Take Me to the Alley
Studio album by
Gregory Porter
ReleasedMay 6, 2016
RecordedSeptember 28 – October 1, 2015
StudioCapitol Studio B, Hollywood
Sear Sound, NYC
GenreJazz
Length51:18
LabelBlue Note
Producer
  • Gregory Porter
  • Kamau Kenyatta
Gregory Porter chronology
Issues of Life: Features and Remixes
(2014)		 Take Me to the Alley
(2016)		 Nat King Cole & Me
(2017)
Singles from Take Me to the Alley
  1. "Don't Lose Your Steam"
    Released: 2016
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[1]
Metacritic81/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[3]
AllMusic[4]
The Telegraph[5]
Exeposé[6]
The Guardian[7]
Irish Examiner4/5[8]
The Irish Times[9]
The National[10]
Pitchfork6.7/10[11]
PopMatters9/10[12]

Take Me to the Alley is the fourth studio album by Gregory Porter, released on May 6, 2016 through Blue Note Records. It earned Porter a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.[13]

The album was recorded in Hollywood and New York City between September and October 2015.[14] Porter worked alongside producer Kamau Kenyatta, with whom he first worked in the mid-1990s when he was a student at San Diego State University. Porter observed: "Kamau has been most instrumental in taking what I have and refining it... he's been great at offering encouragement to what I already have artistically."[15]

Reception

Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis said:

... for all its easiness on the ear, – and there are moments when listening Take Me to the Alley feels like being mugged by a syrup sponge pudding – there’s something weirdly uncompromising about Porter’s music. He doesn’t bother with glossy production: Take Me to the Alley sounds fantastic, but that’s down to the warm spontaneity of an album that seems to have been recorded in six days. Nor does he dabble in radio-friendly pop covers – no scat-singing interpreter of the Coldplay songbook he. His own compositions proudly display his gospel roots – not the first genre you’d think of flaunting were you desperate for mainstream success. The title track offers up a parable about the second coming of Christ, its sternness at odds with the pacific piano playing and Alicia Olatuja's pillowy backing vocals; "In Heaven" undercuts the small hours loveliness of its muted trumpet with a lyric by Porter's cousin about death and redemption.[16]

Track listing

All songs written by Gregory Porter, except where noted.[17] Arrangements by Porter, Chip Crawford and Kamau Kenyatta, horns arranged by Kenyatta and Keyon Harrold.

No.TitleLength
1."Holding On" (Gregory Porter, James John Napier, Guy William Lawrence and Howard John Lawrence)5:01
2."Don't Lose Your Steam"3:17
3."Take Me to the Alley"5:16
4."Day Dream" (Gregory Porter and Craig Dawson)3:51
5."Consequence of Love"3:20
6."In Fashion"4:34
7."More Than a Woman"3:31
8."In Heaven" (Darlene Andrews)4:18
9."Insanity"5:37
10."Don't Be a Fool"4:31
11."Fan the Flames"4:12
12."French African Queen"3:44
Total length:51:18

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.TitleLength
13."Holding On" (featuring Kem)4.16
14."Insanity" (featuring Lalah Hathaway)5.03
15."Don't Lose Your Steam" (Fred Falke remix)3:15
Total length:63:51

DVD bonus tracks

  1. "Take Me to the Alley" (EPK) – 6:33
  2. "Don't Lose Your Steam" (Official Video) – 3:17
  3. The Making of "Don't Lose Your Steam" – 2:04
  4. "Don't Lose Your Steam" (1 Mic 1 Take) – 3:28
  5. "Holding On" (1 Mic 1 Take), featuring Kem – 4:10
  6. Don Was Interview (#"Take Me to the Alley") – 19:31

Personnel

Production
  • Producers – Gregory Porter, Kamau Kenyatta
  • Recording engineer – Jay Newland (at Sear Sound, NYC), Charlie Paakkari (at Capitol Studio B, LA)
  • Assistant engineers – Grant Valentine and Richie Kennon (at Sear Sound)
  • Mixing – Jay Newland (at Capitol Studio B)
Additional musicians on Deluxe Edition's bonus tracks
  • Guest vocals – Kem ("Holding On"), Lalah Hathaway ("Insanity")
  • Bass, keyboard – Demetrius Nabors ("Holding On")
  • Guitar – Darrell Crooks ("Insanity")
  • Remix – Rex Rideout ("Insanity"), Fred Falke ("Don't Loose Your Steam")
DVD
  • Piano trio at Capitol Studio A on tracks 4 and 5 – Chip Crawford, Jahmal Nichols (bass), and Emanuel Harrold
  • Guest vocals on 5 – Kem
  • Video directors – Ali Muhammad (1), Nayip Ramos (2, 3), Possum Hill (4–6)
  • Video producers – Thoro NYC (1), Decca Records France (2, 3), Daylan Williams (4–6)

Charts

References

  1. ↑ "Gregoy Porter: Take Me to the Alley". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  2. ↑ "TAKE ME TO THE ALLEY by Gregory Porter". Metacritic. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  3. ↑ Bilawsky, Dan (April 10, 2016). "Gregory Porter: Take Me To The Alley". All About Jazz. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  4. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Gregory Porter: Take Me to the Alley". Allmusic. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  5. ↑ McCormick, Neil (May 6, 2016). "Gregory Porter, Take Me to the Alley, review – the sweet sound of an old soul". The Telegraph. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  6. ↑ Keat, Sam (May 7, 2016). "Album Review: Gregory Porter – Take Me To The Alley". Exeposé. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  7. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (May 5, 2016). "Gregory Porter: Take Me to the Alley review – genre-straddling true grit". theguardian.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016 – via The Guardian.
  8. ↑ O'Riordan, Alan (March 23, 2016). "Album Review: Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley". Irish Examiner. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  9. ↑ Larkin, Cormac (May 18, 2016). "Gregory Porter: Take Me to the Alley review – enough jazz attitude to keep in with the in-crowd". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ Garratt, Rob (May 22, 2016). "Album review: Gregory Porter's Take Me to the Alley is ear pleasingly beautiful". The National. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  11. ↑ Moore, Marcus J. (May 11, 2016). "Gregory Porter Take Me to the Alley". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  12. ↑ LAYMAN, WILL (May 10, 2016). "Gregory Porter: Take Me to the Alley". PopMatters. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  13. ↑ "2017 Grammy Awards: Complete list of nominees". latimes.com/. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Take Me to the Alley – Gregory Porter – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Take Me To The Alley – Releases". Blue Note Records. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  16. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (May 5, 2016). "Gregory Porter: Take Me to the Alley review – genre-straddling true grit". theguardian.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016 – via The Guardian.
  17. ↑ "Gregory Porter Returns with "Take Me to the Alley" on May 6; two songs out now". bluenote.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  18. ↑ "ARIA CHART WATCH #411". auspOp. March 11, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  26. ↑ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Gregory Porter – Take Me to the Alley". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Gregory Porter | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Gregory Porter Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Gregory Porter Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Gregory Porter Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2016". Ultratop. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  35. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2016". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2016" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  37. ↑ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
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