Humour Me
| Humour Me | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Label | Sugar Hill/Attic[1][2] | |||
| Producer | Jesse Winchester | |||
| Jesse Winchester chronology | ||||
| ||||
Humour Me is an album by the American-Canadian musician Jesse Winchester, released in 1988.[3][4] It was his first album in seven years.[5] Humour Me was nominated for a Juno Award, in the "Best Roots or Traditional Album" category.[6] "Well-a-Wiggy" had been a minor hit for the Weather Girls.[7]
Production[edit]
Winchester preferred to play live or to work as a songwriter; his manager and Sugar Hill Records head encouraged him to record again.[8] Produced by Winchester, the album was recorded in Nashville.[2][9] Jerry Douglas played dobro on the album; Dave Pomeroy, Jim Horn, and Béla Fleck also contributed.[10][11][12][13]
Critical reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [14] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [15] |
| MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide |  [13] |
| Windsor Star | B+[16] |
The Globe and Mail panned the "romantic cliche and kitschy arrangements."[10] The Toronto Star wrote: "Warm, lean, smooth, the singer's voice is a marvellous, communicative instrument, never overwhelmed by fancy arrangements or star instrumentalists."[17] The Windsor Star considered "Too Weak to Say Goodbye" to be the album's best song.[16]
The Washington Post called the album "strictly mid-level stuff," but conceded that it was "nevertheless chock-full of songs that combine insinuating melodies and rhythms with tender sentiments so deftly handled that they never sound as trite as they might appear on paper."[18] The Ottawa Citizen stated that the music ranges from "earthy front porch blues and cafe folk to the odd lounge lizard croon."[19]
AllMusic wrote that "Humour Me lacked the depth of Winchester's best work, but it was easily on a par with his substantial body of craftsmanlike music of the mid-'70s... His voice remained warm and supple."[14]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "If I Were Free" | |
| 2. | "Thanks to You" | |
| 3. | "They Just Can't Help Themselves" | |
| 4. | "Too Weak to Say Goodbye" | |
| 5. | "Let's Make a Baby King" | |
| 6. | "Well-a-Wiggy" | |
| 7. | "I Don't Think You Love Me Anymore" | |
| 8. | "Willow" | |
| 9. | "Humour Me" | |
| 10. | "I Want to Mean Something to You" |
References[edit]
- ^ "Jesse Winchester Returns to Folk Scene". MTV News.
- ^ a b Burliuk, Greg (11 Mar 1989). "Humour Me Jesse Winchester". Magazine. The Kingston Whig-Standard. p. 1.
- ^ "Jesse Winchester Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (April 11, 2014). "Jesse Winchester, Writer and Singer of Thoughtful Songs, Dies at 69". The New York Times.
- ^ Blackstock, Peter (28 Jan 1989). "Best bets". Austin American-Statesman. p. A18.
- ^ "Up for Junos". Edmonton Journal. 8 Feb 1990. p. C1.
- ^ MacInnis, Craig (15 Apr 1989). "Jesse Winchester looking back South". Toronto Star. p. J3.
- ^ Dudley, Wendy (2 Mar 1989). "Jesse's under country's spell". Calgary Herald. p. F1.
- ^ Griffin, John (6 May 1988). "A rare look at Jesse". The Gazette. p. C1.
- ^ a b Dafoe, Chris (9 Feb 1989). "Humour Me Jesse Winchester". The Globe and Mail. p. C9.
- ^ Morris, Edward. "Songwriter Jesse Winchester Dies at Age 69". CMT News.
- ^ Gilbert, Calvin (January 20, 1989). "Southern upbringing evident in Winchester's songwriting". Fun. The Advocate. p. 11.
- ^ a b MusicHound Folk: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 853.
- ^ a b "Humour Me". AllMusic.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 724.
- ^ a b Shaw, Ted (15 Apr 1989). "Record Review". Windsor Star. p. C2.
- ^ Quill, Greg (3 Feb 1989). "Humour Me Jesse Winchester". Toronto Star. p. D12.
- ^ Joyce, Mike (10 Feb 1989). "Jesse Winchester: Tunes That Tug". The Washington Post. p. N19.
- ^ Erskine, Evelyn (17 Feb 1989). "Jesse: Rebel with cause". Ottawa Citizen. p. B6.
