Charlie Parr: Little Sun

Smithsonian Folkways – SF CD 40262

Format: CD, Vinyl LP, Album
Country: United States
Released: 2024
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk
[Tracklist]
1 Portland Avenue (04:30)
2 Little Sun (03:57)
3 Bear Head Lake (07:20)
4 Boombox (03:55)
5 Pale Fire (07:31)
6 Ten Watt (05:30)
7 Stray (04:40)
8 Sloth (03:41)
[Credits]
Producer and Mixing Engineer: Tucker Martine, Liner Notes Editor: Carla Borden, Designer: Joe Newton, Mastering Engineer: Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice
[Notes]
Over the last couple of decades, Charlie Parr has crisscrossed the world on tour more times than one can count. He also has released over a dozen albums of his songs, acclaimed for their poetic simplicity. Little Sun, his most ambitious album to date, was recorded with Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, My Morning Jacket) and features Parr augmenting his raw and affecting songs with stunning full-band arrangements. The remarkable backing band here includes Marisa Anderson, Victor Krummenacher, Andrew Borger, and Asher Fulero. Masterfully channeling the philosophical and transcendental qualities of the blues, Parr takes us on a journey through the winding streets of his imagination.

Charlie Parr: Last of the Better Days Ahead

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40244

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: July 30, 2021
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Piedmont Blues
[Tracklist]
01 Last Of The Better Days Ahead (3:12)
02 Blues For Whitefish Lake, 1975 (3:51)
03 Walking Back From Willmar (4:18)
04 Anaconda (3:46)
05 Everyday Opus (8:03)
06 On Fading Away (5:14)
07 817 Oakland Avenue (4:19)
08 On Listening To Robert Johnson (5:56)
09 Bed Of Wasps (3:44)
10 Rain (6:07)
11 Decoration Day (15:53)
[Credits]
Charlie Parr (12-string, resonator, baritone and resonator guitars/vocals) Liz Draper (bass) Tasha Baron (keyboards) Chris Grey (drums)
Executive Producer: Daniel Sheehy and John Smith, Producer: Charlie Parr, Liz Draper and Erik Koskinen, Co-producer: Kate Harrington, Liner Notes: Abraham Smith, Designer: Matthew Curry, Photographer: Ivy Vainio and Shelly Mosman, Enginer: Huntley Miller, Erik Koskinen and Tom Herbers
[Notes]
Charlie Parr’s newest album, Last of the Better Days Ahead, is a collection of powerful new songs about how one looks back on a life lived, as well as forward on what’s still to come. Its spare production foregrounds Parr's poetic lyricism, his expressive, gritty voice ringing clear over deft acoustic guitar playing that references folk and blues motifs in Parr's own exploratory, idiosyncratic style.