Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Most Americans' introduction to A3 came via the use of the group's "Woke Up This Morning" at the start of episodes of the television series The Sopranos. The odd combination of gutbucket rhythms, gospel harmonies, electronic bleeps, and Robb Spragg's gravely voice intoning, "Woke up this morning with a blue moon in your eye," as the camera records a passenger-seat view of a car emerging from the Lincoln Tunnel and making its way through the industrial wasteland of northern New Jersey is now an indelible TV experience. But Sopranos fans might be surprised to know that the song is the work of an odd musical collective from the Brixton district of London who sport such pseudonyms as the Empiricist (guitarist Mark Sams) and The Spirit (keyboard player Orlando Harrison). It's no wonder that placing them is difficult. They seem to have spent most of their time absorbing media depictions of America, minus any cultural context, and then mixing these undigested references up with dance music. Though the beats rarely flag on the group's second album, La Peste, elements of folk, country, blues, and gospel come and go in incongruous profusion. Similarly, the lyrics, sung largely by Spragg (sorry, he also calls himself Larry Love), name-drop endlessly and even borrow phrases and titles from other songs -- "Mansion on the Hill" is also the title of a Hank Williams song, for example, and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" recycles Bob Dylan's "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands." The result is at best gimmicky and at worst pretentious. And speaking of pretentious, Charles Harrison's liner notes acknowledge the band's music to be "flagrantly inauthentic," then speculate whether "their American audience" realizes this and, if so, what they make of it. The answer, so far, is that A3's American audience is confined to Sopranos fans who don't have a clue who they are, anyway. Those fans are likely to enjoy La Peste, if they find out about it, since much of it sounds like "Woke Up This Morning," though they may well wonder what the band is on about. That's a good question.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr124,99/month
Mark Sams, Composer - Jake Black, Composer - Simon Edwards, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Piers Marsh, Composer - Simon Edwards, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - A Hamilton, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT LTD, MusicPublisher - Oliver Hawkins, Composer - Rob Spragg, Lyricist - E Evans, Composer - John Delafons, Composer - Ed Bereal, Composer
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Jake Black, Composer - Piers Marsh, Composer - Simon Edwards, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist - Charles Orlando Harrison, Composer
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Jake Black, Composer - Piers Marsh, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Charles Harrison, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Mark Sams, Composer - Simon Edwards, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Robert Spragg, ComposerLyricist - Glenn Frey, Composer - DON HENLEY, Composer - Don Felder, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Jake Black, Composer - Piers Marsh, Composer - Simon Edwards, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Mark Sams, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Charles Harrison, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Mark Sams, Composer - Piers Marsh, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist - John Delafons, Composer
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Mark Sams, Composer - Simon Edwards, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Charles Harrison, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Jake Black, Composer - Piers Marsh, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Charles Harrison, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Jake Black, Composer - Piers Marsh, Composer - Simon Edwards, Composer - Robert Spragg, Composer - Alabama 3, MainArtist - Rob Spragg, Lyricist - The Chosen One, Composer
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Album review
Most Americans' introduction to A3 came via the use of the group's "Woke Up This Morning" at the start of episodes of the television series The Sopranos. The odd combination of gutbucket rhythms, gospel harmonies, electronic bleeps, and Robb Spragg's gravely voice intoning, "Woke up this morning with a blue moon in your eye," as the camera records a passenger-seat view of a car emerging from the Lincoln Tunnel and making its way through the industrial wasteland of northern New Jersey is now an indelible TV experience. But Sopranos fans might be surprised to know that the song is the work of an odd musical collective from the Brixton district of London who sport such pseudonyms as the Empiricist (guitarist Mark Sams) and The Spirit (keyboard player Orlando Harrison). It's no wonder that placing them is difficult. They seem to have spent most of their time absorbing media depictions of America, minus any cultural context, and then mixing these undigested references up with dance music. Though the beats rarely flag on the group's second album, La Peste, elements of folk, country, blues, and gospel come and go in incongruous profusion. Similarly, the lyrics, sung largely by Spragg (sorry, he also calls himself Larry Love), name-drop endlessly and even borrow phrases and titles from other songs -- "Mansion on the Hill" is also the title of a Hank Williams song, for example, and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlife" recycles Bob Dylan's "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands." The result is at best gimmicky and at worst pretentious. And speaking of pretentious, Charles Harrison's liner notes acknowledge the band's music to be "flagrantly inauthentic," then speculate whether "their American audience" realizes this and, if so, what they make of it. The answer, so far, is that A3's American audience is confined to Sopranos fans who don't have a clue who they are, anyway. Those fans are likely to enjoy La Peste, if they find out about it, since much of it sounds like "Woke Up This Morning," though they may well wonder what the band is on about. That's a good question.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:58:25
- Main artists: Alabama 3
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: One Little Independent Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2000 Elemental Records 2000 Elemental Records
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.