"Martha Redbone's new collection The Garden Of Love sings of the earth, skies of blue & grey, hard birth & easy death. It sings a poem of prophecy whispered by the oldest tree in the farthest corner of the valley. It sings of leaving & returning & of the equanimity of Angels. Martha's voice itself is the very sound of the dreams of hills and rivers- Homebound & Restless; interpreting the hauntingly lovely words of William Blake with the power of a storm & the gentleness of a breeze." VERNON REID
"Martha invites us on her powerful new odyssey where poetry, folk and soul meet naturally. Here in The Garden of Love-Songs of William Blake she bares her soul...wide open, simple and vulnerable; it's everything she truly is." MINO CINELU, LEGENDARY JAZZ PERCUSSIONIST- MILES DAVIS, STING, WEATHER REPORT
"A brilliant collision of cultures" THE NEW YORKER
“A delightful surprise...Terrific album." ROBERT SIEGEL, NPR'S ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
"Poised to be Americana’s next superstar" VILLAGE VOICE
"Martha Redbone is a charismatic indie-soul diva whose sound is a just-right mix of retro and modern." TIME OUT NEW YORK
"Startling...lovely." JOHN SCHAEFER WNYC, SOUNDCHECK
"The Martha Redbone Roots Project is a real beauty." NOEL CASEY, DUBLIN CITY FM
“The Garden of Love is a 12-track CD filled with moving songs that are masterfully crafted and performed with near perfection. I really don’t want to sound like I’m gushing, but I’ll be danged if I’m not into my fourth listen from start to finish as I’m writing this review." DAN HARR, MUSIC NEWS NASHVILLE
"Redbone gets to the core of Blake's words, adding soul and swing to poems that were penned 200 years ago... The Garden of Love - Songs of William Blake is a landmark album that should propel her (Martha Redbone) to the forefront of the folk scene."
HANS WERKSMAN, HERE COMES THE FLOOD
“The Garden Of Love: Songs Of William Blake by the Martha Redbone Roots Project is one of those wonderful meetings of minds and culture that comes along once in a while that literally takes your breath away.” RICHARD MARCUS, BLOGCRITICS
"Apart from the fact that this is a remarkable recording in terms of Redbone’s liquid vocals and the harmonious blend of McEuen’s instruments (banjo, guitar, dubro, fiddle, mandolin, autoharp, dulcimer),the combining of music with William Blake’s “songs” is an amazing achievement. It is as though this 18th century poet’s work has been quietly waiting for Martha Redbone. After all, Blake always called his poems “songs,” suggesting that they were meant to be sung. Here they are then! After over two centuries, finally, exquisitely complete." GARY CARDEN, SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
"Beautiful…I love her voice…” BARON LANE, TWANG NATION
"a perfect slice of Americana" ZACH HUDSON, HEARTH MUSIC & NO DEPRESSION
"The Garden of Love is a pure slice of knee-slapping organic folk from another time and place. Redbone has a great bluesy style of singing that is immediately inviting and effective. Beautiful music from a beautiful heart. Top pick." BABYSUE
"This CD is quite a revelation...nothing short of amazing....." BRIAN LUSH, ABORIGINAL SOUNDS
"The arrangements have been artfully crafted, the musicians are very skillful and the singer's voice is magnificent."
FRANCOIS MAUGER, MONDOMIX (FRANCE)
"I am impressed by how well the minor keys and elegiac tones bring out the darker shadows of Blake's songs."
SUSAN J. WOLFSON, PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
"Martha Redbone's journey back to the source of American music — and to her own heritage — has conjured up an artistic triumph. The Garden Of Love poignantly reveals a musician at the top of her game, vocally, intellectually, and spiritually. One not only hears the voice of the Bard, in this case William Blake's legendary prose arranged and phrased brilliantly, but also the very origins of American music arising from the blend of American Indian, African American, and English folk music traditions. It's the dawn of a new day for this fascinating artist, and we're all the beneficiaries of her confident, and yet sensitive, quest." from a review by TIM JOHNSON, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
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Words by William Blake
Music by Martha Redbone, Aaron Whitby and John McEuen
Produced by John McEuen and David Hoffner
Additional Production by Aaron Whitby and Martha Redbone
Musicians:
Martha Redbone – vocals, traditional chants and rattles
John McEuen – banjo, guitar, dobro, fiddle, mandolin, autoharp, lap
dulcimer, music arrangements
David Hoffner – keyboards, pump organ, accordion, tack piano,
hammered dulcimer.
Mark Casstevens – guitars, harmonica
Byron House – upright bass
Debra Dobkin – percussion
Keith Fluitt, Michael Inge, Ann Klein, Mary Wormworth
– background vocals
Aaron Whitby – additional keyboards
Special Guests:
David Amram – flute on "A Dream", percussion
Lonnie Harrington – Seminole chant and rattle on “A Dream”
Spottiswoode – recitation on “Why Should I Care for the Men
of Thames”
Recorded by:
David Hoffner, Hoffner Haus Studio, Franklin, TN; Nick Sevilla, Nick Sevilla Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Aaron Whitby, NavyYard Studios, Brooklyn, NY; Downtown Studios, NYC.
Mixed by Nick Sevilla, Nick Sevilla Studio, LA
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen, assisted by Reuben Cohen, Lurssen Mastering, LA
All songs published by Rez Kitty Songs/SESAC and Whitful Tunes/SESAC administered by Next Decade Entertainment, Inc., Video Wizards/BMI administered by Hoffman House Music
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