''10 Cent Wings'' is an album by the American musician
Jonatha Brooke
Jonatha Brooke (born January 23, 1964) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a ...
, released in 1997. It was her only album for
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
. The title refers to an ad a venue once ran to promote a Brooke live show.
[ "Crumbs" was the first single.
The album peaked at No. 34 on ''Billboards ]Heatseekers Albums
Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart. Its singles were hits on adult album alternative
Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...
radio stations.
Production
The album was produced by Brooke's husband, Alain Mallet.[ "Glass Half Empty" is about the deceased musician Kevin Gilbert.]Duke Levine
Duke Levine (born November 29, 1961) is an American guitarist, known primarily for his rock and country music playing as a session musician.
Levine was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. He has recorded and performed with Shawn Colv ...
contributed guitar parts to the album.
Critical reception
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote that "at times Brooke stretches her literary conceits too far, but her keyboardist-producer-arranger-husband Alain Mallet always wraps her appealing melodies in quirky, thickened chamber-pop arrangements." ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' praised Brooke's "complex, intensely melodic tunes and her uncliched, heartfelt poetry."The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' concluded that Brooke "ventures further into torchy folk-pop with high literary aspirations."
The ''Los Angeles Daily News
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media.
The offices of the ''Dai ...
'' thought that the "startlingly mature collection is eclectic and electric with Brooke supplying acoustic guitar and emotionally charged, first-rate material."[ The '']Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' determined that "while her strong new album ... doesn't completely sidestep the occasional cliché, the songs generally showcase a noteworthy artistry." ''The Indianapolis Star
''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...
'' stated that Brooke's "conversational style is accessible and perfectly suited for her musical tone—folky and earth-toned, with strings, horns and electronics painting some of the backdrop."[
]AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
wrote that "Mallet pastes together various genres without meshing them, and often the verses, chorus and bridge each have a radically different style."Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...
'' listed the album as the sixth best of 1997.
Track listing
References
{{reflist
Jonatha Brooke albums
1997 albums
MCA Records albums