ROBBIE ROBERTSON
''HOW TO BECOME CLAIRVOYANT''
APRIL 5 2011
58:23
Song/Credits:
1. Straight Down The Line (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Robert Randolph- Pedal Steel Guitar/Solo
Dana Glover- Backing Vocals
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
2. When The Night Was Young (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar
Angela McCluskey- Vocal
Angelyna Boyd- Backing Vocal
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Daryl Johnston- Backing Vocal
Martin Pradler- Wurlitzer Piano
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
3. He Don’t Live Here No More (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Gut String Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar, Harmony Vocal
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Daryl Johnston- Backing Vocal
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
4. The Right Mistake (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Guitar/Solo
Steve Winwood- Organ
Angela McCluskey- Vocal
Angelyna Boyd- Backing Vocal
Michelle John- Backing Vocal
Sharon White- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
5. This Is Where I Get Off (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Guitar/Solo
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Angelyna Boyd- Backing Vocal
Daryl Johnston- Backing Vocal
Michelle John- Backing Vocal
Sharon White- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Piano
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
6. Fear Of Falling (Eric Clapton/Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Electric Guitar/Solo
Eric Clapton- Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar/Solo
Steve Winwood- Organ
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Michelle John- Backing Vocal
Sharon White- Backing Vocal
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
7. She’s Not Mine (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo
Eric Clapton- Guitar/Solo, Harmony Vocal
Steve Winwood- Organ
Marius de Vries- Keyboard, Backing Vocal
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Rocco Deluca- Dobro, Backing Vocal
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
Jim Keltner- Drums
8. Madame X (Eric Clapton)
Robbie Robertson- Electric Guitar, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Gut String Guitar
Trent Reznor- Additional Textures
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
9. Axman (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Tom Morello- Guitar/Solo
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
10. Won’t Be Back (Eric Clapton, Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Electric Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Gut String Guitar, Harmony Vocal
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Eldad Guetta- Horns
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
11. How To Become Clairvoyant (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Robert Randolph- Pedal Steel Guitar
Dana Glover- Backing Vocal
Natalie Mendoza- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Piano
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
12. Tango For Django (Robbie Robertson, Marius de Vries)
Robbie Robertson- Gut String Guitar, Keyboard
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Frank Marocco- Accordion
Anne Marie Calhoun- Violin
Tina Guo- Cello
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
Orchestral Arrangement by Marius de Vries and Eldad Guetta
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
How to Become Clairvoyant is Robbie Robertson's first album since 1998's Contact from the Underworld of Red Boy. In the interim, he served as musical director for some Martin Scorsese films, produced soundtracks, and worked as an A&R man for Dreamworks. Co-produced by Robertson and Marius de Vries, the 12-song set boasts an impressive guest list. Eric Clapton makes seven appearances on guitar, duets on "Fear of Falling," co-wrote three tunes, and contributed an instrumental ("Madame X," which is minimally but beautifully textured by Trent Reznor). Steve Winwood, Robert Randolph, Angela McCluskey, and Tom Morello also appear. Bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Ian Thomas, and pianist Martin Pradler are the house band on a Robertson album typically saturated in rich, warm production, sonic flourishes, and ambient atmospheres. Despite a preponderance of guitars, this isn't a cooking session, but an uncharacteristically autobiographical song cycle that addresses not only Robertson's life and experiences, but those of his friends, heroes, and collaborators. It opens promisingly enough with the rootsy "Straight Down the Line," with rocking steel guitar solos by Randolph. Its lyrics deal with what attracted Robertson to the musican's calling. The meld of nocturnal guitars, synthetically funky beats, and taut yet off-kilter melody create the musical backing for "He Don't Live Here Anymore," a song that frankly discusses substance abuse and addiction. "When the Night Was Young" is a signature Robertson ballad. Though it commences with his trademark guitar sound, it tells his version of his generation's story in a laid-back way. Its lilting hook relies on country and blues; paired with 21st century production tropes, the music creates an emotional palette of longing. That said, even though romances with historical and archetypal pasts have been strong suits in his songwriting, these lyrics are self-indulgent, nostalgic, sappy. "This I Where I Get Off" addresses for the first time -- in song anyway -- his reason for breaking up the Band, and features fine guitar interplay between Robertson and Clapton. "She's Not Mine" is a nakedly honest love song. Despite its near-cinematic production, where the guitars are all but buried, its emotional content comes through via fine intuitive organ work by Winwood. "Axman," a tribute to Robertson's guitar heroes, is a star-studded name-check list that's embarrassing; even Morello's excellent guitar work can't redeem it. The angular, funky, nocturnal, funky R&B in the title track is among the more subtle highlights here; it contains a head-scratcher of a melody with the best lyrics on the set, and excellent exchanges between Randolph and Robertson. The instrumental "Tango for Django" closes with another over-the-top production that employs nuevo tango as artifice. Robertson's gut-string guitar and keyboards are backed by cello, violin, accordion, bass, and drums, all highlighted by an orchestra. It's a fitting conclusion, even if it is gratuitous. How to Become Clairvoyant is a sometimes compelling record, but it's a flawed one, too, with moments of beauty countered by bloated lyrical and production excesses. Ultimately, it feels as much like an exercise in self-justification as it does in personal revelation.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny (AllMusic)
One of the premier songwriters of the rock era, Robbie Robertson was born July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Ontario. The son of a Jewish father and Mohawk mother, Jaime Robbie Robertson's first brush with live music came at the Six Nations Reservation, his mother's girlhood home; at the age of five, he also gained exposure to the country music of rural America. Not long after, he began taking guitar lessons from a cousin, and gradually began composing his first songs. As time wore on, his musical interests evolved from country to big band to rock, and he eventually dropped out of school to pursue a career as a performer.
In 1958, he hooked up with rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins' backing band the Hawks, joining fellow sidemen Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. After remaining with Hawkins through 1963, the Hawks began working on their own; they soon came to the attention of Bob Dylan, and became the support unit on the singer's now-legendary 1965-1966 world tour. Continuing their affiliation with Dylan, the group, renamed simply the Band, went on to become one of rock's seminal acts; propelled by Robertson's acute, evocative examinations of American mythology and lore, they made a series of seminal LPs, including 1968's Music from Big Pink and the following year's self-titled masterpiece.
the Band dissolved on Thanksgiving Day 1976 following an all-star concert filmed by director Martin Scorsese and later released as The Last Waltz. The project marked the beginning of Robertson's long affiliation with Scorsese, as well as an interest in dramatic acting; in 1980, Robertson produced and starred in Carny, co-starring Jodie Foster and Gary Busey. Also in 1980, he composed the score to Scorsese's brilliant Raging Bull, and continued to confine his musical activity to the film medium for the next several years, later working with Scorsese on the acerbic 1983 satire The King of Comedy and 1986's The Color of Money, the sequel to The Hustler.
Finally, in 1987 Robertson released his self-titled solo debut, which included guest appearances from onetime Band-mates Danko and Hudson as well as U2, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, and Gil Evans. Storyville, a conceptual piece steeped in the sounds and imagery of a famed area of New Orleans, followed in 1991. In 1994, Robertson returned to his roots, teaming with the Native American group the Red Road Ensemble for Music for the Native Americans, a collection of songs composed for a television documentary series. Contact from the Underworld of Redboy followed in 1998.
In 2000, Robertson joined Dreamworks as a creative executive; he signed Nelly Furtado and other artists to the label. In 2002, he performed at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, UT. He appeared on Jerry Lee Lewis' comeback recording Last Man Standing in 2006, and made an appearance at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007. Robertson also remained close to Scorsese. He composed, consulted on, and produced soundtracks for Casino and The Departed, and acted as executive music director on Gangs of New York. He also contributed original music to Shutter Island. Robertson returned to recording with the album How to Become Clairvoyant on the 429 Records imprint in 2011. The album featured guest appearances by Clapton, Steve Winwood, Trent Reznor, Robert Randolph, Tom Morello, and Angela McCluskey.
OFFICIAL SITE
''HOW TO BECOME CLAIRVOYANT''
APRIL 5 2011
58:23
Song/Credits:
1. Straight Down The Line (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Robert Randolph- Pedal Steel Guitar/Solo
Dana Glover- Backing Vocals
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
2. When The Night Was Young (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar
Angela McCluskey- Vocal
Angelyna Boyd- Backing Vocal
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Daryl Johnston- Backing Vocal
Martin Pradler- Wurlitzer Piano
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
3. He Don’t Live Here No More (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Gut String Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar, Harmony Vocal
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Daryl Johnston- Backing Vocal
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
4. The Right Mistake (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Guitar/Solo
Steve Winwood- Organ
Angela McCluskey- Vocal
Angelyna Boyd- Backing Vocal
Michelle John- Backing Vocal
Sharon White- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
5. This Is Where I Get Off (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Guitar/Solo
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Angelyna Boyd- Backing Vocal
Daryl Johnston- Backing Vocal
Michelle John- Backing Vocal
Sharon White- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Piano
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
6. Fear Of Falling (Eric Clapton/Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Electric Guitar/Solo
Eric Clapton- Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar/Solo
Steve Winwood- Organ
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Michelle John- Backing Vocal
Sharon White- Backing Vocal
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
7. She’s Not Mine (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo
Eric Clapton- Guitar/Solo, Harmony Vocal
Steve Winwood- Organ
Marius de Vries- Keyboard, Backing Vocal
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Rocco Deluca- Dobro, Backing Vocal
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
Jim Keltner- Drums
8. Madame X (Eric Clapton)
Robbie Robertson- Electric Guitar, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Gut String Guitar
Trent Reznor- Additional Textures
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
9. Axman (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Tom Morello- Guitar/Solo
Rocco Deluca- Backing Vocal
Taylor Goldsmith- Backing Vocal
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
10. Won’t Be Back (Eric Clapton, Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Electric Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Eric Clapton- Gut String Guitar, Harmony Vocal
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Eldad Guetta- Horns
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
11. How To Become Clairvoyant (Robbie Robertson)
Robbie Robertson- Vocal, Guitar/Solo, Keyboard
Robert Randolph- Pedal Steel Guitar
Dana Glover- Backing Vocal
Natalie Mendoza- Backing Vocal
Marius de Vries- Piano
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
12. Tango For Django (Robbie Robertson, Marius de Vries)
Robbie Robertson- Gut String Guitar, Keyboard
Marius de Vries- Keyboard
Frank Marocco- Accordion
Anne Marie Calhoun- Violin
Tina Guo- Cello
Pino Palladino- Bass
Ian Thomas- Drums
Orchestral Arrangement by Marius de Vries and Eldad Guetta
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
How to Become Clairvoyant is Robbie Robertson's first album since 1998's Contact from the Underworld of Red Boy. In the interim, he served as musical director for some Martin Scorsese films, produced soundtracks, and worked as an A&R man for Dreamworks. Co-produced by Robertson and Marius de Vries, the 12-song set boasts an impressive guest list. Eric Clapton makes seven appearances on guitar, duets on "Fear of Falling," co-wrote three tunes, and contributed an instrumental ("Madame X," which is minimally but beautifully textured by Trent Reznor). Steve Winwood, Robert Randolph, Angela McCluskey, and Tom Morello also appear. Bassist Pino Palladino, drummer Ian Thomas, and pianist Martin Pradler are the house band on a Robertson album typically saturated in rich, warm production, sonic flourishes, and ambient atmospheres. Despite a preponderance of guitars, this isn't a cooking session, but an uncharacteristically autobiographical song cycle that addresses not only Robertson's life and experiences, but those of his friends, heroes, and collaborators. It opens promisingly enough with the rootsy "Straight Down the Line," with rocking steel guitar solos by Randolph. Its lyrics deal with what attracted Robertson to the musican's calling. The meld of nocturnal guitars, synthetically funky beats, and taut yet off-kilter melody create the musical backing for "He Don't Live Here Anymore," a song that frankly discusses substance abuse and addiction. "When the Night Was Young" is a signature Robertson ballad. Though it commences with his trademark guitar sound, it tells his version of his generation's story in a laid-back way. Its lilting hook relies on country and blues; paired with 21st century production tropes, the music creates an emotional palette of longing. That said, even though romances with historical and archetypal pasts have been strong suits in his songwriting, these lyrics are self-indulgent, nostalgic, sappy. "This I Where I Get Off" addresses for the first time -- in song anyway -- his reason for breaking up the Band, and features fine guitar interplay between Robertson and Clapton. "She's Not Mine" is a nakedly honest love song. Despite its near-cinematic production, where the guitars are all but buried, its emotional content comes through via fine intuitive organ work by Winwood. "Axman," a tribute to Robertson's guitar heroes, is a star-studded name-check list that's embarrassing; even Morello's excellent guitar work can't redeem it. The angular, funky, nocturnal, funky R&B in the title track is among the more subtle highlights here; it contains a head-scratcher of a melody with the best lyrics on the set, and excellent exchanges between Randolph and Robertson. The instrumental "Tango for Django" closes with another over-the-top production that employs nuevo tango as artifice. Robertson's gut-string guitar and keyboards are backed by cello, violin, accordion, bass, and drums, all highlighted by an orchestra. It's a fitting conclusion, even if it is gratuitous. How to Become Clairvoyant is a sometimes compelling record, but it's a flawed one, too, with moments of beauty countered by bloated lyrical and production excesses. Ultimately, it feels as much like an exercise in self-justification as it does in personal revelation.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny (AllMusic)
One of the premier songwriters of the rock era, Robbie Robertson was born July 5, 1943, in Toronto, Ontario. The son of a Jewish father and Mohawk mother, Jaime Robbie Robertson's first brush with live music came at the Six Nations Reservation, his mother's girlhood home; at the age of five, he also gained exposure to the country music of rural America. Not long after, he began taking guitar lessons from a cousin, and gradually began composing his first songs. As time wore on, his musical interests evolved from country to big band to rock, and he eventually dropped out of school to pursue a career as a performer.
In 1958, he hooked up with rockabilly star Ronnie Hawkins' backing band the Hawks, joining fellow sidemen Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. After remaining with Hawkins through 1963, the Hawks began working on their own; they soon came to the attention of Bob Dylan, and became the support unit on the singer's now-legendary 1965-1966 world tour. Continuing their affiliation with Dylan, the group, renamed simply the Band, went on to become one of rock's seminal acts; propelled by Robertson's acute, evocative examinations of American mythology and lore, they made a series of seminal LPs, including 1968's Music from Big Pink and the following year's self-titled masterpiece.
the Band dissolved on Thanksgiving Day 1976 following an all-star concert filmed by director Martin Scorsese and later released as The Last Waltz. The project marked the beginning of Robertson's long affiliation with Scorsese, as well as an interest in dramatic acting; in 1980, Robertson produced and starred in Carny, co-starring Jodie Foster and Gary Busey. Also in 1980, he composed the score to Scorsese's brilliant Raging Bull, and continued to confine his musical activity to the film medium for the next several years, later working with Scorsese on the acerbic 1983 satire The King of Comedy and 1986's The Color of Money, the sequel to The Hustler.
Finally, in 1987 Robertson released his self-titled solo debut, which included guest appearances from onetime Band-mates Danko and Hudson as well as U2, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, and Gil Evans. Storyville, a conceptual piece steeped in the sounds and imagery of a famed area of New Orleans, followed in 1991. In 1994, Robertson returned to his roots, teaming with the Native American group the Red Road Ensemble for Music for the Native Americans, a collection of songs composed for a television documentary series. Contact from the Underworld of Redboy followed in 1998.
In 2000, Robertson joined Dreamworks as a creative executive; he signed Nelly Furtado and other artists to the label. In 2002, he performed at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, UT. He appeared on Jerry Lee Lewis' comeback recording Last Man Standing in 2006, and made an appearance at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2007. Robertson also remained close to Scorsese. He composed, consulted on, and produced soundtracks for Casino and The Departed, and acted as executive music director on Gangs of New York. He also contributed original music to Shutter Island. Robertson returned to recording with the album How to Become Clairvoyant on the 429 Records imprint in 2011. The album featured guest appearances by Clapton, Steve Winwood, Trent Reznor, Robert Randolph, Tom Morello, and Angela McCluskey.
OFFICIAL SITE
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