
Mark Ribot - Map of a Blue City - on limited colored vinyl
Artist: Mark Ribot| Label: New West | Format: LP | Genre: Jazz | Album Condition: New | Cover Condition: Sealed
Mark Ribot
Map of a Blue City
New West 5914E - on limited Indie Exclusive BLUE vinyl
When she was a child, Marc Ribot’s daughter drew a map of a city in deep, rich, vivid blue. When he praised her blue map, she corrected him: It's not a blue map, but a map of a blue city. That distinction stuck with him and eventually inspired a curious song called “Map of a Blue City.
Map of a Blue City ruminates on what it means to be lost—the confusion and fear, of course, but also the excitement of so many undreamt-of possibilities. Its history is an odd map of its own, full of false starts, blind alleys, dead ends, and one inconceivable tragedy, all leading to what may be his definitive statement as an instrumentalist, as a songwriter, and even as a singer. While it’s not a singer-songwriter album, it is his first to center his plaintive, wise voice quite so prominently.
Map of a Blue City bears the weight of its history gracefully, incorporating recordings made over nearly half of Ribot’s life and reflecting on how he got to this particular moment. “Working on this album for so long, I’ve seen the world change dramatically and not really change at all. Some of the issues today are the same ones I thought about when I was just starting the album, but some are things I couldn’t have dreamt of at the time. But I think that’s why I was so determined to get the production values right. Recording production is really complicated, but it all boils down to what kind of room the listener feels they’re standing in. There are some hard truths and cold observations in these songs. I wanted the room to be small enough so that we couldn’t turn away: but warm enough to feel like you’re hearing it from a friend.”
Songs are:
Elizabeth
For Celia
Say My Name
Daddy's Trip to Brazil
Map of a Blue City
Death of a Narcissist
When the World's On Fire
Sometime Jailhouse Blues
"Optimism of the Spirit"
NEW SEALED LP on limited BLUE colored vinyl