44 (album)
44 is the sixth solo album by Canadian indie rock musician Joel Plaskett, released on April 17, 2020.[1] Dubbed the "spiritual successor"[2] to Plaskett's prior triple album Three, the 44-song, quadruple album was released the day before the artist's 45th birthday. (As a tie-in to that fact, the LP box set contains a bonus 45th track.[3]) Plaskett recorded the album across Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Memphis, Nashville and Toronto, having worked with 33 other musicians over four years.[1]
| 44 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 17, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | Dartmouth, Memphis, Nashville and Toronto | |||
| Studio | Scotland Yard, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Memphis Magnetic Recording, Memphis | |||
| Genre | Indie rock Rock Folk rock Folk | |||
| Length | 158 minutes | |||
| Label | Pheromone Recordings | |||
| Joel Plaskett chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
Each of the four records in the album contains 11 songs, with their own title and theme. The first record (41: Carried Away) is centred around travelling, the second collection (42: Just Passing Through) turns to finding a homecoming unfamiliar, the third set (43: If There's Another Road) tackles transitioning from lost to found, and the last record (44: The Window Inn) deals with arriving at a personal destination.[1]
Collaborators include Plaskett's band the Emergency, as well as his former group from the nineties Thrush Hermit; members of Sloan and Local Rabbits; fellow Maritimer and mentee of Plaskett Mo Kenney; Dave Shouse of past bands Grifters and Those Bastard Souls; Nashville-based Canadians Rob Crowell and Steve Dawson; the vocalist trio Reeny, Mahalia and Micah Smith; East Coast songwriters Al Tuck, Rose Cousins, and Erin Costello; folk singer-songwriters Charlotte Cornfield and Ana Egge; and Plaskett's son, Xianing.[3][4][5]
The cross-Canada album tour for 44 had been scheduled for April–May, 2020 but was pushed back to October–November, 2020 due to the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic.[4][6]
Critical reception
A hometown review in Halifax's Chronicle Herald summed up the album as, "autobiographical, philosophical, psychoanalytical and spiritual."[4] Another review called it a mix of everything, an eclectic collection from a prolific artist full of multitudes: "rock and pop, country and folk, loud and quiet, electric and acoustic, earthy and spacey, sincere and silly, gems and duds, studio and live, full-band productions and lo-fi solo fare."[7] One critic described the title single from the third record, If There's Another Road as "comfort food."[2] The expansive album was said to be a "massive, eclectic" reflection on the depth and breadth of the artist's life journey; "an impressive retrospective."[5] Also focusing on the reflective nature of the album, a Globe and Mail review noted how the album was a labour of love to Plaskett's family and friends, and the years-long effort displayed "the value of slowing down to enjoy the moment."[3]
The album was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.[8]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Joel Plaskett, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Collusion" | ||
| 2. | "Highland Heart" | ||
| 3. | "Complicated Love" | ||
| 4. | "Memory Complete Me" | ||
| 5. | "Beholden" | ||
| 6. | "Head over Heels into Heaven" | Joel Plaskett & Morgan Kenney | |
| 7. | "The Song About the Midway" | Joni Mitchell | |
| 8. | "Carried Away" | ||
| 9. | "Matthew Grimson Songs" | Plaskett & Matthew Grimson | |
| 10. | "The Right Direction" | Joel Plaskett, Bill Plaskett & Lynn Jones | |
| 11. | "Spinning Out" |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Just Passing Through" | ||
| 2. | "Hey Stu!" | ||
| 3. | "The Wizard of Taz" | ||
| 4. | "Tim" | ||
| 5. | "Brand New & Brokenhearted" | ||
| 6. | "Spray Tan" | ||
| 7. | "Action, Camera, Lights" | ||
| 8. | "So Many Words" | ||
| 9. | "Lonely Limbo" | ||
| 10. | "Blowing a Kiss" | ||
| 11. | "Catch 22" | Joel Plaskett, Doug Easley & Dave Shouse |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Renegade" | ||
| 2. | "Disappear Me" | ||
| 3. | "At My Door" | ||
| 4. | "If There's Another Road" | ||
| 5. | "Charade" | ||
| 6. | "Kingfisher" | ||
| 7. | "Dxx" | ||
| 8. | "I Lost It" | Lucinda Gayle Williams | |
| 9. | "Just Because" | ||
| 10. | "Fall Guy" | ||
| 11. | "Ps & Qs" |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Window Inn" | ||
| 2. | "West Cork Blended Irish Whiskey" | ||
| 3. | "It All Reappears" | Joel Plaskett & Morgan Kenney | |
| 4. | "Strange to Be Involved" | Robert Benvie | |
| 5. | "The Bottom" | Dennis Ellsworth | |
| 6. | "Is This Actually On" | ||
| 7. | "Melt the Universe with Brotherly Love" | ||
| 8. | "Rock Paper Scissors Meteor" | Joel Plaskett, Xianing Plaskett, Dave Shouse & Doug Easley | |
| 9. | "Flaming Star" | Sherman Edwards | |
| 10. | "There's More Out There in Here" | ||
| 11. | "A Benefit 4 Dreamland" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Curtain Call at the Polish Hall" |
References
- Thiessen, Brock (January 24, 2020). Joel Plaskett Unveils Quadruple Album '44'Exclaim!. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.
- White, Adam (March 22, 2020). Make A Sound'Some Party. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.
- O'Kane, Josh (April 21, 2020). The audacity, and necessity, of Joel Plaskett’s pandemic quadruple-recordThe Globe and Mail. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.
- Cooke, Stephen (April 3, 2020). Plaskett unveils box set 44 of new songs stretching from Dartmouth to Nashville. Chronicle Herald. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.
- Boer, Sam (April 15, 2020). Joel Plaskett's Quadruple Album '44' Is an Impressive Retrospective of His Life and WorkExclaim!. Retrieved on 2020-04-25.
- "Live". Joel Plaskett. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- Sterdan, Darryl. (April 17, 2020). Joel Plaskett 44Tinnitist. Retrieved on 2020-04-26.
- Lau, Melody (June 15, 2020). "Daniel Caesar, Jessie Reyez, Caribou and more make the 2020 Polaris Music Prize long list". CBC Music.
External links
- Joel Plaskett Unveils 44 at joelplaskett.com
- Joel Plaskett profile at Pheromone Recordings