''...Play Nine Songs with Mr. Quintron'' is the third studio album by the
Oblivians
The Oblivians are an American garage punk trio that has existed since 1993. In the 1990s, their blues-infused brand of bravado, crudely recorded music made them one of the most popular and prominent bands within the underground garage rock scene ...
, released in 1997 on
Crypt Records
Crypt Records is an independent record label founded by American-born Tim Warren in 1983. The label has been headquartered variously in Hamburg, Germany and in several locations in the United States. Crypt is perhaps best known for issuing the ten- ...
. The album features noted
Ninth Ward
The Ninth Ward or 9th Ward is a distinctive region of New Orleans, Louisiana, which is located in the easternmost downriver portion of the city. It is geographically the largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans. On the south, the Ninth Ward is bound ...
nightclub
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
Mr. Quintron playing organ and percussion on a number of tracks.
Overview
The album's concept came about in part due to
Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian (born March 18, 1972), is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. From 2001 to 2022 he fronted Reigning Sound which was signed to Merge Records. After m ...
's fondness for gospel music: "Greg had been really into black gospel music, and wanted to try some gospels songs in Oblivians fashion, but only if they were kinda screwed up. We didn't want to try to come off as religious, but we didn't want to make a joke out of the whole thing, either. It was a tribute to the spirit of the music, more the holy ghost than the saviour."
The album was recorded in a single day: "Quintron took a bus up to Memphis from New Orleans for 8 hours, and we took him to my (Eric "Oblivian" Friedl's) house to play him some songs that we were thinking of covering."
Mr. Quintron began arranging his contributions upon arrival, without any prior knowledge of the content of the album. "We had sent him a tape of the songs but it never got delivered to him- so he came up not knowing what songs we wanted to do!"
The album was recorded in eight hours, at which point Mr. Quintron returned home via bus to
. "He (Quintron) was on a bus for eight hours then in a studio for eight hours and then we took him to the bus the same day, so he had a tough 24 hours."
The dramatic shift in styles between this album and its predecessors was one of the reasons for the eventual break up of the band. As Greg Cartwright once explained, "this is really why the band ended - the ...Play 9 record sounded more like a Gamblers record than an Oblivians record. I'm not sure Eric was happy with the direction of the band cause he has more of a punk rock aesthetic, but it was a good finale."
Track listing
Personnel
*
Greg Oblivian
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian (born March 18, 1972), is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. From 2001 to 2022 he fronted Reigning Sound which was signed to Merge Records. After mo ...
– Lead and backing vocals, guitar
*
Eric Oblivian – Lead and backing vocals, guitar
*
Jack Oblivian
Jack Yarber (born March 15, 1967), also known by his stage name Jack Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist based in Memphis, Tennessee. He was a founding member of the garage bands The Compulsive Gamblers, and The Oblivian ...
– Drums, backing vocals
*
Mr. Quintron – Organ, percussion
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Play Nine Songs with Mr. Quintron
1997 albums
Oblivians albums
Crypt Records albums