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I'm New Here
Studio album by Gil Scott-Heron
Released February 8, 2010
Recorded 2007–2009
Genre Spoken word soul, blues, folk, trip hop, electronica
Length 28:25
Label XL Recordings
Producer Richard Russell
Gil Scott-Heron chronology
Spirits
(1994)		 I'm New Here
(2010)
Singles from I'm New Here
  1. "Me and the Devil"
    Released: February 22, 2010

I'm New Here is the thirteenth studio album by American soul artist Gil Scott-Heron, released February 8, 2010 on XL Recordings. It is Scott-Heron's first album of original material in sixteen years, following a period of personal and legal troubles with drug addiction. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2007 to 2009 and production was handled by XL Recordings-owner Richard Russell. Primarily a blues and spoken-word album, I'm New Here serves as musical and lyrical departure from Scott-Heron's previous work.

The album debuted at number 181 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 3,700 copies in its first week. It has spawned one single, "Me and the Devil", an adaptation of blues musician Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues" (1937). Upon its release, I'm New Here received generally positive reviews from most music critics.

Contents

Music

Musical style

The album is a departure from the rhythmic, jazz-funk and soul style of Scott-Heron's previous work,[1][2][3] and embraces an acoustic and electronic minimal sound.[4] Musically, I'm New Here incorporates blues, folk, trip hop, and electronica genres.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] It also contains some musical elements of dubstep, electro, and ambient music.[14][4][15][16] Some music writers viewed it as a "post-modern" blues album.[17][6][7] It contains a sonically dark and gritty soundscape characterized by low-tone synths and spacial beats.[15][18] Crawdaddy!'s David MacFadden-Elliott wrote that Richard Russell's production finds "deep electronic grooves that still contain hints of soul and gospel music",[19] while critic Neil McCormick noted that the album's musical setting produced by Russell "blends dubby beats with spoken word and raw, confessional blues", describing the musical fusion as "like Massive Attack jamming with Robert Johnson and Allen Ginsberg".[20] Scott-Heron's baritone vocals on the album stylistically range from spoken word to blues-oriented crooning.[1] Music writers have noted that Scott-Heron's vocal ability has changed, perceiving it as rougher, slurred, and aged.[15][3][20][9][11][21] Music journalist Simon Price described his voice on the album as "bourbon-soaked".[22]

Lyrically, I'm New Here features introspective, confessional lyrics expressing themes of regret, reconciliation, and redemption,[23][24][25][9][21] which deviate from his earlier music's agitprop lyrics and social, political themes.[26][11][1] On Scott-Heron's thematic departure, critic Paul Trynka wrote "The man who depicted Winter in America is now in his own autumn; a season replete with both beauty and sadness".[18] While Scott-Heron's lyrics concerning his bleak life experiences are understated and reflective, they also express pride, dignity, defiance, and unapologetic confession.[26][9][27] According to music writer Robert Ferguson, Scott-Heron expresses "confession, but no apology" to "pick over the bones of his life, acknowledging the hard times and his own mistakes, but standing proud of all they have led him to become".[3]

Content

The album's bookending and two-part poem "On Coming from a Broken Home" features piano and a sampled string loop from Kanye West's "Flashing Lights" (2007).[28][15] It is a tribute to the women in his family, particularly Scott-Heron's grandmother Lily Scott, with whom he was sent to live with as a child in Tennessee.[26][3][11] The song reflects on his upbringing around strong female figures and challenges the sociological perception of a broken home:[15][29] "Womenfolk raised me, and I was full-grown before knew I came from a broken home".[26] It defends Scott-Heron's upbringing and arguing that his grandmother's love and devotion taught him passionate humanity, despite lacking of a positive male figure.[9] According to music writers, "On Coming from a Broken Home" introduces and concludes the album's prominent theme of unapologetic confession.[26][3][11] "Your Soul and Mine" adapts lyrics from Scott-Heron's spoken word piece "The Vulture", originally featured on Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970).[30] It contains a dubstep-styled collage of effects over a cello loop similar to the style of Burial and Massive Attack.[15][31] The song's blank verse recitation discusses the evils that inhabit and destroy the ghetto, which are portrayed as a metaphorical vulture.[23][31] The "vulture" also represents death from Scott-Heron's point of view, who concludes the song with the theme of defiance: "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".[15]

Release and promotion

I'm New Here was released February 8, 2010 in the United Kingdom and February 9, 2010 in the United States on XL Recordings.[32] The album's lead single, "Me and the Devil", was released on February 22, 2010 as a 7" and music download.[33]

Reception

Commercial performance

 Professional ratings
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[15]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[14]
The Independent 4/5 stars[26]
NME (9/10)[12]
The Observer 4/5 stars[4]
Pitchfork Media (8.5/10)[11]
PopMatters (3/10)[8]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[7]
Slant 4/5 stars[34]
The Washington Post (favorable)[1]

The album debuted at number 181 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 3,700 copies.[35] It also entered at number 28 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums,[36] at number 6 on its Top Jazz Albums,[37] and at number 38 on its Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[38] The album also entered at number 35 in Ireland and at number 39 in the United Kingdom.[39][40]

Critical response

Upon its release, I'm New Here received generally positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 78/100 from Metacritic.[41] Allmusic writer Thom Jurek gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "contains the artful immediacy that distinguishes Scott-Heron’s best art".[15] Siddharta Mitter of The Boston Globe praised Richard Russell's production and wrote "the swirling miasma of sound wholly suits Scott-Heron’s mood, which is angry yet humble, and even more his voice, which is rich and intent as ever".[2] Drowned in Sound writer Robert Ferguson gave I'm New Here a 9/10 rating and called it "a seriously good record".[3] The Washington Post's Jesse Serwer called it a "invigorating yet draining listening experience" and commended Scott-Heron for his "wizened poetry".[1] Despite perceiving its brevity as a weakness, MusicOMH's Darren Lee lauded Russell's minimalist production and praised Scott-Heron's lyrics, calling the album "a remarkably honest and self-reflective collection".[29] Delusions of Adequacy critic Bryan Sanchez called I'm New Here "an outstanding album and one of beauty and substance".[42] Time Out's Areif Sless-Kitain gave it 4 out of 5 stars and commended Scott-Heron's reflective themes.[43] The Observer, The Guardian, and The Daily Telegraph gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and praised Scott-Heron's performance on the album.[4][14] The latter publication's Neil McCormick lauded Scott-Heron's lyrical transition and described it as "everything you might want from an older artist: lyrics of depth, wisdom and experience, a voice rich with musicality, all set in a sonic context that locates him in the present moment".[20] Evening Standard writer Pete Clark gave it 4 out of 4 stars and praised Russell's production, stating "Russell deserves credit for setting Scott-Heron's voice in such a sympathetic soundscape, a world of telling beats and subtle echoes".[44] Giving it 4 out of 5 stars, Q's Rupert Howe wrote that Russell's arrangements "brilliantly frame [Scott-Heron]'s rich burr and terse street poetry with brooding electronica and stark blues handclaps",[45] and Mojo's Paul Trynka wrote favorably of the album's "stark grandeur".[18] Hot Press writer Paul Nolan gave the album a 4/5 rating and wrote that it "is very much worth the 16-year wait".[46]

However, Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis gave it 1½ out of 4 stars and described Scott-Heron's performance as "bland philosophizing and surprisingly hollow personal reflections", while its calling its sound "alien and unsuccessful".[47] In a generally negative review, PopMatters writer Will Layman gave I'm New Here a 3/10 rating and called it "a thin affair—musically weak and lyrically narrow", perceiving its material as "unimaginative" and panning its musical structure.[8] Giving it 2 out of 4 stars, Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot described it as a "postmodern blues album as conceived sometime between closing time and sunrise, a dark-night-of-the-soul lament in which the artist tosses and turns while mumbling and slurring his words", but viewed its minimal production and concise composition as faults.[6] However, Slant Magazine's Jesse Cataldo gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote favorably of its unconventional structure, calling it "post-structural, indefinably plotted" and "masterfully stark".[34] Rolling Stone critic Will Hermes gave it 3 out of 5 stars and described it as "a steely blues record at heart — the sound of a damaged man staring in the mirror without self-pity but not without hope".[7] While perceiving its brevity and "fragmented nature" as weaknesses, Uncut's John Lewis gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and called it "a brave, brilliant and highly personal statement".[31] Nick Neyland of BBC Online called it "an unlikely but triumphant return" and lauded Scott-Heron's cover songs, writing that he "has an intuitive way of grasping work written by others and skewing it to fit his own austere worldview".[25] Boston Phoenix writer Mikael Wood gave it 3 out of 4 stars and wrote favorably its confessional themes and production, stating "Drug trouble, family strife, too many years spent behind bars: Scott-Heron is unsparing in his confessions, as producer Richard Russell fashions a kind of creaky industrial folk music".[10] Spin critic Andy Beta gave the album 3½ out of 5 stars and wrote that it "isn't so much a comeback as a testament to spiritual resilience".[48] Giving it a 9/10 rating, NME's John Doran called Scott-Heron a "copper-bottomed genius" and viewed its sparse beats as "in keeping with the apocalyptic blues contained within".[12]

The Village Voice's Stacey Anderson wrote favorably of Scott-Heron's thematic departure from his previous work, stating "it's more emotional, more optimistic, than his past political provocations, and he hasn't sounded this lively in ages".[49] Chris Molner of Cokemachineglow gave it an 82% rating and perceived Scott-Heron's confessional lyrics as complimentary to his aged voice, stating "Scott-Heron's age-thickened voice and simple lyrics, stripped of the didacticisms of early, well-known songs like 'Angel Dust' or 'The Bottle', are more charismatic than ever. His new turn towards humility and away from the production that once characterized him makes his voice all the more immediate; instead of bemoaning the ghetto’s reliance on the bottle, he speaks with a voice gone raspy from alcohol".[28] Jason P. Woodbury of Tiny Mix Tapes gave it 4 out of 5 stars and praised Scott-Heron's thematic departure, stating "It’s the sound of a proud man swallowing his pride while preserving his dignity, of a wise man sharing instead of lecturing, doing so with bleak humor, pathos, and dark charm".[9] The Sunday Times writer Dan Cairns called it "an extraordinarily powerful album" with "unsparing autobiographical interludes, set to ghostly electro ambience and doomy bass, frame covers ... and superb Scott-Heron originals".[16] The Skinny's Bram Gieben perceived "flashes of Burroughs-like darkness, the wry humour of post-addiction Richard Pryor" in Scott-Heron's performance and called the album "clever, searingly confessional, effortlessly modern but also managing to echo with nearly every single iteration of roots music from dub to techno to hip-hop".[21] Gieben also cited it as "an early contender for album of the year".[21] Pitchfork Media's Nate Patrin gave I'm New Here an 8.5/10 rating and commended Scott-Heron for the confessional, personal nature of his themes.[11] The Independent critic Andy Gill shared a similar sentiment and praised Scott-Heron's reflective themes concerning his personal issues, stating "As with the man, so with this album: it might fall short in some regards, but such is the heart and the mind involved that what little is left should be treasured accordingly".[26]

Track Listing

  • All tracks were produced by Richard Russell.[50]
# Title Writer(s) Length
1. "On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 1)"   Gil Scott-Heron 2:20
2. "Me and the Devil"   Robert Johnson 3:33
3. "I'm New Here"   Bill Callahan 3:33
4. "Your Soul and Mine"   Richard Russell, Scott-Heron 2:02
5. "Parents (Interlude)"   Scott-Heron 0:18
6. "I'll Take Care of You"   Brook Benton 2:58
7. "Being Blessed (Interlude)"   Scott-Heron 0:12
8. "Where Did the Night Go"   Scott-Heron 1:14
9. "I Was Guided (Interlude)"   Scott-Heron 0:14
10. "New York Is Killing Me"   Scott-Heron 4:29
11. "Certain Things (Interlude)"   Scott-Heron 0:08
12. "Running"   Russell, Scott-Heron 2:00
13. "The Crutch"   Russell, Scott-Heron 2:44
14. "I've Been Me (Interlude)"   Scott-Heron 0:16
15. "On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 2)"   Scott-Heron 2:15

 • Tracks 1 and 15 contain a sample from "Flashing Lights" by Kanye West.[50]

Limited edition bonus disc.[15]

Personnel

  • Damon Albarn – keyboards
  • Mike Block – strings
  • Chris Cunningham – guitar, synthesizer
  • Tiona Hall – backing vocals
  • Michelle Hutcherson – backing vocals
  • Kim Jordan – backing vocals, piano
  • Phil Lee – artwork
  • Christiana Liberis – strings
  • Rodaidh McDonald – additional recording and mixing
  • Ichiho Nishiki – engineer
  • Mischa Richter – artwork
  • Richard Russell – producer, cover photo
  • Gil Scott-Heron – piano, vocals
  • Tyria Stokes – backing vocals
  • Mary Jo Stilp – strings
  • Pat Sullivan – guitar
  • Una Tone – strings
  • Lawson White – engineer, string arrangements

Chart history

Charts (2010) Peak
position
Irish Albums Chart[39] 30
UK Albums Chart[40] 39
U.S. Billboard 200 [35] 181
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums[36] 28
U.S. Billboard Top Jazz Albums[37] 6
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[38] 38

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Serwer, Jesse. Review: I'm New Here. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  2. ^ a b Mitter, Siddharta. Review: I'm New Here. The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ferguson, Robert. Review: I'm New Here. Drowned in Sound. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  4. ^ a b c d Yates, Steve. Review: I'm New Here. The Observer. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  5. ^ Taylor, Patrick. Review: I'm New Here. RapReviews. Retrieved on 2010-02-25.
  6. ^ a b c Kot, Greg. Review: I'm New Here. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2010-02-25.
  7. ^ a b c d Hermes, Will. Review: I'm New Here. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  8. ^ a b c Layman, Will. Review: I'm New Here. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Woodbury, Jason P. Review: I'm New Here. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  10. ^ a b Wood, Mikael. Review: I'm New Here. Boston Phoenix. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Patrin, Nate. Review: I'm New Here. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  12. ^ a b c Doran, John. Review: I'm New Here. NME. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  13. ^ Bairds, Emrys. Review: I'm New Here. Blues & Soul. Retrieved on 2010-02-25.
  14. ^ a b c Simpson, Dave. Review: I'm New Here. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jurek, Thom. Review: I'm New Here. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  16. ^ a b Cairns, Dan. Review: I'm New Here. The Sunday Times. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  17. ^ Gibson, Luke. Review: I'm New Here. HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-02-25.
  18. ^ a b c Trynka, Paul. "Review: I'm New Here". Mojo: 97. March 2010.
  19. ^ MacFadden-Elliot, David. Review: I'm New Here. Crawdaddy!. Retrieved on 2010-02-19.
  20. ^ a b c McCormick, Neil. Review: I'm New Here. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  21. ^ a b c d Gieben, Bram. Review: I'm New Here. The Skinny. Retrieved on 2010-02-20.
  22. ^ Price, Simon. Review: I'm New Here. The Independent. Retrieved on 2010-02-14.
  23. ^ a b Shellz. Review: I'm New Here. Planet Ill. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  24. ^ Dacks, David. Review: I'm New Here. Exclaim!. Retrieved on 2010-02-19.
  25. ^ a b Neyland, Nick. Review: I'm New Here. BBC Online. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g Gill, Andy. Review: I'm New Here. The Independent. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  27. ^ Haider, Arwa. Review: I'm New Here. Metro. Retrieved on 2010-02-14.
  28. ^ a b Molner, Chris. Review: I'm New Here. Cokemachineglow. Retrieved on 2010-02-14.
  29. ^ a b Lee, Darren. Review: I'm New Here. MusicOMH. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  30. ^ Columnist. Review: I'm New Here. Impose Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-02-14.
  31. ^ a b c Lewis, John. Review: I'm New Here. Uncut. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  32. ^ Briehan, Tom. In Brief: These Arms Are Snakes, Peter Hook, Gil Scott-Heron, Snowbombing . Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-02-14.
  33. ^ Hughes, Rich. Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil. The Line Of Best Fit. Retrieved on 2010-02-14.
  34. ^ a b Cataldo, Jesse. Review: I'm New Here. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  35. ^ a b Jacobs, Allen. Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 2/14/2010. HipHopDX. Retrieved on 2010-02-19.
  36. ^ a b Independent Albums: Week of February 27, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-02-19.
  37. ^ a b Jazz Albums: Week of February 27, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-02-19.
  38. ^ a b R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Week of February 27, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-02-19.
  39. ^ a b Irish Charts: Week ending 18th February 2010. IRMA. Retrieved on 2010-02-20.
  40. ^ a b The Official UK Top 75 Albums: Week of Mon 15 Feb. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2010-02-20.
  41. ^ I'm New Here (2010): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  42. ^ Sanchez, Bryan. Review: I'm New Here. Delusions of Adequacy. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  43. ^ Sless-Kitain, Areif. Review: I'm New Here. Time Out. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  44. ^ Clark, Pete. Review: I'm New Here. Evening Standard. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  45. ^ Howe, Rupert. "Review: I'm New Here". Q: 119. March 2010.
  46. ^ Nolan, Paul. Review: I'm New Here. Hot Press. Retrieved on 2010-02-19.
  47. ^ DeRogatis, Jim. Review: I'm New Here. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2010-02-23.
  48. ^ Beta, Andy. Review: I'm New Here. Spin. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.
  49. ^ Anderson, Stacey. Rebooting Gil Scott-Heron's Untelevised Revolution. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2010-02-11.
  50. ^ a b I'm New Here (2xLP, Gat). Discogs. Retrieved on 2010-02-10.

External links

Gil Scott-Heron
Studio albums
Pieces of a Man (1971) · Free Will (1972) · Winter in America (1974) · The First Minute of a New Day (1975) · From South Africa to South Carolina (1975) · Bridges (1977) · Secrets (1978) · 1980 (1979) · Real Eyes (1980) · Reflections (1981) · Moving Target (1982) · Spirits (1994) · I'm New Here (2010)
Other albums
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970) · The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1974) · It's Your World (1976) · The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron (1978) · The Best of Gil Scott-Heron (Arista) (1984) · Tales of Gil Scott-Heron (1990) · Glory: The Gil Scott-Heron Collection (1990) · Minister of Information: Live (1994) · Ghetto Style (1998) · The Gil Scott-Heron Collection: Sampler 1974-1975 (1998) · Evolution (And Flashback): The Very Best of Gil Scott-Heron (1999) · Tour de Force (Live) (2004) · Save the Children (2004) · Anthology: Messages (2005)
Singles
"Home Is Where the Hatred Is" · "The Bottle" · "Johannesburg" · "Superman" · "Hello Sunday! Hello Road!" · "Storm Music" · "Re-Ron" · "Winter in America" · "Space Shuttle" · "Don't Give Up" · "The Klan"
Other songs
Related topics







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