Perfect Day (Chris Whitley album)
Encyclopedia
Perfect Day is the sixth album by singer-songwriter
and guitarist
, Chris Whitley
. It is his fifth studio album.
It is a full length release of cover versions
of "love songs
". The album was recorded a trio
and is subtitled "Featuring Billy Martin
and Chris Wood
". Martin and Wood are the rhythm section
of Medeski Martin & Wood
.
It was produced by Craig Street
. The album was recorded live to half-inch
two-track recorder
by Danny Kopelson at 33 1/3 Recording in Brooklyn, New York.
This recording was also released in the Super Audio CD
(SACD) format.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Chris Whitley
Chris Whitley
Christopher Becker Whitley was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Whitley changed his sound frequently, and achieved modest mainstream success while maintaining a small but devoted following...
. It is his fifth studio album.
It is a full length release of cover versions
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "love songs
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
". The album was recorded a trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
and is subtitled "Featuring Billy Martin
Billy Martin (percussionist)
Billy Martin is an American jazz drummer, best known as a member of jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood.-Biography:Before becoming part of Medeski, Martin & Wood, Martin was part of the New York City Brazilian scene in the 1980s. He performed regularly with Pe De Boi, Batucada and several Bob...
and Chris Wood
Chris Wood (jazz musician)
Christopher Barry Wood is an American bass player, best known for playing with the avant-garde jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood .-Biography:...
". Martin and Wood are the rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
of Medeski Martin & Wood
Medeski Martin & Wood
Medeski Martin & Wood is an American jazz trio formed in 1991, consisting of John Medeski on keyboards and piano, Billy Martin on drums and percussion, and Chris Wood on double bass and bass guitar....
.
It was produced by Craig Street
Craig Street
Craig Street, born in Oakland, California, is a noted record producer.Craig moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of 11, but returned to the Bay Area for his high school years. He began playing guitar at age 14, playing in a number of Berkeley bands...
. The album was recorded live to half-inch
Magnetic tape sound recording
The use of magnetic tape for sound recording originated around 1930. Magnetizable tape revolutionized both the radio broadcast and music recording industries. It did this by giving artists and producers the power to record and re-record audio with minimal loss in quality as well as edit and...
two-track recorder
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
by Danny Kopelson at 33 1/3 Recording in Brooklyn, New York.
This recording was also released in the Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
(SACD) format.
Track listing
- "Spanish Harlem IncidentSpanish Harlem Incident"Spanish Harlem Incident" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and was released on his 1964 album, Another Side of Bob Dylan, on August 8, 1964 . The song has been described as a "a gorgeous vignette" by critics and been praised for its multilayered, poetic dimensions...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 2:38 - "Smokestack LightningSmokestack Lightning"Smokestack Lightning" is a classic of the blues. In 1956, Howlin' Wolf recorded the song and it became one of his most popular and influential songs...
" (Chester Burnett – Howlin' WolfHowlin' WolfChester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
) – 4:41 - "China Gate" (Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
and Harold AdamsonHarold AdamsonFor the Toronto Police Chief see Harold Adamson Harold Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.- Biography :...
) – 3:08 - "Drifting" (Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
) – 2:34 - "She's Alright" (McKinley Morganfield – Muddy WatersMuddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
) – 3:55 - "Perfect Day" (Lou ReedLou ReedLewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
) – 3:31 - "The Wild Ox Moan" (Vera HallVera HallAdell Hall Ward, better known as Vera Hall was an American folk singer, born in Livingston, Alabama, United States. She is best known for her song "Trouble So Hard" .-Biography:...
and R. Tartt) – 3:09 - "The Crystal Ship" (John DensmoreJohn DensmoreJohn Paul Densmore is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.-Early life and The Doors:Born in Los Angeles, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal...
, Robby KriegerRobby KriegerRobert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...
, Ray ManzarekRay ManzarekRaymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...
and Jim MorrisonJim MorrisonJames Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
– The DoorsThe DoorsThe Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
) – 3:18 - "SpoonfulSpoonful"Spoonful" is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. It is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton , itself related to "All I Want Is A Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan...
" (Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
) – 5:04 - "Stones in My Passway" (Robert Johnson) – 3:18
- "4th Time Around4th Time Around"4th Time Around" is a song by Bob Dylan on his 1966 album, Blonde on Blonde.-Narrative:With lyrics that contrast the mundane with the absurd, "4th Time Around" is suggestive of a young romance. The song revolves around the actions and brief spoken phrases of a man and a woman, who are presumably...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 3:46
Personnel
- Chris Whitley – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and guitar - Chris Wood – acoustic bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and strange overtonesOvertoneAn overtone is any frequency higher than the fundamental frequency of a sound. The fundamental and the overtones together are called partials. Harmonics are partials whose frequencies are whole number multiples of the fundamental These overlapping terms are variously used when discussing the... - Billy Martin - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, various percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
and more mud