''Back Around'' is an album by the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with

Jeff Mattson Jeff Mattson (born July 3, 1958) is an American musician. He was raised on Long Island, NY. Mattson is founding member of the jam band, the Zen Tricksters, and guitarist in the Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson, which features the Grate ...

. Band leader and vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux was formerly a member of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. Lead guitarist Jeff Mattson, who also sings on several of the tracks, is a member of

Dark Star Orchestra Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead cover band formed in Chicago, Illinois. They serve as a tribute band to the rock group the Grateful Dead. Since 1997, the band has been "celebrating the Grateful Dead concert experience." Overview Dark S ...

and the

Zen Tricksters The Zen Tricksters are an American Grateful Dead cover band. For almost thirty years, the Zen Tricksters have been playing Grateful Dead covers and jam band music, as well as derivative original songs. The band started out as the Volunteers, playi ...

. The album was released by Heart of Gold Records on February 18, 2014.

Production

''Back Around'' was recorded at Nutthouse Studio in

Sheffield, Alabama Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Shoals metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,039. Sheffield is the birthplace of "country-soul pioneer" and songwriter Art ...

. In an interview with dead.net, Donna Jean Godchaux said, "The band came o the studioto record basic tracks and then we started to think about how to proceed from there. It was a very exciting time with 'the sky is the limit' as to what we could actually do. Since over half the band was in the Northeast, David acKay Jimmy Nutt, and myself were the locals who parked ourselves in the studio over an extended period of time and brainstormed. When Jeff attsonwas available, he came down to play more guitar and add his take to the glee and madness we were enjoying. 'Evolved' is the operative word regarding the progression of this recording." In an interview with ''The Quad-Cities Daily'', album co-producer Jimmy Nutt said, "Donna, from the very beginning, said 'I want this to be the best thing I've done, I want to take my time. I don't want any deadlines. I want to get it right. I want my vocals to be right.' So from the beginning we knew it was going to take as long as it took, period. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was this album. We took our time. Actually, we spent anywhere between one and a half to two years working on it.... Most of the songs had extended jam sessions, that we ended up editing down. And that was kind of our goal from the beginning."

Critical reception

In ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', David Browne wrote, "Godchaux's new album, ''Back Around'' — the third she's released under her own name since re-engaging with rock and soul in the Nineties – is what Godchaux calls 'my journey'. Cut in Alabama, the record pays homage to the

Southern soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fr ...

she first sang (in originals like "Don't Ask Me Why" and a cover of

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

's "Don't Fight It"), covers of Sixties classics ( the Stones' "

19th Nervous Breakdown "19th Nervous Breakdown" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was recorded in late 1965 and released as a single in February 1966. It reached number 2 on both the US ''Bil ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' " She Said She Said",

the Youngbloods The Youngbloods were an American rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass, guitar), Jerry Corbitt (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano), and Joe Bauer (drums). Despite rece ...

' " Darkness, Darkness"), even a nod to her former job with a cover of the Dead's "Crazy Fingers"."

Track listing

#"Don't Ask Me Why" ( Donna Jean Godchaux) – 4:47 #"Back Around" (

, Godchaux) – 5:15 #"

" (

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

) – 5:39 #"Don't Fight It" (

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as O ...

) – 3:43 #" Darkness, Darkness" (

Jesse Colin Young Perry Miller (born November 22, 1941), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, is an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the Youngbloods. After their dissolution in 1972, Young embarked ...

) – 8:18 #"Delta Jubilee" (Godchaux, Mattson) – 6:32 #" She Said She Said" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

) – 5:20 #"Crazy Fingers" (

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter may refer to: Arts * Robert Hunter (painter) (died 1780), Irish portrait painter * Robert Hunter (encyclopædist) (1823–1897), British editor of the ''Encyclopædic Dictionary'' *Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942), American sociol ...

) – 6:30 #"Stranger Things" (Dave Diamond, Godchaux) – 6:37

Personnel

;Donna Jean Godchaux Band * Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals *

– guitar, vocals *David MacKay – bass guitar *Freeman White – keyboards *Mark Adler –

Wurly The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptua ...

*Joe Chirco – drums *Peter Lavezzoli – drums, percussion ;Muscle Shoals Horns *Charles Rose –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...

, horn arrangements *Harvey Thompson – sax *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for ...

–

baritone sax The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contrab ...

, flute *Steve Herman – trumpet ;The More the Merrier Players *Will McFarlane – guitar, background vocals *Clint Bailey – organ, clavinet *Richard Bailey –

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

*Jimmy Nutt – percussion *Cindy Walker – background vocals *Marie Lewey – background vocals * Gary Nichols – background vocals ;Production *Produced by Donna Jean Godchaux, David MacKay,

, Jimmy Nutt *Engineering: Jimmy Nutt *Mastering: Jim DeMain *Art direction, illustration, design: Joshua Marc Levy

References

{{Authority control Donna Jean Godchaux albums 2014 albums