Love Is an Army

by Janiva Magness

Overview

Janiva Magness released her first album in 1997, but it took her nearly two decades until she snagged a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2016. The nod was for Love Wins Again, her first record for Blue Elan and fifth collaboration with producer Dave Darling, with whom she has an easy, natural chemistry. Love Is an Army, her 2018 sequel to Love Wins Again, illustrates that for however easy her rapport with Darling is, it is hardly lazy. Like its predecessor, Love Is an Army is rooted in Southern soul-blues -- the opening "Back to Blue" is a proud throwback to the classic sound of Stax Records -- but Magness adds new dimensions to this blueprint. Notably, there's a strong country undercurrent that runs through the album, first surfacing on "On and On" -- a steady-rolling number featuring Poco's Rusty Young on pedal steel -- but reappearing on the title track and the fragile "Down Below." When paired with the adventurous blues that pops up elsewhere -- "Home" is a fuzz-drenched gospel number, "Hammer" is densely funky yet finds a spot for Charlie Musselwhite -- this Americana turns Love Is an Army into a rich, rewarding affair that betters its fine predecessor. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/23/2018
Label:	Blue Elan Records
UPC:	0762183450828
Rank:	188138

Tracks

1. Back to Blue
2. Hammer
3. On and On
4. Tell Me
5. Love Is an Army
6. Down Below
7. What's That Say About You
8. What I Could Do
9. Home
10. Love to a Gunfight
11. When It Rains
12. Some Kind of Love

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Janiva Magness   Primary Artist,Vocals
Arlan Schierbaum   Keyboards
Courtney Hartman   Banjo,Guitar,Featured Artist
Alfredo Ballesteros   Horn
Stephen Hodges   Drums
Phil Parlapiano   Piano
Davey Faragher   Bass
Cedric Burnside   Featured Artist,Guitar
Delbert McClinton   Featured Artist,Vocals
Dave Darling   Guitar
Charlie Musselwhite   Featured Artist,Harmonica
Rusty Young   Featured Artist,Pedal Steel
Darrell Leonard   Horn
Joe Sublett   Horn
Doug Livingston   Pedal Steel,Dobro
Brian Stephens   Featured Artist,Vocals

Technical Credits

Gary Pinto   Composer
Zack Darling   Engineer
Andrew Lowden   Composer
Lauren Bliss   Composer
Natasha Pinto   Composer
Dave Darling   Producer,Composer,Mixing
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering
Janiva Magness   Cover Design,Composer
Colin Devlin   Composer
Paul Thorn   Composer