Joan Osborne 'Little Wild One' album

In writing songs for her new album 'Little Wild One' (September 9th), Joan Osborne fell under the spell of two of New York's most beloved poets. "The album's opening track, 'Hallelujah in the City,' is a riff on the idea of the city as a spiritual place," says Osborne. "This idea comes up in Walt Whitman's and Alan Ginsberg's poetry, the concept that the shared bond of humanity of all the citizens, all their interactions, adds up to a unique environment of the soul."

The album marks the reunion Osborne with Rick Chertoff, Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian, the writing producing team that worked on her debut, five-million selling breakthrough album 'Relish,' which was nominated for six GRAMMYs.

Chertoff sets the scene, saying, "On album opener 'Hallelujah in the City,' Eric's mandola intro and Rob's hammond chord organ bring us immediately back into the modal world of 'Relish.' And Joan's vocal, from its very entrance, grabs you with a simple power and grace that speaks of faith and intimacy, where Brooklyn and Appalachia meet in earnest."

"Sweeter Than The Rest," the album's next track, actually takes a reference from the Whitman poem, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry." Joan explains, "Sweeter was written about a man who no longer speaks to me but who continues to haunt my thoughts and dreams. The old Brooklyn ferry landing is now a park with a beautiful view of lower Manhattan, and this man and I went there one night after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and climbing on its cables."

biography
Much of Joan Osborne's new album 'Little Wild One' (September 9) grew out of her experiences living in New York over the past twenty years. Osborne says, "Life unfolds in the open here, on the streets and in city squares. It's inspirational for a writer."

"It's a place-specific album," she says. "I was reading a lot of Walt Whitman [while writing 'Little Wild One'] and thinking about his spiritual view of what a city can be." The opener "Hallelujah In The City" unfurls "on the Riverside Drive, on the Red Hook night, in the churches of Brooklyn, underneath the Chelsea lights, in Battery Park and up in Morningside Heights." Other NYC references abound, from "To The One I Love," which takes place "in a hotel room up above the lights of Tompkins square" to "crossing Brooklyn ferry" in "Sweeter Than The Rest."

In the album's coda and another highlight, "Bury Me On the Battery," Osborne sings joyfully, "I'll be smiling brother, when they lay me down, 'cause I lived my life in New York town."

Osborne also saw the city anew this decade. "I think we were all newly grateful for the experience of the city after September 11," she says.

Osborne has reunited with producer/writers Rick Chertoff, Rob Hyman, and Eric Bazilian on her new album 'Little Wild One.' The team last worked together on Osborne's breakthrough, debut album 'Relish,' which sold five million copies worldwide and yielded the smash hit "One Of Us" as well as six Grammy nominations.

'Little Wild One' features eleven new songs, most of them written by Osborne in collaboration with Chertoff, Bazilian and Hyman. Highlights include "Hallelujah in the City," "Sweeter Than The Rest," "Cathedrals," the haunting title track "Little Wild One" and the stripped-down "Bury Me On The Battery," an ode to Osborne's coming of age hometown, New York City.

In a career that spans over fifteen years, Joan has proven to be an artistically restless yet consistently enthralling performer. In 2002, she cemented her reputation as a top tier soul singer with an incredible turn in the acclaimed documentary film 'Standing in the Shadows of Motown,' followed by a tour with legendary Motown backing band The Funk Brothers. In 2003, Osborne toured with the Dixie Chicks and then surprised and wowed audiences touring throughout America for two years as the lead singer for The Dead. In 2007, she graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.

Osborne loves to sing and perform in many different genres, but she comes back to her soulful rock roots on 'Little Wild One.' Watch for Joan to tour extensively around the release of her new album.

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Joan Osborne - Little Wild One