would be the most prolific of his career; he released One Eyed Jack in 1978, and American Boy and Girl in 1979. The latter, though largely devoted to hard-edged narratives of street life, also featured a romantic number called "Matador," which became a major hit in the U.K. and several European markets, where he gained a large and lasting following.

In 1981, Jeffreys moved to Epic Records and finally enjoyed a commercial breakthrough in the United States with Escape Artist, an album that featured backing from members of Graham Parker's Rumour and Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, as well as guest appearances by Lou Reed, David Johansen, and Linton Kwesi Johnson; it included a cover of "96 Tears" that became a minor hit single and an MTV favorite. Later the same year, a live album was released from the tour supporting Escape Artist, Rock ‘N' Roll Adult, and in 1983, Jeffreys reappeared with Guts for Love, a polished set of songs about love and relationships. While a cover of "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" fared well on the charts, the album was a commercial and critical disappointment, and it was nine years before Jeffreys returned to the recording studio. 1992's Don't Call Me Buckwheat, his first album for RCA, was a collection of songs about the issues of race in America and a strong return to form, but it sold far better in Europe than the United States, and his next album, 1997's Wildlife Dictionary, wasn't released at all in America.

In the same year Wildlife Dictionary was released, Jeffreys and his wife welcomed the birth of their daughter Savannah, and he took time off from his recording career to be a full-time father. He staged occasional European tours and in 2006 released I'm Alive, a compilation spanning his solo career that also included three new songs, but it wasn't until 2011 that he returned with a full album of new material, The King of In Between.