2012 Memphis Soul-Infused Set a Thing of Beauty
Concise, Pure Album Recorded Live Sans Overdubs in Converted Church
The follow-up to 2010's staggeringly good Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle's new album Nothings Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now was recorded completely live with no overdubs at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC with many of the same players involved on Harlem River Blues, the exception being Amanda Shires who joins the proceedings on fiddle this time around. The soulful 10-song set was co-produced by Earle with Skylar Wilson and has the fingerprints of Memphis all over it.
Earle explains, “I think that it’s the job of the artist to be in transition and constantly learn more. The new record is completely different than my last one, Harlem River Blues. This time I’ve gone in a Memphis-soul direction.”
"There’s not a wasted note, not one tossed-off idea or space filler. Earle doesn’t over-think or -analyze any moves. The casual attitude extends to his decision to cut the album entirely live, sans overdubs, in just four days at a North Carolina studio that was converted from a church. Earle’s succinct songwriting, pleasant band, and fluent sonics beget a creative trifecta: Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now exudes direct purity and conviction. The songs sound as if they could come from any era—whether via a 1950s jukebox tucked away in neighborhood bar in El Paso or through a modern working band’s amplifiers."
--Bob Gendron, TONE Audio, March 20, 2012 and Issue 45
Tracklist:
1. Am I That Lonely Tonight?
2. Look the Other Way
3. Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
4. Baby’s Got a Bad Idea
5. Maria
6. Down on the Lower East Side
7. Won’t Be the Last Time
8. Memphis in the Rain
9. Unfortunately, Anna
10. Movin’ On