''Parking Lots'' is the second studio album by Australian

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

singer Mia Dyson and was released on 11 April 2005. The first single off the album was "Roll Me Out". The final single off the album, "I Meant Something to You Once", was made available as an exclusive download through

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was added to high rotation on

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and community, youth radio networks across the country. All songs on the album were written and produced by Dyson except "Rivers Wide" which was produced with Matt Walker. ''Parking Lots'' was co-produced with Lloyd Barratt and mixed by Nick Launay (

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

, Silverchair). ''Parking Lots'' was recorded at a holiday house in Victoria's Mt Martha with Dyson's backing band of Lucas Taranto (bass) and Daniel Farrugia (drums). Stage two saw the studio move back home to the bungalow in her backyard, where she was joined by special guests: Matt Walker, Steve Hesketh (

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Dan Brodie Dan Brodie is an Australian singer and songwriter from Melbourne, Australia, best known for his prolific solo career, during which he has released seven studio. In addition to releasing his own albums, Brodie's songs have been recorded by othe ...

) Carl Panuzzo and Sime Nugent. Later,

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's Worl ...

added backing vocals during the album's mixing stage at Sing Sing, Melbourne. ''Parking Lots'' won the 2005 ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album; she was also nominated for Best Female Artist.

Reception

Patrick Donovan of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' opined, "Playing to prison inmates may be intimidating for some performers, but entertainment-starved inmates can be highly receptive audiences - especially if you're singing the blues... Dyson puts her newfound maturity down to experience and confidence gained from two years on the road, playing everywhere from women's prisons to three months overseas as a solo artist." ''SA Blues'' David Stoeckel felt, "This is the kind of mix I warm to. It has a dynamic and immediate quality about it as well as a lay back subtlety. The mix allows for the impassioned, moaning, bluesy and slightly slurred vocals to come through clearly. At the same time you are aware of the strength and beauty of the guitar playing. What is generated is an exhilarating, intimate, approachable and engaging sound filled with rich roots and blues rhythms."

Track listing

# "Roll Me Out" - 4:31 # "Parking Lots" - 5:21 # "I Meant Something to You Once" - 4:12 # "Christmas Island" - 3:36 # "No Other" - 5:06 # "Rivers Wide" - 3:34 # "Dark Time" - 4:14 # "Little Piece" - 4:03 # "Choose" - 4:53 # "Down" - 5:19 # "Fire Creek" - 3:24

References

External links

*
AMO Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parking Lots (Album) 2005 albums ARIA Award-winning albums Mia Dyson albums