Richard Barone’s Sorrows & Promises: Greenwich Village In The 1960s casts new light on the songs that sprang from the singer-songwriters in and around Greenwich Village during that pivotal decade.
While Top-40 hit songs were being churned out uptown in the Brill Building and at 1650 Broadway, the downtown writers were weaving folk, blues, R&B and rock into songs that five decades later still sound fresh and inventive. Richard’s choices cover a broad range of writers, from Buddy Holly, who was living and demoing songs in his Greenwich Village apartment just before he died, to up-and-comers like Paul Simon, John Sebastian (of the Lovin’ Spoonful) and James Taylor (of The Flying Machine), to the artists redefining folk music -- Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tim Hardin, Fred Neil -- for a new generation. Sorrows and Promises revisits and re-imagines these songs that were a vital contribution to the American Songbook, treating them like the modern standards they are. Richard Barone is uniquely qualified to reinterpret these ‘60s classics; throughout his career, first with The Bongos and then as a solo artist, his work has shown the influence of the pop, rock and folk singer-songwriters who lived and worked in the Village neighborhood where Richard has lived since the mid-1980s. The album features an all-star line-up of guest musicians and vocalists including John Sebastian, Dion, Allison Moorer, Nellie McKay, David Amram, Jenni Muldaur, and The Kennedys.
The album’s producer is Steve Addabbo, who also has a strong creative connection to the music being revisited on the project. Among his many credits as a producer, engineer and musician are albums by Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and Eric Andersen.
Also contributing to the album is Mitchell Cohen, a long-time music critic and A&R executive (Arista, Columbia and Verve) who suggested the concept to Richard and is working with him on selecting the material.
Ship To Shore PhonoCo's special edition vinyl release will feature a jam-packed download card containing: a high-quality 320kb MP3 version of the album, alternate acoustic arrangements of "Close The Door Lightly When You Go" and "Sunday Morning," Mitchell Cohen's essay "Sorrows and Promises and Songs of Freedom," the official "Bleecker Street" music video, exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs, complete album credits, the Pledge Music "Sorrows & Promises" album video preview, and the "Freewheelin' Sorrows & Promises" Podcast parts 1 & 2 featuring a lively discussion about Greenwich Village in the 1960s by Richard Barone and Mitchell Cohen.
Side A
1 . Learning the Game (Buddy Holly) (2:10)
2. The Road I’m On (Gloria) (Dion DiMucci) - Featuring Dion (4:14)
3. Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? (John Sebastian) - Featuring John Sebastian (2:11)
4. The Other Side to This Life (Fred Neil) (3:07)
5. Sweet Misery (Janis Ian) (3:46)
6. Close the Door Lightly When You Go (Eric Andersen) - Featuring Allison Moorer (3:30)
Side B
1. Pack Up Your Sorrows (Richard Fariña) - Featuring Nellie McKay (4:19)
2. Don’t Make Promises (Tim Hardin) - Featuring David Amram (3:31)
3. I’ll Keep it With Mine (Bob Dylan) (3:06)
4. Sunday Morning (Lou Reed & John Cale) - Featuring Jenni Muldaur (3:24)
5. When I’m Gone (Phil Ochs) (3:24)
6. Bleecker Street (Paul Simon) - Featuring The Kennedys (3:15)