Blue Light 'til Dawn

Blue Light 'til Dawn is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Her first album on the Blue Note label, it was released in 1993. It contains Wilson's interpretations of songs by various blues and rock artists, as well as three original compositions. The album marked a shift in Wilson’s recording style, mostly dropping the electric instruments of her earlier albums in favor of acoustic arrangements. A critical and commercial breakthrough, the album was re-released in 2014 with three bonus tracks recorded live somewhere in Europe during the Blue Light 'til Dawn Tour.

Blue Light 'til Dawn
Studio album by
Cassandra Wilson
ReleasedNovember 2, 1993
re-release 2014
RecordedGreene St. Studios; RPM; Sear Sound Studios, New York, NY; Sound on Sound
Live bonus tracks somewhere in Europe 1994
GenreJazz, blues
Length56:05
LabelBlue Note
ProducerCraig Street
Cassandra Wilson chronology
Dance to the Drums Again
(1992)		 Blue Light 'til Dawn
(1993)		 New Moon Daughter
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide[4]
Tom HullB[5]

Background

As of March 1996, the album sold over 250 000 copies. While recording the album, Wilson's father, jazz bassist Herman Fowlkes, died. In an interview for New York Magazine Wilson explained that the album's name refers to a certain time of night. Says Wilson "At a party you have a blue light to have a certain vibe. The title refers to that light, that blue, giving way to the dawn. It's after after hours, the predawn twilight".[6]

Reception

Rolling Stone reviewer John Milward gave the album three and a half stars out of five. He praised Wilson's choice of blues tracks by Robert Johnson and guitarist Brandon Ross' arrangements. He also liked Wilson's title track, but was less fond of her interpretations of Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow" or Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain".[7] Ron Wynn of Allmusic gave the album a rating of five stars out of five. In contrast to Milward, he enjoyed Wilson's "piercing version" of "I Can't Stand the Rain".[8]

A reviewer for Gramophone called it "more spacious and flexible" than her previous albums, praising the musical juxtapositions and describing Wilson's voice as strong and sensuous. They cited "Come on in My Kitchen" and "I Can't Stand the Rain" as highlights, but did not enjoy her versions of "Black Crow" or "Hellhound on My Trail".[9] A reviewer of Dusty Groove added "A beautiful early album from Cassandra Wilson – a singer who already had a really deep sound, right at the start – and definitely hit her stride with music like this! The album mixes jazzy currents with rootsier elements – some of them from a more global perspective – and the production is nicely understated, so that Wilson's strongly in the lead throughout".[10]

Track listing
  1. "You Don't Know What Love Is" (Gene DePaul, Don Raye) — 6:05
  2. "Come on in My Kitchen" (Robert Johnson) — 4:53
  3. "Tell Me You'll Wait for Me" (Charles Brown, Oscar Moore) — 4:48
  4. "Children of the Night" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) — 5:19
  5. "Hellhound on My Trail" (Johnson) — 4:34
  6. "Black Crow" (Joni Mitchell) — 4:38
  7. "Sankofa" (Cassandra Wilson) — 2:02
  8. "Estrellas" (Cyro Baptista) — 1:59
  9. "Redbone" (Wilson) — 5:35
  10. "Tupelo Honey" (Van Morrison) — 5:36
  11. "Blue Light 'til Dawn" (Wilson) — 5:09
  12. "I Can't Stand the Rain" (Don Bryant, Bernard Miller, Ann Peebles) — 5:27
  13. "Black Crow" (Joni Mitchell) — 6:30
  14. "Skylark" (Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael) — 8:40
  15. "Tupelo Honey" (Van Morrison) — 7:13

Songs 13–15 are bonus tracks of the 2014 re-issue.

Personnel
  • Cassandra Wilson – vocals
  • Brandon Ross – acoustic guitars and arrangements (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 10)
  • Charlie Burnham – violin (1, 10, 11), mandocello (10), arrangement (11)
  • Tony Cedras – accordion (2)
  • Olu Dara – cornet (5)
  • Don Byron – clarinet (6)
  • Gib Wharton – pedal steel guitar (8, 9)
  • Chris Whitley – national resophonic guitar (12)
  • Kenny Davis – bass (2, 3, 11), arrangement (3)
  • Lonnie Plaxico – bass (10)
  • Lance Carter – drums (2), percussion (4, 6), snares (10)
  • Kevin Johnson – snare (3), percussion (4, 6, 10)
  • Bill McClellan – percussion (6), drums (11)
  • Jeff Haynes – percussion (6, 8, 9, 11)
  • Cyro Baptista – percussion (6, 8, 9, 11), arrangements (6, 8)
  • Vinx – percussion (4, 6)

Chart performance
Chart (1994) Peak
position
US Jazz Albums (Billboard)[11] 10
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References
  1. Wynn, Ron. "Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light 'Til Dawn". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  2. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Blue Light 'Til Dawn". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  3. Larkin, Colin. "The Encyclopedia of Popular Music". archive.org. p. 5871. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  4. Swenson, John (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  5. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Cassandra Wilson". Tom Hull. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  6. Norris, Chris (18 March 1996). "Queen Cassandra". New York Magazine: 28. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  7. Milward, John (August 1, 1997), "Cassandra Wilson: Blue Light 'Til Dawn", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on June 8, 2008, retrieved January 3, 2010
  8. Wynn, Ron, "Blue Light 'Til Dawn > Review", Allmusic, Rovi Corporation, retrieved July 21, 2010
  9. GL (March 1994), "Blue Note 0 M CDP7 81357-2", Gramophone, Haymarket, p. 128, retrieved July 21, 2010
  10. "Cassandra Wilson Blue Light 'Til Dawn". Dusty Groove. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  11. "CASSANDRA WILSON: CHART HISTORY". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
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