''Loose'' is the third studio album by American singer/songwriter

Victoria Williams Victoria Williams (born December 23, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with multi ...

, released in 1994. Her previous album, 1990’s '' Swing the Statue!'', won some critical praise but completely failed to attract commercial attention, and the collapse of

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

left her without a contract until

Mammoth Records Mammoth Records was an independent record label founded in 1989 by Jay Faires in the Carrboro area of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The majority of the acts on Mammoth were executive-produced by Faires and the label's general manager, Steve Balcom ...

bought the rights to that album. Two years afterwards, Williams was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and as a working musician, lacked health insurance or the money to pay her medical fees; however, a large number of musicians who admired the talent she had shown on her

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

albums came in to support her with 1993’s '' Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams'' tribute album recording her songs – including two unrecorded by Williams herself. ''Loose'', in contrast to her first two albums, was recorded with a large crew including some high-profile contributors like R.E.M.’s

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

’s sister and bandmate

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

, husband-to-be Mark Olson and

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train (Soul Asylum song), Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rule ...

’s

Dave Pirner David Anthony Pirner (born April 16, 1964) is an American songwriter, singer, and producer best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for the alternative rock band Soul Asylum. Early life and work Pirner was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin and gr ...

. Containing a full hour of music, ''Loose'' saw Victoria Williams use a greater diversity of styles, notably the spiritual-influenced “You R Loved” and “Get Away”. Despite widespread critical praise, ''Loose'' could not break her commercially, failing to dent the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Top 200, and Williams moved with new husband Olson to

Joshua Tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

, California.

Track listing

Personnel

* Scott Babcock – timpani, shaker *

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...

– electric guitar, sitar *

Greg Cohen Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist who has been a member of John Zorn's Masada quartet and worked with numerous other noted musicians for over four decades. Career Cohen plays traditional jazz and other styles, includi ...

– acoustic bass, electric guitar * Paul Fox – chimes, shaker * The

Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series '' ...

Fourteen – strings *

Lili Haydn Lili Haydn (born December 25, 1969) is a Canadian-born rock violinist, vocalist, actress, and composer. As a child, she pursued a career as an actress; at age eight she discovered the violin and began to focus on classical music. By the time Hay ...

– viola *

Don Heffington Don Heffington (December 20, 1950March 24, 2021) was an American drummer, percussionist, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles alternative country band Lone Justice, which he performed with from 1982 to 1985. Heffington was ...

– drums, percussion *

Rami Jaffee Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. Jaffee has contributed to six of the band's studi ...

– organ *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cu ...

– electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, acoustic guitar, dulcimer *

Gary Louris Gary Louris (born March 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist after the ...

– backing vocals *

Jean McClain Jean McClain (born March 8, 1953), better known as Pepper Mashay, is an American soul, house and dance music singer-songwriter who has had success as a touring and studio performer. Early life McClain grew up in Muncie, Indiana. Growing up, h ...

– backing vocals *

– backing vocals * Mark Olson – vocals, acoustic guitar *

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...

– accordion, arrangements *

– vocals * Tim Ray – piano, electric piano *

Tammy Rogers Tammy may refer to: *Tam o' Shanter (cap), a Scottish hat * ''Tammy'' (film series), a series of four films **''Tammy and the Bachelor'', the first film in the series ** "Tammy" (song), a popular song from ''Tammy and the Bachelor'' ** ''Tammy'' (T ...

– violin, viola, backing vocals *

Rose Stone Rose Stone (born Rosemary Stewart, March 21, 1945) is an American singer and keyboardist. She is best known as one of the lead singers in Sly and the Family Stone, a popular psychedelic soul/funk band founded by her brothers, Sly Stone and ...

– backing vocals * Geri Stuyak – cello *

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

Horn Section – horns * Doug Weisselman – clarinet, bass harmonica, clay flute * Andrew Williams – acoustic guitar, piano, organ, backing vocals * David Williams – backing vocals * Victoria Williams – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, dulcimer

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Atlantic Records albums Mammoth Records albums Albums produced by Paul Fox (record producer)