Grammy Award winner and ex-Civil War-er (er..) John Paul White released his new solo album ‘The Hurting Kind’ earlier this year via Single Lock Records. Our reviewer kind of said “meh” to it but he may just have got out of bed the wrong side. In any case JP returns to the UK next week with a string of dates in London, Bristol and Canterbury, plus an appearance at The Long Road Festival.
‘The Hurting Kind’ was recorded at Sun Drop Sound, White’s new home studio that he converted from an old, turn-of-the-century home in the historic district of Florence, AL, and at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL. The record was co-produced with Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes) and features additional contributions from a core group of musicians including Jon Radford (Leigh Nash, Odessa) and Reed Watson on drums, Pat Bergeson (Chet Atkins, Emmylou Harris) on electric guitar, Jon Estes (Robyn Hitchcock, Kesha) and David Hood (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) on bass and Lillie Mae (Jack White) on fiddle, plus guest vocals from Lee Ann Womack and background vocals from Erin Rae and The Secret Sisters.
With ‘The Hurting Kind’, White draws on the lush, orchestrated music made in Nashville in the early 1960s, writing about overwhelming love, unravelling relationships and the fading memory of a loved one. “I approached this album differently on the songwriting side before I ever got into the studio,” says White. “I really wanted there to be a torch song quality to it, the classic timeless quality. To not be afraid of the big note, and not be afraid of the drama.”
John Paul White UK Dates September 2019:
Thursday 05 September – Islington Assembly Hall – London
Friday 06 September – Bristol Folk House – Bristol
Saturday 07 September – The Long Road Festival
Sunday 08 September – Folk in The Barn – Canterbury
