GRACE POTTER
''MIDNIGHT''
AUGUST 14 2015
44:13
1 Hot to the Touch 03:29
2 Alive Tonight 02:51
3 Your Girl 03:37
4 Empty Heart 03:14
5 The Miner 04:01
6 Delirious 04:54
7 Look What We've Become (Ruth-Anne Cunningham, Daniel Merriweather, Grace Potter, Matt Radosevich, Eric Valentine) 03:10
8 Instigators 03:06
9 Biggest Fan 03:41
10 Low 04:03
11 Nobody's Born With a Broken Heart 03:50
12 Let You Go 04:12
Tracks By Potter & Eric Valentine, Except 7
Rayland Baxter/Vocals (Background)
Matt Burr/Clapping, Drums, Percussion, Stomping, Tambourine, Toms, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Michael Libramento/Bass
Justin Long/Clapping, Stomping, Vocals (Background)
Audra Mae/Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Rob Moose/String Arrangements, Strings
Nick Olivieri/Vocals (Background)
Grace Potter/Bass, Casio, Clapping, Clavinet, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Hammond B3, Harpsichord, Mellotron, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Upright), Pipe Organ, Stomping, Synthesizer, Tambourine, Toms, Vibraphone, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Cian Riordan/Clapping, Gong, Guitar, Guitar (Baritone), Percussion, Stomping, Vocals (Background)
Noelle Skaggs/Vocals (Background)
Scott Tournet/Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Pedal Steel, Slide Guitar
Eric Valentine/Bass Guitar, Clapping, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Mellotron, Organ, Percussion, Piano, String Arrangements, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass, Toms, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Benny YurcoGuitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
REVIEW/AMG
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Leaving behind her longtime band the Nocturnals -- in name, at least; a fair number of the members show up here, including her drummer/husband Matt Burr -- Grace Potter also leaves country in the dust on her first solo album, Midnight. Teaming with Los Angeles-based producer Eric Valentine -- he's best known for heavier stuff like Queens of the Stone Age (he even brought in Nick Oliveri to sing some backup vocals here) but also has done work with progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek -- Potter dives headfirst into pure pop with Midnight, creating a gleaming confection that, at its best, could be mistaken for late-'80s AOR. Such submersion in gloss is bound to alienate fans who've long favored her Americana authenticity but Midnight bears the same considered construction as her four albums with the Nocturnals; the surface just happens to sparkle. At first, that sheen seems blinding: the neo-new wave synths grin along with glam stomps and disco allusions, guitars play to the rafters but are still overshadowed by vocal hooks halfway between Heart and Stevie Nicks or perhaps informed by the urgent revivalism of HAIM or even memories of early Madonna. Potter isn't posturing here. She's embraced every cliché that comes with this retro album rock and that enthusiasm certainly gives Midnight panache -- she's every bit as passionate here as she was on the rawer The Lion the Beast the Beat -- but what gives the album resonance is how her clever songs keep Valentine's supremely SoCal production from playing like aural candy. Both Potter and Valentine delight in celebrating and inverting the clichés of overblown '80s AOR and that's what makes Midnight such a fun trip.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Marisa Brown
Born in Waitsfield, Vermont, Grace Potter grew up in a family that encouraged her artistic pursuits in areas from music to theater, the latter of which she was studying at St. Lawrence University when drummer Matt Burr heard her singing at an open-mike night in 2002 and asked if she would form a band with him. She declined, but when her high school friend and bass player Courtright Beard enrolled in their college, she reconsidered the invitation, and the three of them began to write and perform jazz-influenced songs, with Potter also taking up duties on the Hammond B-3. Soon, guitarist Scott Tournet joined, and the bandmembers, calling themselves Grace Potter & the Nocturnals -- thanks to their late-night practice habits -- began to think seriously about making music their careers. When Burr graduated in 2003, they decided to move back to Vermont to some land that Potter's parents owned and dedicate themselves more fully to their craft, replacing Beard (who chose to stay at school) with Bryan Dondero in the process.
Original Soul
In 2004 they self-released their debut, Original Soul, receiving positive response and comparisons to artists like Norah Jones and early Bonnie Raitt. This in turn garnered major-label offers, but the band preferred to build its fan base by constant touring and festival appearances. Word of their electric performance spread, and shortly after their second album, Nothing But the Water -- also self-released -- came out in 2005, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals signed to Hollywood Records., Their third full-length, This Is Somewhere, hit shelves nationwide in August 2007. In 2010, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals was released; Hollywood pulled out all the stops in order to break the band internationally. Over the next year and a half, they toured incessantly, releasing a four-song Christmas EP, a live album in the UK, and a digital download-only set recorded live at the Fillmore. Potter's duet with Kenny Chesney, "You and Tequila," was nominated for Single of the Year Vocal Collaboration at the American Country Awards, and the pair performed it at the CMA Awards. In June of 2012, a new studio album, The Lion the Beast the Beat, by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals was released. Peaking at 17 on the Billboard 200, The Lion the Beast the Beat received the most attention of any Nocturnals record yet released, but Potter decided to go solo for her next album, 2015's Midnight. Produced by Eric Valentine, who also co-wrote many of the songs, the album appeared in August of 2015.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP
''MIDNIGHT''
AUGUST 14 2015
44:13
1 Hot to the Touch 03:29
2 Alive Tonight 02:51
3 Your Girl 03:37
4 Empty Heart 03:14
5 The Miner 04:01
6 Delirious 04:54
7 Look What We've Become (Ruth-Anne Cunningham, Daniel Merriweather, Grace Potter, Matt Radosevich, Eric Valentine) 03:10
8 Instigators 03:06
9 Biggest Fan 03:41
10 Low 04:03
11 Nobody's Born With a Broken Heart 03:50
12 Let You Go 04:12
Tracks By Potter & Eric Valentine, Except 7
Rayland Baxter/Vocals (Background)
Matt Burr/Clapping, Drums, Percussion, Stomping, Tambourine, Toms, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Michael Libramento/Bass
Justin Long/Clapping, Stomping, Vocals (Background)
Audra Mae/Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Rob Moose/String Arrangements, Strings
Nick Olivieri/Vocals (Background)
Grace Potter/Bass, Casio, Clapping, Clavinet, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Hammond B3, Harpsichord, Mellotron, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Upright), Pipe Organ, Stomping, Synthesizer, Tambourine, Toms, Vibraphone, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Cian Riordan/Clapping, Gong, Guitar, Guitar (Baritone), Percussion, Stomping, Vocals (Background)
Noelle Skaggs/Vocals (Background)
Scott Tournet/Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Pedal Steel, Slide Guitar
Eric Valentine/Bass Guitar, Clapping, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Mellotron, Organ, Percussion, Piano, String Arrangements, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass, Toms, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Benny YurcoGuitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
REVIEW/AMG
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Leaving behind her longtime band the Nocturnals -- in name, at least; a fair number of the members show up here, including her drummer/husband Matt Burr -- Grace Potter also leaves country in the dust on her first solo album, Midnight. Teaming with Los Angeles-based producer Eric Valentine -- he's best known for heavier stuff like Queens of the Stone Age (he even brought in Nick Oliveri to sing some backup vocals here) but also has done work with progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek -- Potter dives headfirst into pure pop with Midnight, creating a gleaming confection that, at its best, could be mistaken for late-'80s AOR. Such submersion in gloss is bound to alienate fans who've long favored her Americana authenticity but Midnight bears the same considered construction as her four albums with the Nocturnals; the surface just happens to sparkle. At first, that sheen seems blinding: the neo-new wave synths grin along with glam stomps and disco allusions, guitars play to the rafters but are still overshadowed by vocal hooks halfway between Heart and Stevie Nicks or perhaps informed by the urgent revivalism of HAIM or even memories of early Madonna. Potter isn't posturing here. She's embraced every cliché that comes with this retro album rock and that enthusiasm certainly gives Midnight panache -- she's every bit as passionate here as she was on the rawer The Lion the Beast the Beat -- but what gives the album resonance is how her clever songs keep Valentine's supremely SoCal production from playing like aural candy. Both Potter and Valentine delight in celebrating and inverting the clichés of overblown '80s AOR and that's what makes Midnight such a fun trip.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Marisa Brown
Born in Waitsfield, Vermont, Grace Potter grew up in a family that encouraged her artistic pursuits in areas from music to theater, the latter of which she was studying at St. Lawrence University when drummer Matt Burr heard her singing at an open-mike night in 2002 and asked if she would form a band with him. She declined, but when her high school friend and bass player Courtright Beard enrolled in their college, she reconsidered the invitation, and the three of them began to write and perform jazz-influenced songs, with Potter also taking up duties on the Hammond B-3. Soon, guitarist Scott Tournet joined, and the bandmembers, calling themselves Grace Potter & the Nocturnals -- thanks to their late-night practice habits -- began to think seriously about making music their careers. When Burr graduated in 2003, they decided to move back to Vermont to some land that Potter's parents owned and dedicate themselves more fully to their craft, replacing Beard (who chose to stay at school) with Bryan Dondero in the process.
Original Soul
In 2004 they self-released their debut, Original Soul, receiving positive response and comparisons to artists like Norah Jones and early Bonnie Raitt. This in turn garnered major-label offers, but the band preferred to build its fan base by constant touring and festival appearances. Word of their electric performance spread, and shortly after their second album, Nothing But the Water -- also self-released -- came out in 2005, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals signed to Hollywood Records., Their third full-length, This Is Somewhere, hit shelves nationwide in August 2007. In 2010, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals was released; Hollywood pulled out all the stops in order to break the band internationally. Over the next year and a half, they toured incessantly, releasing a four-song Christmas EP, a live album in the UK, and a digital download-only set recorded live at the Fillmore. Potter's duet with Kenny Chesney, "You and Tequila," was nominated for Single of the Year Vocal Collaboration at the American Country Awards, and the pair performed it at the CMA Awards. In June of 2012, a new studio album, The Lion the Beast the Beat, by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals was released. Peaking at 17 on the Billboard 200, The Lion the Beast the Beat received the most attention of any Nocturnals record yet released, but Potter decided to go solo for her next album, 2015's Midnight. Produced by Eric Valentine, who also co-wrote many of the songs, the album appeared in August of 2015.
WEBSITE
TO THE TOP