I'm New Here

by Gil Scott-Heron

Overview

I'm New Here is a shock. It's a wallop filled with big nasty beats, a wide range of sonic atmospheres, and more -- sometimes unintentional -- autobiographical intimacy than we've heard from Gil Scott-Heron than ever before. Produced by XL Recordings head Richard Russell, I'm New Here is his first record in 16 years. It is a scant 28 minutes and doesn't need to be a second longer. It's unlike anything he's previously recorded, though there is metaphoric precedence in his earliest, largely spoken word albums. Its production pushes forcefully at the margins, and Scott-Heron embraces it without a hint of nostalgia. It opens with "On Coming from a Broken Home," the first of a two-part poem that bookends the album. Over a piano and a sampled string loop (from Kanye West's "Flashing Lights"), he reflects on his upbringing filled with strong female figures and an unconventional structure, with a startling epiphany at the end. It segues immediately into a slamming read of Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil," with enormous hip-hop drums, sampled strings, and sonic effects that create a sense of brooding menace as Scott-Heron wails with bracing rawness to hair-raising effect. Just as quickly, the album shifts dramatically. A lone acoustic guitar introduces the Bill Callahan-penned title track. Scott-Heron recites the verse but sings its refrain: "No matter how far wrong gone/You can always turn around." It feels like he's speaking into a mirror with a dawning awareness of who -- and what -- he's become as he accepts it. He now owns this song. A Burial-like wall of effects over a cello loop introduces "Your Soul and Mine." It's Scott-Heron's unflinching look at death, and the way it feeds, yet ends with a warrior's words: "So if you see the vulture coming/Flying circles in your mind/Remember there is no escaping/For he will follow close behind/Only promise me a battle/For your soul, and mine." It's not all darkness, however. A reading of Bobby "Blue" Bland's "I'll Take Care of You," features Gil's soulful piano with a small string section. He sings it tenderly, in a now-raspier but still deeply expressive voice; it stands out sonically, but belongs here because of its intimacy. "New York Is Killing Me," based on a John Lee Hooker blues, has been reinvented with almost entirely new lyrics and arrangement. Singers from the Harlem Gospel Choir; handclaps, bass drums, cymbals, synths, and guitar are treated spatially by Russell; Scott-Heron's lead vocal roars from the center. "The Crutch" is a burning atmospheric poem about a junkie's life. Scott-Heron doesn't distance himself from his subject; it isn't mere observation, but an empathic elegy, and Russell's suffocatingly close production brings it home. Forty years after his debut, I'm New Here contains the artful immediacy that distinguishes Scott-Heron's best art. The modern production adds immeasurably to that quality, underscores his continued relevance in reflecting the times, and opens his work to a new generation of listeners while giving older ones a righteous jolt. [XL is also offering a limited editon of 300 copies with seven bonus tracks. These include unreleased material from the album's sessions, as well as new versions of "Winter In America" and "Home Is Where The Hatred Is."] ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	02/09/2010
Label:	Xl
UPC:	0634904947118
Rank:	29336

Tracks

1. On Coming From a Broken Home, Pt. 1
2. Me and the Devil
3. I'm New Here
4. Your Soul and Mine
5. Parents (Interlude)
6. I'll Take Care of You
7. Being Blessed (Interlude)
8. Where Did the Nights Go
9. I Was Guided (Interlude)
10. New York Is Killing Me
11. Certain Things
12. Running
13. The Crutch
14. I've Been Me (Interlude)
15. On Coming From a Broken Home, Pt. 2

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gil Scott-Heron   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals
Kim Jordan   Piano,Vocals
Pat Sullivan   Guitar
Mike Block   Strings
Michelle Hutcherson   Vocals (Background)
Una Tone   Strings
Mary Jo Stilp   Strings
Christiana Liberis   Strings
Tiona Hall   Vocals (Background)
Tyria Stokes   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Bill Callahan   Composer
Brook Benton   Composer
Gil Scott-Heron   Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Assistant Producer
Damon Albarn   Keyboard Overdubs
Malcolm Cecil   Engineer,Producer,Synthesizer Programming
Lalo Schifrin   Composer
Robert Johnson   Composer
Mischa Richter   Artwork,Photography
Lawson White   Mixing,Engineer,String Arrangements
Louis Gossett, Jr.   Composer
Richard Russell   Composer,Producer,Cover Photo,Assistant Producer
Phil Lee   Artwork
Ichiho Nishiki   Mixing,Engineer
Royce Jeffres   Assistant
Rodaidh McDonald   Mixing,Engineer
Chris Cunningham   Guitar Overdubs,Synthesizer Overdubs
Richard Havens   Composer