Relish (CD)

In 1995, it was difficult to escape the jangly ballad "One of Us," with its insanely catchy chorus, quasi-mystical lyrics, and soulful delivery. The song made Joan Osborne a star, but hardly an overnight sensation, as the Kentucky-born singer had been honing her chops in New York bars for years, singing the kind of bluesy, folky pop that would make her major label debut, RELISH, so universally beloved. Osborne toured with Lilith Faire in '97 and '98, and finally released a follow-up album in 2000. Although the album enjoyed some critical acclaim, it lacked an identifiable single and tanked on the charts. Osborne continued to release albums on indies thereafter, as well as joining the post-Jerry Garcia Grateful Dead for their wildly popular live shows.

• Category:  Music  »  Rock & Pop  »  General Rock & Pop
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: March 21, 1995
• Label: Blue Gorilla
• UPC: 731452669926
• WAPI (Tower ID): 105799341
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #14567 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #5570 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #3410 in General Rock & Pop (See Top 100 General Rock & Pop Bestsellers)

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Rolling Stone (5/4/95, p.69) - 4 Stars - "...What's especially winning about [Joan Osborne] is her range: Sexy and earnest, her voice, all on its own, conveys whole choirs of feeling..."
Entertainment Weekly (Spring 2000, p.166) - Ranked #10 in EW's "Top 10 albums of the '90s"
Entertainment Weekly (12/29/95-1/5/96, p.131) - Ranked #1 on EW's Top 10 Albums Of 1995.
Entertainment Weekly (3/10/95, p.69) - "...Osborne, who's earned a formidable rep through constant touring, has Springsteen's gift for expressing regular folks' pain and pleasures. Especially the pleasures..." - Rating: A-
Q (1/96, p.143) - 3 Stars - Good - "...effectively showcases her strong, bluesy delivery..."
Village Voice (2/20/96) - Ranked #11 in Village Voice's 1995 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
New York Times (Publisher) (1/6/96, p.C16) - Included on Jon Pareles' list of the Top 10 Albums of '95 - "...her gutsy voice moves from blues growls to Balkan glottal stops, while the band locks into swaggering vamps..."
NME (Magazine) (3/9/96, p.41) - 7 (out of 10) - "...Comparisons of Osbourne's gravelly squeals and sobs to one Janis Joplin are inevitable....For once, 1.3 million Americans weren't wrong..."

Personnel: Joan Osborne (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion); Rick DiFonzo (acoustic & electric guitars); William Wittman (electric guitar); Larry Campbell (fiddle); Wade Schuman (harmonica); Chris Palmaro (electric piano, Mellotron, organ); Andy Kravitz, Sammy Merendino (drums, percussion); Rick Chertoff (percussion); Leo Osborne, Catherine Russell (background vocals).

Recorded at Big Blue, Katonah, New York and The Crawlspace, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

RELISH was nominated for the 1996 Grammy Award for Album Of The Year. The single "One Of Us" was nominated for 1996 Grammys for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. "St. Teresa" was nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Joan Osborne was nominated for Best New Artist.

"Spider Web" was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Joan Osborne cut her teeth on the Greenwich Village club circuit, and with her major label debut, RELISH, she confidently shows off the fruits of paying her dues. Osborne's music starts with a raspy vocal style that is stock for the musical bouillabaisse that she cooks up.

Osborne's roots lie in Kentucky and like Janis Joplin, another southern songbird, she has a voice that easily goes from a sexy growl to a sassy purr. Aided by Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman of Hooters fame, Osborne mixes in distinctive covers (Bob Dylan, Sonny Boy Williamson) with her own offbeat originals. A snippet of an Alan Lomax field recording of Nell Hampton's "The Airplane Ride" prefaces the theological musings of "One Of Us," which wonders whether God may be an anonymous being shuffling along as one of the faceless masses. Omar Hakim's drumming paces "Spider Web," a song about a world where Ray Charles can see.

Though Osborne loves to delve into religious mysticism, she isn't afraid to cut loose with frisky abandon. "Right Hand Man" is a randy romp with a love-starved Osborne looking for lust, while "Let's Just Get Naked" uses a plodding fuzz guitar as a backdrop to suggest a way to avoid ennui instead of filling a burning need.

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