SHAWN MULLINS
''HONEYDEW''
MARCH 11 2008
44:23
1. All In My Head/4:24
2. Home/3:07
3. The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston/3:27
4. Homeless Joe/2:42
5. Leaving All Your Troubles Behind/3:17
6. Fraction of a Man/3:14
7. See That Train/3:37
8. For America/3:16
9. Cabbagetown/5:01
0. Nameless Faces/3:28
1. Song of the Self (Chapter 2)/3:08
2. Rewind the Years/5:42
Kasey Chambers /Vocals (Background)
Clay Cook /Bass (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Organ (Hammond), Pedal Steel, Piano
Gerry Hansen Drums, Lap Steel Guitar, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Marty Kearns Organ (Hammond), Wurlitzer
Shawn Mullins Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Harmonica, Mandolin, Percussion, Producer, Vocals
Francine Reed Vocals (Background)
Peter Stroud Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Resonator)
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Call it a comeback or just a continuation. After a five-year sabbatical, Shawn Mullins' 2006 release was a somewhat unexpected gem that even yielded a minor hit in "Beautiful Wreck." That album not only coalesced all Mullins' strengths as a sharp lyricist, a winning composer, and a distinctive vocalist, but revived a career most would have left for dead, and was one of his finest collections. The 2008 follow-up titled honeydew, inexplicably spelled with a lower case "h," shows that the previous platter was no fluke. This dozen-song set kicks off with another should-be hit single in the ringing mid-tempo "All in My Head" that boasts an impossibly catchy, strangely familiar melody. Its "na na" hook is perfect for crowd singalongs, making the song as commercial and crossover worthy as any he has written. Although composed in 2002 and left to languish on the Scrubs soundtrack, this is timeless folk-pop given a fresh arrangement and a new lease on life. There's nothing as immediate on the rest of honeydew, but that's not a problem since Mullins' character studies, which dominate the track list, are wonderfully fleshed out pieces. The forlorn old black woman who dies alone in "The Ballad of Kathryn Johnson," the confirmed bachelor mama's boy named Harry of "Fraction of a Man," and the rest of the "Nameless Faces" are intricate, vividly detailed portraits of the forgotten folks who populate Mullins' work here. Musically he shifts from acoustic performances, some with just unplugged guitar, to slightly larger yet still rootsy band productions that change moods while keeping the project from settling into any specific groove. "See That Train" rattles through Tom Waits' styled huff-clanging percussion only to lead into the lovely yet chilling, mandolin driven, anti-Iraq war ballad "For America." Contributions from guitarist Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow), who returns from Mullins' last album, and longtime Atlanta friends Clay Cook, soul-blues singer Francine Reed (Lyle Lovett), and drummer Gerry Hanson (Randall Bramblett) help create the warmth that courses through the proceedings. Some of these mini-dramas such as "Cabbagetown" tell of Mullins' family and upbringing in Atlanta, and although this can't be considered Southern rock, there is a definable red clay roots approach that lovingly swathes these compositions. Hanson recorded and mixed the session in his Georgia studio creating a vibe that's loose, homey, and enticing. Songs such as the personal reminiscence of "Now That You're Gone" are intimate reflections that could easily deteriorate into schmaltz but are rescued by Mullins' heartfelt vocals and the band's clean, honest approach. That makes the song a tearful and totally believable excursion into the loss of an old love you almost wish would never end. It closes out a terrific folk-rock project that shows Mullins is not just here to stay, but on top of his always impressive game.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
An Atlanta-based folksinger best known for his Top Ten hit "Lullaby," Shawn Mullins was serving as a member of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Division when he released his first self-titled cassette (issued on his own label, SM) in 1989. Following the release of 1991's Everchanging World, he left the military after eight years of service to pursue music on a full-time basis. After three years spent fruitlessly searching for a record deal, Mullins established a new label, SMG, and released the LPs Better Days and Big Blue Sky in the interim. Jeff's Last Dance, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (live companion discs recorded jointly with Matthew Kahler) arrived in 1995, and Mullins returned a year later with the solo effort Eggshells.
Released in 1998, Soul's Core marked his first album for a major label, Columbia Records; it also signaled his critical breakthrough, as the single "Lullaby" became a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated hit. The album eventually went platinum, paving the way for an anthology of the singer's early work with 1999's The First Ten Years. Toward the end of 2000, Mullins released the official follow-up to Soul's Core, Beneath the Velvet Sun. The Essential Shawn Mullins collection arrived in 2003, followed by 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, his first release for Vanguard Records, in 2006. He remained with Vanguard for 2008's Honeydew, which was inspired by (and recorded in) his native Georgia. Mullins kept himself busy for the rest of the year, co-writing a number one hit for the Zac Brown Band ("Toes") and releasing Live at the Variety Playhouse, which captured one of his sold-out performances in Atlanta. Two years later, he released his eleventh studio album, Light You Up, which continued the rustic, Americana-styled thread he'd been spinning since 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor.
''HONEYDEW''
MARCH 11 2008
44:23
1. All In My Head/4:24
2. Home/3:07
3. The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston/3:27
4. Homeless Joe/2:42
5. Leaving All Your Troubles Behind/3:17
6. Fraction of a Man/3:14
7. See That Train/3:37
8. For America/3:16
9. Cabbagetown/5:01
0. Nameless Faces/3:28
1. Song of the Self (Chapter 2)/3:08
2. Rewind the Years/5:42
Kasey Chambers /Vocals (Background)
Clay Cook /Bass (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Organ (Hammond), Pedal Steel, Piano
Gerry Hansen Drums, Lap Steel Guitar, Percussion, Vocals (Background)
Marty Kearns Organ (Hammond), Wurlitzer
Shawn Mullins Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Harmonica, Mandolin, Percussion, Producer, Vocals
Francine Reed Vocals (Background)
Peter Stroud Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Resonator)
REVIEW
by Hal Horowitz
Call it a comeback or just a continuation. After a five-year sabbatical, Shawn Mullins' 2006 release was a somewhat unexpected gem that even yielded a minor hit in "Beautiful Wreck." That album not only coalesced all Mullins' strengths as a sharp lyricist, a winning composer, and a distinctive vocalist, but revived a career most would have left for dead, and was one of his finest collections. The 2008 follow-up titled honeydew, inexplicably spelled with a lower case "h," shows that the previous platter was no fluke. This dozen-song set kicks off with another should-be hit single in the ringing mid-tempo "All in My Head" that boasts an impossibly catchy, strangely familiar melody. Its "na na" hook is perfect for crowd singalongs, making the song as commercial and crossover worthy as any he has written. Although composed in 2002 and left to languish on the Scrubs soundtrack, this is timeless folk-pop given a fresh arrangement and a new lease on life. There's nothing as immediate on the rest of honeydew, but that's not a problem since Mullins' character studies, which dominate the track list, are wonderfully fleshed out pieces. The forlorn old black woman who dies alone in "The Ballad of Kathryn Johnson," the confirmed bachelor mama's boy named Harry of "Fraction of a Man," and the rest of the "Nameless Faces" are intricate, vividly detailed portraits of the forgotten folks who populate Mullins' work here. Musically he shifts from acoustic performances, some with just unplugged guitar, to slightly larger yet still rootsy band productions that change moods while keeping the project from settling into any specific groove. "See That Train" rattles through Tom Waits' styled huff-clanging percussion only to lead into the lovely yet chilling, mandolin driven, anti-Iraq war ballad "For America." Contributions from guitarist Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow), who returns from Mullins' last album, and longtime Atlanta friends Clay Cook, soul-blues singer Francine Reed (Lyle Lovett), and drummer Gerry Hanson (Randall Bramblett) help create the warmth that courses through the proceedings. Some of these mini-dramas such as "Cabbagetown" tell of Mullins' family and upbringing in Atlanta, and although this can't be considered Southern rock, there is a definable red clay roots approach that lovingly swathes these compositions. Hanson recorded and mixed the session in his Georgia studio creating a vibe that's loose, homey, and enticing. Songs such as the personal reminiscence of "Now That You're Gone" are intimate reflections that could easily deteriorate into schmaltz but are rescued by Mullins' heartfelt vocals and the band's clean, honest approach. That makes the song a tearful and totally believable excursion into the loss of an old love you almost wish would never end. It closes out a terrific folk-rock project that shows Mullins is not just here to stay, but on top of his always impressive game.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
An Atlanta-based folksinger best known for his Top Ten hit "Lullaby," Shawn Mullins was serving as a member of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Division when he released his first self-titled cassette (issued on his own label, SM) in 1989. Following the release of 1991's Everchanging World, he left the military after eight years of service to pursue music on a full-time basis. After three years spent fruitlessly searching for a record deal, Mullins established a new label, SMG, and released the LPs Better Days and Big Blue Sky in the interim. Jeff's Last Dance, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (live companion discs recorded jointly with Matthew Kahler) arrived in 1995, and Mullins returned a year later with the solo effort Eggshells.
Released in 1998, Soul's Core marked his first album for a major label, Columbia Records; it also signaled his critical breakthrough, as the single "Lullaby" became a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated hit. The album eventually went platinum, paving the way for an anthology of the singer's early work with 1999's The First Ten Years. Toward the end of 2000, Mullins released the official follow-up to Soul's Core, Beneath the Velvet Sun. The Essential Shawn Mullins collection arrived in 2003, followed by 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, his first release for Vanguard Records, in 2006. He remained with Vanguard for 2008's Honeydew, which was inspired by (and recorded in) his native Georgia. Mullins kept himself busy for the rest of the year, co-writing a number one hit for the Zac Brown Band ("Toes") and releasing Live at the Variety Playhouse, which captured one of his sold-out performances in Atlanta. Two years later, he released his eleventh studio album, Light You Up, which continued the rustic, Americana-styled thread he'd been spinning since 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor.