Humour Me
Studio album by
Jesse Winchester
Released1988
LabelSugar Hill/Attic[1][2]
ProducerJesse Winchester
Jesse Winchester chronology
Talk Memphis
(1981)		 Humour Me
(1988)		 The Best of Jesse Winchester
(1989)

Humour Me is an album by the American-Canadian musician Jesse Winchester, released in 1988.[3][4] It was his first album in seven years.[5] Humour Me was nominated for a Juno Award, in the "Best Roots or Traditional Album" category.[6]

"Well-A-Wiggy" had been a minor hit for the Weather Girls.[7]

Production

Winchester preferred to play live or to work as a songwriter; his manager and Sugar Hill Records head encouraged him to record again.[8] Produced by Winchester, the album was recorded in Nashville.[2][9] Jerry Douglas played dobro on the album; Dave Pomeroy, Jim Horn, and Béla Fleck also contributed.[10][11][12][13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide[13]
Windsor StarB+[16]

The Globe and Mail panned the "romantic cliche and kitschy arrangements."[10] The Toronto Star wrote: "Warm, lean, smooth, the singer's voice is a marvellous, communicative instrument, never overwhelmed by fancy arrangements or star instrumentalists."[17] The Windsor Star considered "Too Weak to Say Goodbye" to be the album's best song.[16]

The Washington Post called the album "strictly mid-level stuff," but conceded that it was "nevertheless chock-full of songs that combine insinuating melodies and rhythms with tender sentiments so deftly handled that they never sound as trite as they might appear on paper."[18] The Ottawa Citizen stated that the music ranges from "earthy front porch blues and cafe folk to the odd lounge lizard croon."[19]

AllMusic wrote that "Humour Me lacked the depth of Winchester's best work, but it was easily on a par with his substantial body of craftsmanlike music of the mid-'70s ... His voice remained warm and supple."[14]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."If I Were Free" 
2."Thanks to You" 
3."They Just Can't Help Themselves" 
4."Too Weak to Say Goodbye" 
5."Let's Make a Baby King" 
6."Well-A-Wiggy" 
7."I Don't Think You Love Me Anymore" 
8."Willow" 
9."Humour Me" 
10."I Want to Mean Something to You" 

References

  1. ↑ "Jesse Winchester Returns To Folk Scene". MTV News.
  2. 1 2 Burliuk, Greg (11 Mar 1989). "Humour Me Jesse Winchester". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Magazine. p. 1.
  3. ↑ "Jesse Winchester Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ Pareles, Jon (April 11, 2014). "Jesse Winchester, Writer and Singer of Thoughtful Songs, Dies at 69" – via NYTimes.com.
  5. ↑ Blackstock, Peter (28 Jan 1989). "Best bets". Austin American-Statesman. p. A18.
  6. ↑ "Up for Junos". Edmonton Journal. 8 Feb 1990. p. C1.
  7. ↑ MacInnis, Craig (15 Apr 1989). "Jesse Winchester looking back South". Toronto Star. p. J3.
  8. ↑ Dudley, Wendy (2 Mar 1989). "Jesse's under country's spell". Calgary Herald. p. F1.
  9. ↑ Griffin, John (6 May 1988). "A rare look at Jesse". The Gazette. p. C1.
  10. 1 2 Dafoe, Chris (9 Feb 1989). "Humour Me Jesse Winchester". The Globe and Mail. p. C9.
  11. ↑ Morris, Edward. "Songwriter Jesse Winchester Dies at Age 69". CMT News.
  12. ↑ Gilbert, Calvin (January 20, 1989). "Southern upbringing evident in Winchester's songwriting". The Advocate. Fun. p. 11.
  13. 1 2 MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 853.
  14. 1 2 "Humour Me - Jesse Winchester | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  15. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 724.
  16. 1 2 Shaw, Ted (15 Apr 1989). "Record Review". Windsor Star. p. C2.
  17. ↑ Quill, Greg (3 Feb 1989). "Humour Me Jesse Winchester". Toronto Star. p. D12.
  18. ↑ Joyce, Mike (10 Feb 1989). "Jesse Winchester: Tunes That Tug". The Washington Post. p. N19.
  19. ↑ Erskine, Evelyn (17 Feb 1989). "Jesse: Rebel with cause". Ottawa Citizen. p. B6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.