Come Home to Mama [B&N Exclusive]

by Martha Wainwright

Overview

Martha Wainwright is an artist who has absolutely no fear of emotional honesty, a quality that has long figured strongly in her work (not everyone has the nerve to record a song called "Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole" about their own semi-famous father), and she has plenty to open up about on her fifth album, Come Home to Mama. This is Wainwright's first set of original material since 2008, and since then she got married, had a child who was born 11 weeks premature, and struggled with the death of her mother, and not surprisingly, life's transitions dominate the songs here. Wainwright doesn't pull any punches in her songwriting; her songs about her marriage range from warts-and-all celebrations of her relationship ("Can You Believe It") to bittersweet admissions of defeat ("Some People"), and the closing song to her child, "Everything Wrong," may be the most harrowingly honest song addressed to one's offspring since Richard Thompson's "The End of the Rainbow." But some of the most potent material here deals with Wainwright's late mother, Kate McGarrigle; the album includes Wainwright's interpretation of "Proserpina," the final song McGarrigle wrote, which uses mythology as a metaphor for the often turbulent relationship between mother and daughter, and "All Your Clothes" finds Wainwright struggling with the physical and emotional baggage left to her by her mom's passing. While this material is emotionally intense, Wainwright never sounds like she's wallowing in self-pity, and her sharply expressive, slightly theatrical vocals are in splendid form, while the production (mostly by Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto) has a slightly cool electronic undertow that complements both Wainwright's wit and her harsh introspection. And Wainwright is accompanied by some superb musicians who give these songs the support they deserve, including Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, Dirty Three drummer Jim White, and Sean Lennon on bass. Come Home to Mama isn't always an easy or cheery listen, but anyone familiar with Martha Wainwright's work knows not to expect that; it is a compelling, engaging, and emotionally powerful set of songs from a strikingly talented singer and songwriter, and this is her most intimate and affecting work to date. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/16/2012
Label:	Co-Operation / Co-Operative / Cooperative Music
UPC:	0878037027419
Rank:	2744

Tracks

1. I Am Sorry
2. Can You Believe It
3. Radio Star
4. Proserpina
5. Leave Behind
6. Four Black Sheep
7. Some People
8. I Wanna Make an Arrest
9. All Your Clothes
10. Everything Wrong
11. I Wanna Make an Arrest
12. All Your Clothes
13. Four Black Sheep

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Martha Wainwright   Primary Artist,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Brad Albetta   Bass
Shahzad Ismaily   Keyboards,Moog Bass,Percussion
Lily Lanken   Vocals (Background)
Erik Friedlander   Cello
Sylvan Lanken   Vocals (Background)
Michael Leonhart   Trumpet
Anna McGarrigle   Piano,Keyboards
Tom Mennier   Piano
Jared Samuel   Keyboards
Andrew Whiteman   Guitar (Electric)
Yuka Honda   Bass,Keyboards
Mauro Refosco   Shaker,Percussion
Aaron Johnston   Drums
Thomas Bartlett   Piano,Keyboards
Sean Lennon   Bass
Nels Cline   Guitar (Electric)
Doug Wieselman   Saxophone,Sax (Baritone)
Ariel Engle   Vocals (Background)
Jim White   Drums
Hannah Cohen   Vocals (Background)
Yuko Araki   Drums
Kathleen Weldon   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Kate McGarrigle   Composer
Marc Urselli   Mixing
Martha Wainwright   Composer
Michael Brauer   Mixing
Anna McGarrigle   Composer,Producer
Yuka Honda   Producer,Bass Programming,Drum Programming
Janie McGarrigle   Composer
Pierre Marchand   Mixing,Producer
Don Murnaghan   Mixing
David Bishop   Art Direction
Mark Squires   Cover Photo
Kathleen Weldon   Cover Design
Joan Snyder   Paintings
Peter Jacobs   Painting Photography