Have One on Me
Have One on Me is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom, released on February 23, 2010 via Drag City.[5] It is a triple album produced by Newsom and mixed by longtime collaborators Jim O'Rourke and Noah Georgeson, with arrangements by Ryan Francesconi.
Have One on Me
Have One on Me continues Newsom's use of cryptic, pastoral lyrics, with a further progression of elements of her sound such as the orchestral accompaniment and the arrangements – with the inclusion of diverse instruments like the tambura, the harpsichord and the kaval.[6] The production also flirts with genres such as jazz and blues in some of the tracks, while adding drums and the electric guitar in others. The album is also her first since The Milk-Eyed Mender to include songs played on the piano instead of the harp. Because of health problems, Newsom's voice was damaged during the sessions, consequently affecting the overall recording process and forcing her to change her singing style.[7][8]
The title of the album and its official release date were officially announced on January 12, 2010, through a comic strip. Otherwise, information about Have One on Me surfaced slowly, mostly being kept secret by the press and Drag City.[9] Advance copies of the album were only sent to music critics a few weeks before its release in an attempt to prevent a leak, since Newsom's previous album leaked months ahead of its original release date after it was left unprotected on servers belonging to music review website Pitchfork.[10][11] It ultimately leaked on February 18, 2010.[12]
Have One on Me was largely acclaimed by music critics upon its release, earning Joanna Newsom several accolades and favorable comparisons to previous singer-songwriters such as Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, Rickie Lee Jones and Kate Bush.[9][13][14][15] Conversely, like her previous releases before it, the album has received its share of criticism. The majority of them were made towards its triple disc format – described by some critics as overly ambitious – and some of its tracks' lengths.[16][17] Commercially the album earned Newsom her best chart positions yet and fared well. In the U.S. Have One on Me debuted and peaked at number 75 on the Billboard 200 and number 16 on the Top Digital Albums, selling more than 7,000 copies in its first week. It also spent four consecutive weeks atop of the Folk Albums chart and peaked inside the top 10 of the Independent Albums chart.[18] In the UK, it peaked at number 28, becoming her second album to reach the top 50. Additionally, Have One on Me is her first chart appearance in Canada.[18]
Background[edit]
Recording[edit]
On March 28, 2009, Newsom performed over two hours of new material at a "secret" concert at the Fernwood Resort in Big Sur, California with fellow Nevada City singer-songwriter Mariee Sioux, under the pseudonym The Beatles's. Those in attendance reported that about one-third of her new material was played primarily on piano, with a backing arrangement of banjo, violin, guitar and drums. Plans of recording an album appeared earlier that year with the help of Francesconi and Neal Morgan, who did the percussion on the album. According to an interview made by Time, the three of them crawled through the songs bar by bar, talking about each of their "meaning, mood and thematic stuff". During the recording of the album, especially when she went to lay the basic vocal tracks, it was discovered that she had lost her voice.[8] This put a freeze on recording the vocals, although she continued to record all of the piano and the harp tracks.[7] By the end of the year she had since completed the album and mastered it in Tokyo.[19][20]
Release[edit]
On January 12, 2010, an entry cryptically titled "@!?*(%$#!!" was posted on the Drag City website where it contained a link leading to a short comic strip titled "Joanna Newsom 'Have One on Me'" with a date of February 23, 2010.[21] It was later confirmed by Spunk, Newsom's Australian label, that the title and date represented the title and release date of Newsom's upcoming album.[22] The album was reportedly to be released in Australia on February 19, 2010, but it was later postponed to February 22.[23][24] A week later, Clash reported that Newsom's upcoming album would contain the four following tracks: "Jack Rabbits", "Ribbon Bows", "Autumn" and "In California". Newsom also described the album as a "cross between her last two"[25] On January 22 of that same month, less than three days after the interview, Clash removed the article and the interview, citing that "the information given was not part of any exclusive interview with, or authorized, by Joanna Newsom and that the words expressed were solely those of the writer." Also, according to the magazine, "none of the quotes should be credited to Ms. Newsom". They concluded by apologizing to "Ms. Newsom and her record company for any distress caused by the article."[26] That same day, NME had reported that the album would contain three discs.[27]
Reception[edit]
Commercial performance[edit]
In the week it was released, Have One on Me reached the top 10 of online music stores such as Amazon and iTunes in the U.S. As a consequence, the album debuted and peaked at number 16 on the Top Digital Albums chart and at number 7 on the Independent Albums chart. On the Billboard 200, it debuted and peaked at number 75, selling more than five thousand copies, making it not only her highest charting album, but also her best first week sales yet. It also debuted and peaked atop of the Folk Albums, making Have One on Me her second album to reach the top spot of a Billboard chart. A week later, it fell to number 104 at the first and stayed another week at the top of the latter, becoming, so far, her most successful chart performance. On its third week, the album fell to number 140, though it continued to top the Folk Albums chart.[18] Have One on Me spent a total of four weeks inside the Billboard 200 and it charted inside of the top 40 and the top 5 of the Independent Albums and Folk Albums charts, respectively for a few more weeks. By the end of the year, it had sold more than 50,000 copies in the U.S. alone.[46] The album also became her first chart appearance in Canada, debuting and peaking at number 80.
In Europe, the album also became Newsom's highest chart appearance to date in the majority of the territories, where it peaked at number 46 on the continent's overall chart.[18] In the UK, it debuted and peaked at number 28 selling 8,481 copies that week,[47] her second album to chart inside the top 50, since Ys peaked at number 41 back in 2006. In Ireland, it debuted and peaked at number 24, falling to number 32 a week after its debut.[48] The album peaked inside the top 20 of the Norwegian Album Charts, and reached the top 100 of others such as the Switzerland's, Netherlands's and Belgium's albums charts.[49][50][51] The album charted lower than its predecessor in France, where it debuted and peaked at number 171.