Strange Time to Be Alive

by Early James

Overview

Early James released his first album, Singing for My Supper, just as the world slid into the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, so if any singer/songwriter has cause to claim that it's a Strange Time to Be Alive -- the pointed title of his second album -- it's him. To his credit, he winds up delivering on the promise of his title, conjuring ghosts of the American South with his stylized soul and poetry -- a combination that can suggest Tom Waits in his beatnik poet prime crossed with a blues troubadour. This heightened Americana is quite appealing, especially in the hands of producer Dan Auerbach, who lets the ballads be painterly and gives the shambling numbers a colorful quality, letting Early James growl against guitar grit and thickened thump in the rhythms. At nearly an hour, Strange Time to Be Alive does indeed have a tendency to wander and linger, a characteristic that can be mildly maddening but also is ingratiatingly eccentric. Perhaps Early James can recall such inspirations as Waits, but the way he assembles American myths and music has an idiosyncratic signature that only sounds stronger and more authoritative with repeat listens. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	08/19/2022
Label:	Easy Eye Sound
UPC:	0888072423701
Rank:	70714

Tracks

1. Racing to a Red Light
2. Straitjacket for Two
3. My Sweet Camelia
4. Pigsty
5. What a Strange Time To Be Alive
6. Real Low Down Lonesome with Sierra Ferrell
7. Harder To Blame
8. If Heaven Is a Hotel
9. Splenda Daddy
10. Dance in the Fire
11. Wasted and Wanting
12. Something for Nothing

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Early James   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Sierra Ferrell   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Tom Bukovac   Guitar (Electric)
Dan Auerbach   Vocals (Background)
Russ Pahl   Bass,Guitar,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Steel),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Mike Rojas   Organ,Piano,Accordion,Mellotron,Wurlitzer,Vibraphone,Fender Rhodes
Sam Bacco   Congas,Percussion
Jay Bellerose   Drums,Percussion
Adrian Marmolejo   Bass,Double Bass,Guitar (Bass),Bass (Upright)

Technical Credits

Greg Cartwright   Composer
Dan Auerbach   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Mixing Engineer,Recording Producer
Eric Krasno   Composer
Ryan Smith   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Rob Thomas   Composer
Allen Parker   Mixing
McKinley James   Assistant Engineer
Jim Herrington   Photography
Austin Jenkins   Composer
Perry Shall   Design
M. Allen Parker   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer
Caleb VanBuskirk   Engineer
Fredrick James Mullis, Jr.   Composer
Sierra Ferrell   Composer
Tyler Zwiep   Assistant Engineer
Adrian Marmolejo   Composer
Jonny Ulman   Assistant Engineer