S6E313 - Sparklehorse 'It's A Wonderful Life' with Lincoln Barr
This week, singer/composer Lincoln Barr brings us the band Sparklehorse and their 2001 release: 'It's A Wonderful Life'. Led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous - this time joined by a cast of musical friends including Tom Waits, PJ...
This week, singer/composer Lincoln Barr brings us the band Sparklehorse and their 2001 release: 'It's A Wonderful Life'. Led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous - this time joined by a cast of musical friends including Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Nina Persson and Dave Fridmann - it's a strange yet hauntingly beautiful collection of songs that truly resonate.
Songs discussed in this episode: It's A Wonderful Life - Frank Watkinson; A Miracle Of Sorts - Lincoln Barr; Heart Of Darkness - Sparklehorse; Game Of Pricks - Guided Of Voices; It's A Wonderful Life - Sparklehorse; Lovefool - The Cardigans; Gold Day, Piano Fire, Painbirds, Sea Of Teeth, Apple Bed, King Of Nails, Eyepennies, Dog Door, More Yellow Birds - Sparklehorse; Myrtle - Vic Chesnutt; Little Fat Baby, Devils New, Comfort Me, Babies On The Sun, Morning Hollow, Maxine - Sparklehorse; Beyond The Threshold - Lincoln Barr
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Singer / Composer / Guitarist
Lincoln Barr is a composer, singer, and guitarist currently based in South Carolina. His latest album, Forfeit the Prize – the third full-length release under his own name, following a decade-plus leading Seattle-based pop group Red Jacket Mine – explores destiny, gratitude, and wonder, embellishing his trademark deft songcraft with a sonic palette that blends string-laden Bacharachian grandeur, sophisticated soul, torchy chanson, and dubby, spectral psychedelia.
After a pandemic interlude that saw the release of several boundary-stretching singles, Barr reconvened the core cast from solo debut Trembling Frames for a joyous session in late summer 2021 – guitarist, co-producer, and confidante Johnny Sangster (Neko Case, Braly Sangster, The Tripwires); the “indispensable” and sympathetic drummer John Convertino, one-half of Tucson legends Calexico; nimble bassist and avant-jazz staple Keith Lowe (Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb); and one of Barr’s most vital collaborators over the past decade, keyboard wizard (and nascent string arranger) Daniel Walker – cutting Forfeit the Prize’s ten tracks live to tape over a few days at Sangster’s Crackle & Pop! Studio in Seattle.
For finishing touches, Barr and Sangster enlisted a virtual wrecking crew that included string arrangers Walker (Heart, Amy Ray) and Andrew Joslyn (Mark Lanegan, Seattle Symphony); saxophonist Levon Henry (The Milk Carton Kids, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joe Henry); Chicago-based vocalists Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor-Kean, and Casey McDonough (Mavis Staples, Iron & Wine, NRBQ); a…Read More