James Felice – Homeworld Blue
James Felice has spent nearly two decades and ten albums contributing his distinctive vocals, piano and accordion-playing as a mainstay of one of contemporary Americana’s major forces, the Felice Brothers. Homeworld Blue is his second solo album, following hot on the heels of last year’s debut, The Little Ones. Whereas his first solo album was an intimate, self-produced album, largely recorded at home, this new album is produced by Nathaniel Walcott of Bright Eyes, and the resulting work is a far more ambitious and cinematically-scaled work.
As a member of the band Bright Eyes for over twenty years, Walcott serves as in-house arranger and orchestrator. He has also written arrangements and orchestrations for artists such as Flea, First Aid Kit, and Leon Bridges as well as composing for film (Fault in Our Stars, Regretting You). The result of their collaboration is an expansive marriage of Felice’s creative vision, his piano-playing and his unmistakeable voice with Walcott’s lush and intricately constructed arrangements, creating a detailed sonic world of drums, bass, harp, horn section, and full-scale orchestra. First working in Omaha with James and a small rhythm section, Walcott then moved the production to LA where he worked on and off for two years, meticulously sculpting the arrangement for each song. Despite the undoubted grandeur of the finished pieces, nothing in the music diminishes the impact of Felice’s thoughtful, insightful and deeply humane lyrics.
Primarily, this is a beautifully musical album that bears repeated listening. It shares some DNA with the best of contemporaries like Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, Neil Hannon, even Tom Waits, but perhaps most of all, Randy Newman, often cited by Felice as an influence. However, irrespective of any comparisons or influences, first and foremost Homeworld Blue is a singular work, and Walcott has brilliantly highlighted Felice’s considerable talent.
The opening track, “A Lot to Lose,” perfectly introduces Felice’s lyrical deftness and ability to weave an enthralling narrative. However, it’s the second track, “Let Yourself Live,” that gives the first real insight into the scale and ambition of the album. There’s so much to love on this album: across the entire piece the musicianship is stellar, but like the overall production, it never overshadows Felice’s masterful songwriting.
The album was mixed at Arc in Omaha by Mike Mogis, also renowned for his work as another key member of Bright Eyes. The Bright Eyes connection extends further, with the album released on Conor Oberst’s Million Stars Records, with Oberst also credited as an executive producer along with Phil Schaffart. The album was recorded at Arc and 64 Sound in LA, with engineering by Adam Roberts and Pierre De Reeder.
Find the music here: https://millionstars.merchtable.com/music/james-felice-homeworld-blue-lp-sky-blue-d2c-exclusive
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: REVIEW: The Felice Brothers “Valley of the Abandoned Songs”