The Psalms

by Jessi Colter

Overview

The plainspoken title The Psalms may suggest a straightforward gospel album, but this 2017 album is anything but straightforward. Jessi Colter recorded The Psalms with Lenny Kaye, the guitarist best known for his collaboration with Patti Smith. The pair became acquainted when Kaye was assisting Colter's late husband Waylon Jennings in writing his autobiography and, during this time, the writer discovered that the singer would often sit at her piano and improvise melodies to passages from the Book of Psalms. Convinced this was a great idea for an album, Kaye held two sessions in 2007 and 2008 -- not long after Colter released the Don Was-produced Out of the Ashes -- and then he spent the next several years augmenting the spare sketches with tastefully chosen musicians. The result is striking, unlike anything Jessi Colter has ever released: it's hushed and haunting, an elegiac testimonial to the power of enduring faith. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/24/2017
Label:	Legacy / Sony Music
UPC:	0889854049126
Rank:	110023

Tracks

1. Psalm 150 Praise Ye the Lord
2. Psalm 75 Unto Thee
3. Psalm 114 And the Mountains Skip Like Rams
4. Psalm 99 He Is Holy
5. Psalm 24 Who Is the King of Glory
6. Psalm 136 Mercy and Loving Kindness
7. Psalm 151 King David's Last Psalm
8. Psalm 21 Be Thou Exalted
9. Psalm 45 My Song to a King
10. Psalm 73 Like a Beast
11. Psalm 23 The Lord Is My Shepherd
12. Psalm 72 Arise O King of Old

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jessi Colter   Primary Artist,Piano,Voices
Lenny Kaye   Pedal Steel,Bass (Electric),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
John Jackson   Violin,Mandolin
Bobby Previte   Drums,Cymbals,Triangle,Tambourine,Drums (Snare)
Al Kooper   Guitar,French Horn,Synthesizer,Organ (Hammond),Piano (Electric)
Jenni Muldaur   Vocals (Background)
Jesse Lauter   Mellotron
Paul Dugan   Bass,Bass Strings,Bass (Electric)
Willa Roberts   Vocals (Background)
Mia Theodoratus   Harp
Sarah Small   Vocals (Background)
Shelley Thomas   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Jessi Colter   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Lenny Kaye   Composer,Producer
Jon Lupfer   Overdub Engineer
Eric Spring   Engineer,Overdub Engineer
Jesse Lauter   Mixing,Overdub Engineer
Frank Harkins   Design,Art Direction
David McClister   Photography
Paul Dugan   String Arrangements
Jeff Berner   Overdub Engineer
Kenneth LaFave   Composer
Sean Cahalin   Overdub Engineer