''Confessin' the Blues'' is an album by the American musician
Esther Phillips
Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...
. It was released in 1975, with an Atlantic Jazzlore reissue in 1987.
[
The album peaked at No. 170 on the ''Billboard'' 200.]
Production
The album was produced by Nesuhi Ertegun
Nesuhi Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Nesuhi Ertegün; November 26, 1917 – July 15, 1989) was a Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.
Early life
Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesuhi ...
and King Curtis
Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician ...
.[ It is made up of two recording sessions. The first side contains big band numbers conducted by ]Onzy Matthews
Onzy Durrett Matthews, Jr. (January 15, 1930 – November 13, 1997) was an American jazz pianist, singer, arranger and composer as well as a television and movie actor. He is best known for the big band arrangements done for the Lou Rawls albums ' ...
.[ The songs on the first side were recorded in 1966; the songs on side two in 1970.]
Critical reception
Robert Christgau opined that "consistent material (lots of twelve-bar) and the complete absence of violins make these sessions ... preferable to the run of her Kudu albums."The Washington Informer
''The Washington Informer'' is a weekly newspaper published in Washington, D.C. ''The Informer'' is female-owned and is targeted at the African-American population of the D.C. metropolitan area. The publisher is Denise Rolark Barnes, whose fathe ...
'' called the first side "Phillips at her best, with the kind intelligently conceived support that her major talent deserved."[ The '']Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...
'' wrote that "there's some gutsy, wailing playing here and great arrangements by Onzy Matthews."[ The '']Omaha World-Herald
The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...
'' determined that "the whining sound of her voice could become somewhat irritating, but she had a way with soulful songs."
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 databa ...
called the closing medley "the highlight of the set, showing Phillips in a bluesy setting."The Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' wrote that the performances are "amusing, bittersweet and heart-rending."[ The '']Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...
'' listed the album as one of the 75 essential Texas blues albums.
Track listing
References
{{Authority control
Esther Phillips albums
1975 albums
Atlantic Records albums