''Imitations'' is the eighth studio album by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

musician Mark Lanegan, released on September 17, 2013 on

Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is hom ...

and

Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...

. It is a collection of

cover song In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s, consisting of songs from Lanegan's parents' music collection and contemporary musicians, including

Chelsea Wolfe Chelsea Joy Wolfe (born November 14, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work has blended elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music. Raised in Northern California with a country musician father, Wolfe began writin ...

, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and

The Twilight Singers The Twilight Singers are an American indie rock band. The group was formed in 1997 by Greg Dulli as a side project during a hiatus from his group The Afghan Whigs. After the Afghan Whigs disbanded, Dulli used The Twilight Singers as his own arti ...

. Produced by

Martin Feveyear Martin John Feveyear born late '66 is a British record producer and audio engineer based in Seattle, Washington. Beginning as a singer-songwriter and musician, Feveyear soon began recording work for artists in both the UK and US before moving to ...

, who had worked with Lanegan on his previous covers album, '' I'll Take Care of You'' (1999), the album was preceded by the single, " I'm Not the Loving Kind".

Background

Commenting on the decision to record a covers album, Mark Lanegan said: "when I was a kid in the late sixties and early seventies, my parents and their friends would play the records of Andy Williams, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Perry Como, music with string arrangements and men singing songs that sounded sad whether they were or not. At home my folks were also listening to country music,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

, Johnny Cash,

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

and

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) was an American country music singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number One: " I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You ...

were some of our favorites. For a long time I've wanted to make a record that gave me the same feeling those old records did, using some of the same tunes I loved as a kid and some that I've loved as I have gotten older. This record is it."

Release

''Imitations'' was announced for release on June 26, 2013 through a

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

on Lanegan's official website. It was subsequently released on September 17, 2013 on

, with whom he signed after the release of '' Blues Funeral'' (2012). The album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

, a cover of John Cale's "I'm Not the Loving Kind", was released on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

alongside the album's announcement. A nine-date tour of European festivals to support ''Imitations'' release began on July 12, 2013 at BBK Live in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, Spain and concluded on July 21 at the

Longitude Festival Longitude Festival is a music festival that takes place during July every year in Dublin, Ireland. Since 2013, Marlay Park has been home to the festival. It is organised by MCD Productions and Festival Republic. When the festival first started ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland. Tour dates for the United States were later in 2013, according to ''Imitations'' press release.

Critical reception

Writing for

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 ...

, Thom Jurek gave the album a positive review, stating: "''Imitations'' is a fine collection that reveals the depth of the songs through the openness and considerable skill of the singer." In a mostly positive review, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

s Michael Hann wrote: "''Imitations'' works best when Lanegan, his voice as dark and smoky as one of those old-fashioned gentlemen's clubs, tackles something so unexpected it forces you to reappraise the song: " You Only Live Twice", in particular, is a triumph, the grandeur and drama of the

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

replaced by a delicate weariness." In a mixed review for the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Jeremy Allan, wrote: "Up there with

Cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-im ...

American series The American Series (Spanish: ''La Temporada Americana'') was a set of baseball games played between Cuban and American teams in Cuba. An American team would travel to Cuba and play various professional, all-star and/or amateur Cuban teams throughou ...

this is not. But 48-year-old Lanegan is a classy bastard, so he just about gets away with it."

Track listing

Personnel

* Mark Lanegan - vocals * Mike Johnson - acoustic guitar (1, 4), electric guitar (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12) *

Alain Johannes Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has b ...

- cigfiddle (11), mellotron (11), acoustic guitar (11), ebo guitar (11) *

Barrett Martin Barrett Martin (born April 14, 1967) is an American record producer, percussionist, writer, and ethnomusicologist from Washington. As a producer he has won one Latin Grammy and has been nominated in two other categories. As an ethnomusicologist ...

- vibraphone (2, 3, 5, 6), tambourine (2), drums (3, 6, 12), percussion (3, 12) *

Bill Rieflin William Frederick Rieflin (September 30, 1960 – March 24, 2020) was an American musician. Rieflin came to prominence in the 1990s mainly for his work as a drummer with groups (particularly in the industrial rock and industrial metal scene ...

- drums (1, 5, 9), percussion (1, 5, 7), pump organ (6), mellotron (9) *

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...

- bass (3, 6, 12) *

Mark Pickerel Mark Pickerel is an American musician best known as the original drummer for the alternative rock band Screaming Trees. He is also an active session musician and has released several solo albums as a singer/guitarist. Biography Originally fro ...

- drums (2, 10) * Jeff Fielder - acoustic guitar (1, 2, 4), electric guitar (3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12) * Drew Church - bass (1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10) *

Andrew Joslyn Andrew Joslyn is an American composer, orchestrator, film scorer, and violinist in various genres. Early life and education Joslyn was born in Pomona, California, but moved to Washington with his family when he was three and grew up on Bainbridg ...

- violins (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12) viola (1, 6) * Rebecca Filice - cello (1, 3, 7, 9, 12) * Mark Hoyt - backing vocals (2), acoustic guitar (8) * Billy Stover - piano (3, 6, 9, 12) * Jason Staczek - harpsichord (5) * Eric Padget - trumpet (6) * Tom Yoder - trombone (6)

References

External links

* at

{{Authority control 2013 albums Mark Lanegan albums Covers albums Albums produced by Martin Feveyear Vagrant Records albums Heavenly Recordings albums