Liquid Spirit

Liquid Spirit is the third studio album by American jazz musician Gregory Porter. It was released through Blue Note Records on September 2, 2013.[11] The album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2014.[12][13] The record also produced six singles.

Liquid Spirit
Studio album by Gregory Porter
Released	September 2, 2013 (2013-09-02)
Recorded	2013
Studio	Sear Sound, New York City
Genre	Jazz blues rhythm and blues[1]
Length	61:15
Label	Blue Note
Producer	Brian Bacchus
Gregory Porter chronology
Be Good (2012) Liquid Spirit (2013) Take Me to the Alley (2016)
Singles from Liquid Spirit
"Musical Genocide" Released: 2013 "The 'In' Crowd" Released: 2014 "No Love Dying" Released: 2014 "Liquid Spirit" Released: 2015 "Hey Laura" Released: 2015 "Water Under Bridges" Released: 2015

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
All About Jazz	[2]
AllMusic	[1]
Contactmusic.com	[3]
Daily Express	4/5[4]
Financial Times	[5]
The Galleon	8/10[6]
The Guardian	[7]
laut.de	[8]
PopMatters	[9]
The Sydney Morning Herald	[10]

Critical reception

John Fordham of The Guardian stated 'It's a better balanced Porter album than formerly, and as classily polished and confident as is usual from Blue Note."[7] Will Layman of PopMatters commented "Gregory Porter is now flat-out in the jazz spotlight. Where he deserves to be. What that means, commercially, in 2013 may be limited. But now that he is recording for the art form's marquis label, Porter has the chance to change the art, to enrich the audience, to sing from a higher mountaintop. Liquid Spirit is a beautiful extension of that clarion cry."[9] Thom Jurek of AllMusic added "While his first two recordings revealed a major new talent with their promise, Liquid Spirit is a giant step forward artistically, and for the listener, an exercise in musical inspiration."[1] The Independent's Phil Johnson noted "The soulful vocalist follows his two excellent indie albums with a major-label debut that contains few surprises yet deepens the story so far".[14] Mike Hobart of Financial Times wrote "Gregory Porter ’s largely self-penned major label debut is an artful and free-spirited blend of love songs, social commentary and reflections on life... The lyrics are heart-on-sleeve, and occasionally odd, but Porter’s rich baritone oozes confidence and brings each syllable life".[5]

Commercial reception

The album entered the US Billboard 200 at No. 192 with around 3,000 copies sold, and peaked at No. 187 on the chart.[15] It peaked at No. 2 on Jazz Albums.[16] The album has sold 43,000 copies in the US as of April 2016.[17]

In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at No. 9 in the chart,[18] and it was certified Platinum by the BPI on July 8, 2016.[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Gregory Porter, except where noted.[20]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"No Love Dying"	3:56
2.	"Liquid Spirit"	3:36
3.	"Lonesome Lover" (Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach)	3:11
4.	"Water Under Bridges"	3:32
5.	"Hey Laura"	3:19
6.	"Musical Genocide"	3:45
7.	"Wolfcry"	4:10
8.	"Free" (Zak Najor, Gregory Porter)	5:01
9.	"Brown Grass"	4:17
10.	"Wind Song"	3:23
11.	"The 'In' Crowd" (Billy Page)	3:37
12.	"Movin'"	4:49
13.	"When Love Was King"	6:52
14.	"I Fall in Love Too Easily" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)	7:47
Total length:		61:15

Additional Tracks in the "Special Edition"

No.	Title	Length
15.	"When You Whish Upon A Star"	3:48
16.	"Liquid Spirit" (Claptone Remic /Full Vocal Version)	2:44
17.	"Puttin' On The Ritz"	3:06
18.	"Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)" (with Julie London)	2:41
19.	"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (Jamie Cullum featuring Gregory Porter)	2:58

Personnel

Featured artists[20] Gregory Porter – vocals, arrangements Chip Crawford – piano, arrangements Aaron James – bass (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 8–14) Emanuel Harrold – drums (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 8–13) Yosuke Sato – alto saxophone (tracks 1–3, 6, 8, 10, 12) Tivon Pennicott – tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12) Curtis Taylor – trumpet (tracks 2, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12) Glenn Patscha – Hammond B3 organ (tracks 5, 6, 8), Fender Rhodes (track 6)

Production[20] Brian Bacchus – production Jay Newland – mixing, engineering Ted Tuthill – assistant engineer Owen Mulholland – assistant engineer Fran Cathcart – pre-mix editing (track 6) Kamau Kenyatta – associate producer, arrangements, horn arrangements Mark Wilder – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2015) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 25 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 35 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 57 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[24] 7 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 6 French Albums (SNEP)[26] 24 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 8 Italian Albums (FIMI)[28] 42 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 35 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 89 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 63 UK Albums (OCC)[32] 9 US Billboard 200[33] 187 US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[34] 2

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Austria (IFPI Austria)[35] Platinum 15,000^* Germany (BVMI)[36] 3× Gold 300,000^^ Netherlands (NVPI)[37] Gold 25,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Platinum 300,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Jurek, Thom. "Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
2. Lindsay, Bruce (4 September 2013). "Gregory Porter: Liquid Spirit". All About Jazz. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
3. Ghoneim, Tareck (11 February 2015). "Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit Deluxe Edition Album Review". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
4. UNWIN, STEPHEN (September 13, 2013). "CD review: Gregory Porter - Liquid Spirit". Daily Express. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
5. Hobart, Mike (6 September 2013). "Gregory Porter: Liquid Spirit". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
6. OSBORNE, JORDAN (27 November 2015). "Album review: Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit – Special Edition Porter's magnificent vocals overflow with soul Gregory Porter ― Liquid Spirit". The Galleon. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
7. Fordham, John (September 5, 2013). "Gregory Porter: Liquid Spirit – review". The Guardian. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
8. Maurer, David (2013). "Eingängige Mischung aus Jazz, Soul und Gospel". laut.de (in German). Retrieved 27 November 2019.
9. Layman, Will (September 18, 2013). "Gregory Porter: LIquid Spirit". PopMatters. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
10. Nicholas, Jessica (12 April 2017). "Gregory Porter review: Rare gifts from a jazz great". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
11. "Liquid Spirit by Gregory Porter on iTunes". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
12. "GREGORY PORTER EARNS TWO GRAMMY NOMINATIONS; ANNOUNCES TV PERFORMANCES". Blue Note Records. December 9, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
13. Moreton, Cole (September 20, 2014). "Gregory Porter: 'Jazz got me out of the pain of losing my mother'". The Independent. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
14. Johnson, Phil (31 August 2013). "Album: Gregory Porter, Liquid Spirit (Blue Note)". The Independent. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
15. "The Billboard 200". Billboard. October 5, 2013.
16. "Jazz Albums". Billboard. October 5, 2013.
17. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016.
18. "Gregory Porter". The Official Charts Company.
19. "British album certifications – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Liquid Spirit in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
20. Liquid Spirit (liner notes). Gregory Porter. Blue Note Records, a division of Universal Music Group. 2013.
21. "Austriancharts.at – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit" (in German). Hung Medien.
22. "Ultratop.be – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
23. "Ultratop.be – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit" (in French). Hung Medien.
24. "Danishcharts.dk – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". Hung Medien.
25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
26. "Lescharts.com – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". Hung Medien.
27. "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment Charts.
28. "Italiancharts.com – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". Hung Medien.
29. "Norwegiancharts.com – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". Hung Medien.
30. "Spanishcharts.com – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". Hung Medien.
31. "Swisscharts.com – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit". Hung Medien.
32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
33. "Gregory Porter Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
34. "Gregory Porter Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard.
35. "Austrian album certifications – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit" (in German). IFPI Austria.
36. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Gregory Porter; 'Liquid Spirit')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
37. "Dutch album certifications – Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Liquid Spirit in the "Artiest of titel" box.