Washington Square Serenade
Encyclopedia
Washington Square Serenade is an album by alternative country
singer Steve Earle
. The album features the singer's wife, Allison Moorer
on the track "Days Aren't Long Enough," and the Brazilian group Forro in the Dark
on the track "City of Immigrants." The track "Way Down in the Hole," by Tom Waits
, was used as the opening theme song for the fifth and final season of the HBO series The Wire
, on which Earle plays a recurring character named Walon. The album was released on September 25, 2007, on New West Records
. In February 2008 it won a Grammy Award
for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
.
unless otherwise noted.
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
singer Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
. The album features the singer's wife, Allison Moorer
Allison Moorer
Allison Moorer is an American alternative country singer and the younger sister of Shelby Lynne. She signed to MCA Nashville in 1998 and made her debut on the U.S...
on the track "Days Aren't Long Enough," and the Brazilian group Forro in the Dark
Forro in the Dark
Forro in the Dark is a New York-based collective of Brazilian expatriates that formed in 2002. The group combines the musical style of forró , “the percussion-heavy, rhythmic dance music” of their native Brazil, with elements of rock, folk, jazz, and country....
on the track "City of Immigrants." The track "Way Down in the Hole," by Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, was used as the opening theme song for the fifth and final season of the HBO series The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
, on which Earle plays a recurring character named Walon. The album was released on September 25, 2007, on New West Records
New West Records
New West Records is a record label based in Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, and Athens, Georgia. It was established in 1998, and has been home to several indie rock and alternative country bands as well as representing the PBS show Austin City Limits...
. In February 2008 it won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1993 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album...
.
Track listing
All songs written by Steve EarleSteve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
unless otherwise noted.
- "Tennessee Blues" – 2:39
- "Down Here Below" – 4:02
- "Satellite Radio" – 4:09
- "City of Immigrants" – 4:18
- "Sparkle and Shine" – 3:12
- "Come Home to Me" – 3:47
- "Jericho Road" – 3:36
- "Oxycontin Blues" – 2:54
- "Red is the Color" – 4:19
- "Steve's Hammer (for Pete)" – 3:15
- "Days Aren't Long Enough" (Earle/Allison MoorerAllison MoorerAllison Moorer is an American alternative country singer and the younger sister of Shelby Lynne. She signed to MCA Nashville in 1998 and made her debut on the U.S...
) – 3:01 - "Way Down in the Hole" (Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
) – 2:55
Musicians
- Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, bouzoukiBouzoukiThe bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, tamburaTamburaThe tambura, tanpura, or tambora is a long-necked plucked lute . The body shape of the tambura somewhat resembles that of the sitar, but it has no frets – only the open strings are played to accompany other musicians...
& harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion... - Allison MoorerAllison MoorerAllison Moorer is an American alternative country singer and the younger sister of Shelby Lynne. She signed to MCA Nashville in 1998 and made her debut on the U.S...
- vocals - John MedeskiJohn MedeskiAnthony John Medeski is an American jazz keyboards player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood...
- organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
& harmonium - Jeremy Chatzky - acousticAcoustic bass guitarThe acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar...
& electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - John SpikerJohn SpikerJohn Spiker is an American musician primarily known for being the bassist for Tenacious D since 1999, and for the Industrial Rock band Filter from 2008 to 2010. He currently plays guitars and keys with Ronnie Vannucci's band Big Talk.-Biography:...
- electric bass - Marty BellerMarty BellerMarty Beller is the drummer for They Might Be Giants. He has two solo albums. He also wrote and sang songs from TMBG's albums, Here Come the ABCs: "Alphabet Lost And Found", Here Come the 123s: "High Five!" and Here Comes Science: "Speed and Velocity".Beller became the full time drummer for the...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Patrick Earle - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Forro in the DarkForro in the DarkForro in the Dark is a New York-based collective of Brazilian expatriates that formed in 2002. The group combines the musical style of forró , “the percussion-heavy, rhythmic dance music” of their native Brazil, with elements of rock, folk, jazz, and country....
:- Mauro Refosco - zabumbaZabumbaA zabumba is a type of bass drum used in Brazilian music. The player wears the drum while standing up and uses both hands while playing.The zabumba generally ranges in diameter from 16 to 22 inches, and is 5 to 8 inches tall. The shell is made of wood and may utilize either skin or plastic drum...
- Davi Viera - timbaTimbaTimba is a Cuban genre of music sometimes referred as salsa cubana . However, the historical development of timba has been quite independent of the development of salsa in the United States and Puerto Rico and the music has its own trademark aspects due to the Cuban embargo and strong Afro-Cuban...
& triangleTriangle (instrument)The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve... - Jorge Continentio - bamboo fluteBamboo fluteFlutes made of bamboo are found in many musical traditions.Some bamboo flutes include:Flute Country of Origin Atenteben Bashi Bansuri Chi Dizi Daegeum...
- Smokey Hormel - baritone guitarBaritone guitarThe baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
- Mauro Refosco - zabumba
- "The Downtown Proletariat Choir":
- Patrick Earle, John King, Noah Goldstein, Josh Wilbur, Lee Foster, Charlie Stavish, Paul Bannister, Collin Hart & Petey
Production
- ProducedRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and mixed by John KingJohn King (producer)John King, also known as "King Gizmo", is a music producer and one-half of the Los Angeles-based duo the Dust Brothers. As the Dust Brothers, King and Michael "E.Z... - Recorded at Electric Lady StudiosElectric Lady StudiosElectric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... - Mixed at The Nest, Hollywood, California
- Engineered by Josh Wilbur & Tom Camuso
- Assisted by Noah Goldstein
- Programming by Andrew Clark & John Spiker
- Logistics - Patrick Earle
- "Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
Therapy" - Ray KennedyRay KennedyRaymond Kennedy is an English former football player who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal and Liverpool in the 1970s... - MasteredAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Jim Demain at Yes Master Studios- Assisted by Alex McCollough
Artwork
- Cover artwork by Tony Fitzpatrick
- Photos by Ted Barron
- Design by Dawn Hancock for Firebelly Design
Chart performance
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 79 |
| U.S. Billboard Independent Albums | 10 |