New Release: Redtenbacher's Funkestra - Both Sides Now (An Homage To The Songs Of Joni Mitchell) I Bluestown Music

Redtenbacher’s Funkestra – Both Sides Now (An Homage To The Songs Of Joni Mitchell)

Redtenbacher’s Funkestra – Both Sides Now (An homage to the songs of Joni Mitchell)
Format: CD
Label: Independent
Release: 2023

This album was a few years in the making. The journey started with a single ‘socially distanced’ Masterlink Sessions instrumental version of ‘A Case Of You’ during lockdown. This was the first stepping stone of the challenging and respectful journey and also led to several conversations with a wide range of artists about the work and artistry of Joni Mitchell.

As it transpired there was a lot of love and respect for her art which has clearly touched and inspired countless of artists and musicians. Hence the quest began to record our own versions by asking artists which Joni songs meant the most to them. We were looking for deep-dive lovers of her music and we believe we found them.

We opted for a traditional approach when recording these songs. Critically this means that all the artists and musicians were together in the same room conjuring up the sonic landscape, live and unconstrained to achieve the most pure and emotive performances possible.

We’d like to feel this album represents a a beautiful marriage between a group of world class international musicians and some truly outstanding, characterful, vocalists who are also artists in their own right. Together they bring a new perspectives to some of the best songwriting in the history of modern music.. Great songs are open to re-interpretation and they are done so here very much with real love and respect to the spirit of Joni in their re-imaging.

Website: https://redtenbachersfunkestra.com/

SONG BY SONG

01. A Case of You (ft. Jo Harman)

“For me to sing someone else’s song successfully, I have to connect with the lyric and who can fail to connect with this, one of the best lyrics in music history. Such vivid, intimate and personal prose which also offers universal resonance to anyone who has ever exposed themselves to the vulnerabilities of love.” (Jo Harman)

‘That’s pretty much perfect.” (Paul Sexton, BBC Radio 2)

Jo Harman | vocals
Ross Stanley | Hammond organ
Stefan Redtenbacher | bass
Mike Sturgis | drums

Arranged by Stefan Redtenbacher
Vocals recorded by James McMillan at Quiet Money studios

02. Amelia (ft. Rumer)

“So many Joni Mitchell albums are like dear friends so it’s hard to pick one. I decided to select songs from ‘Hejira’ and ‘Hissing of Summer Lawns’ in particular because these two records have been the most influential for me.“ (Rumer)

Arranged by Rumer & Stefan Redtenbacher

03. Both Sides Now (ft. Mike Mayfield)

“Both Sides Now’ has always held a special place in my heart. The songs speaks to me of ambivalence and a sense of eternal enigma when it comes to matters of life and love. Feelings that certainly echo in the chambers of my own psyche. I tried to approach my interpretation with honesty and I hope that comes across.” (Mike Mayfield)

String arrangement by Pete Whitfield
Piano arrangement by Mike Mayfield

04. Two Grey Rooms (ft. Mim Grey)

“I chose ‘Two Grey Rooms’ as it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard and lyrically its so poignant to me for various reasons. Growing up I spent many years writing songs in my bedroom in the attic of my parents house whilst gazing out of the window watching the world go by. My desert Island song.” (Mim Grey)

Arrangement by Mim Grey & Stefan Redtenbacher

05. Free Man in Paris (ft. Jana Varga)

“I loved singing and playing ‘Free Man In Paris’ – it’s such a playful song, with interesting rhythmic patterns but still very direct. It’s always a treat to sing to the Funkestra groove!” (Jana Varga)

Arranged by Stefan Redtenbacher

06. Little Green (ft. Sarah Jane Morris)

“Having just written a song about the life of Joni Mitchell, with Tony Remy, for our album ‘The Sisterhood’ and whose album Blue was such an important soundtrack to my life, it was such a gift to have the opportunity to sing ‘Little Green’ with these wonderful musical friends.” (Sarah Jane Morris)

Arrangement by Tony Remy & Stefan Redtenbacher

07. The Circle Game (ft. Hamish Stuart)

“I bought ‘Ladies Of The Canyon’ album back in 1970 which contained the song ‘Circle Game’. I would never have dreamt of covering it back then. It wasn’t until I heard her reimagined version 32 years later on the orchestral album ‘Travelogue’, with the great arranger Vince Mendoza, that I first contemplated it. She performed the song in a lower register which got me thinking about it differently – and as my son was about to turn 20, I related to the lyric in a much closer way and started playing with the chords, trying to build a version that worked for me and taking a kind of Brazilian rhythmic approach.

My version has never been recorded ’til now, though it became a staple of my live show for a long time so it’s very pleasing to revisit it for this album. It still amazes me that still in her early 20’s, Joni could write such mature, iconic songs as ‘The Circle Game’ and ‘Both Sides Now”. (Hamish Stuart)

Arranged by Hamish Stuart

08. Night Ride Home (ft. Mim Grey)

“I bought the album ‘Night Ride Home’ before a long road trip to Spain many years ago. Hearing the title track track for the first time as I made my way through the Spanish mountains with a full moon above me and Cicada’s outside, is still my most vivid memory of any song in my life.” (Mim Grey)

Arranged by Mim Grey & Stefan Redtenbacher

09. Blue (ft. Jo Harman)

“I remember buying ‘Blue’ in my twenties and the unforgettable effect the honesty and the amount of soul bearing had on me. It was like it was giving me permission to be that sincere and candid in my own work, not that I, or anyone, could be hope to be quite that poetic with it, of course.” (Jo Harman)

Arranged by Jo Harman & Stefan Redtenbacher

10. Don’t Interrupt the sorrow (ft. Rumer)

Arranged by Rumer & Stefan Redtenbacher

11. River (feat. Mike Mayfield)

“The melancholic theme of ‘River’ has been a theme I’ve often visited in my own music and in getting the chance to perform this song I was able to get a little more inside it than I have done before, it highlighted once again to me that no one has ever quite matched Joni’s ability to say the common thing in an uncommon way.” (Mike Mayfield)

Arranged by Stefan Redtenbacher

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Recorded and mixed by James Welch at Masterlink Productions, Surrey UK (except where indicated)
Mastered by Tim Debney at Fluid Mastering
All songs written by Joni Mitchell | Crazy Crow Music (ASCAP)
Produced by Stefan Redtenbacher
Joni Mitchell illustration and graphic design by Mark Wilkinson

Redtenbacher’s Funkestra – Both Sides Now (An Homage To The Songs Of Joni Mitchell)

Redtenbacher’s Funkestra – Both Sides Now (An homage to the songs of Joni Mitchell) Format: CD Label: Independent Release: 2023

Redtenbacher’s Funkestra – Both Sides Now (An homage to the songs of Joni Mitchell)
Format: CD
Label: Independent
Release: 2023