The First Minute of a New Day
The First Minute of a New Day | ||||
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Studio album by Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson and the Midnight Band | ||||
Released | January 1975 | |||
Recorded | June–July 1974 | |||
Studio | D&B Sound in Silver Spring, Maryland | |||
Genre | Jazz, R&B, progressive soul[1] | |||
Length | 47:52 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer | Gil Scott-Heron, Brian Jackson | |||
Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson chronology | ||||
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The First Minute of a New Day is an album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron, keyboardist Brian Jackson, and the Midnight Band—an eight-piece musical ensemble. It was released in January 1975 on Arista Records.[2] Recording sessions for the album took place in the summer of 1974 at D&B Sound in Silver Spring, Maryland.[3] It was the follow-up to Scott-Heron's and Jackson's critically acclaimed collaboration effort Winter in America. The First Minute of a New Day was the first album to feature "Winter in America", the title track of Scott-Heron's previous album which was not featured on its original LP release.[4] The album was reissued on compact disc by Scott-Heron's label Rumal-Gia Records in 1998.[5]
Music and lyrics
The First Minute of a New Day served as Jackson's and Scott-Heron's debut for the Arista label and featured the eight-piece Midnight Band.[5] With the Midnight Band and better financial support from Arista, the album benefited from a larger supporting cast and slicker production, in contrast to the sparse production on Winter in America.[5] The Midnight Band would later be featured on following Scott-Heron albums, assisting in production and back-up instrumentation.
The songs on The First Minute of a New Day, which feature themes ranging from spirituality ("Offering") to revolution ("The Liberation Song") and oppression ("Winter in America"), contain jazz melodies by the Midnight Band and funk influences.[5][6] "Winter in America" featured themes of struggle and had Scott-Heron singing of social, geographical and environmental oppression. The album's only spoken word cut, also a live take, "Pardon Our Analysis" was a sequel to Winter in America's "H2O Gate Blues" as a criticism of President Richard Nixon's pardon, though this time the track did not feature a musical backing of any kind.[7]
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B[9] |
Houston Press | (favorable)[11] |
Rolling Stone | (favorable)[12] |
The Village Voice | B[10] |
Following the little commercial success experienced by Scott-Heron's previous LPs, the album had multi-chart success, which seemed promising for their new record label.[13] Even though Scott-Heron's previous albums, in specific Pieces of a Man and Winter in America, featured singles, they did not chart. However, no singles were released for The First Minute of a New Day, off the album or for promotion.[13]
Following heavy promotion by Arista,[6] the album entered the Top Jazz Albums chart at number 17 on February 8, 1975.[14] It later peaked at number 5 before falling off the charts on July 19, 1975, 24 weeks after its original appearance.[14] The First Minute of a New Day also peaked at number 8 on the Black Albums chart and number 30 on the Pop Albums chart.[13] While not as critically acclaimed as Jackson's and Scott-Heron's previous effort Winter in America, The First Minute of a New Day gave Scott-Heron wider recognition among fans and critics, due in part to its heavy promotion.[6] Tim Sheridan of Allmusic called it "solid, decidedly left-of-center jazz-R&B" and went on to write:
This output, with the opening meditation of "Offering" and the right-on "Ain't No Such Thing as Superman," solidifies Heron's place in the pantheon of jazz poets.[7]
— Tim Sheridan
Music critic Neil Tesser described Scott-Heron's singing voice for the album as "mahogany, sunshine, and tears."[15] The contributions by the Midnight Band were also praised by critics.[15] Robert Christgau of the Village Voice noted that "the free-jazz-gone-populist band generates so much rhythmic energy that it carries over the weak spots".[9]
Track listing
All songs written by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, except where noted.[16]
Side one
- "Offering" – 3:34
- "The Liberation Song (Red, Black and Green)" – 6:18
- "Must Be Something" (Jackson, Danny Bowens, Scott-Heron, Bob Adams) – 5:16
- "Ain't No Such Thing As Superman" (Scott-Heron) – 4:13
- "Pardon Our Analysis (We Beg Your Pardon)" – 8:01
Side two
- "Guerilla" (Scott-Heron) – 7:49
- "Winter in America" (Scott-Heron) – 6:09
- "Western Sunrise" (Bilal Sunni Ali) – 5:16
- "Alluswe" – 5:04
Bonus tracks
All bonus cuts for the CD reissue were managed and produced by Malcolm Cecil.[3]
- "A Talk: Bluesology / Black History / Jaws / The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" - Live at The Wax Museum 1982 – 10:41
- "Winter in America" - 1978 Solo Version – 6:26
Charts
Billboard Music Charts (North America) – The First Minute of a New Day[13]
- 1975: Jazz Albums – #5
- 1975: Black Albums – #8
- 1975: Pop Albums – #30
Personnel
Musicians
- Gil Scott-Heron – vocals, piano, electric piano, guitar
- Brian Jackson – synthesizer, keyboards, flute, vocals
- Bilal Sunni Ali – flute, harmonica, saxophone
- Danny Bowens – bass
- Eddie Knowles - percussion, conga
- Barnett Williams - percussion
- Victor Brown – percussion, vocals
- Charlie Saunders – congas, drums
- Bob Adams – drums
- Victor Bowens – tambourine, vocals, bells
Additional personnel
- Perpis-Fall Music, Inc. – producer
- Jose Williams – engineer, production assistance
- David Lau – artwork
- Vera Savcic, Adam Shore – reissue exec. producer
- Malcolm Cecil – remastering, reissue engineer
Notes
- ^ Backus, Rob (1976). Fire Music: A Political History of Jazz (2nd ed.). Vanguard Books. ISBN 091770200X.
- ^ Columnist (February 8, 1975). "The New Record Company". Billboard: 61. Retrieved on 2011-04-10.
- ^ a b "Discogs.com - Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - Midnight Band: The First Minute Of A New Day (1998 Reissue)". Discogs. 1998. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ "Winter in America liner notes". Inwinter. Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
- ^ a b c d "Catching Up with Gil - Music - Houston Press". Village Voice Media. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ a b c "Gil Scott-Heron: The First Minute Of A New Day : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ a b "allmusic ((( The First Minute of a New Day > Overview )))". All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (March 17, 1975). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ Houston Press review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ a b c d "The First Minute of a New Day > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ a b "Billboard Music Charts - The First Minute of a New Day - Search Results". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-07-29.[dead link]
- ^ a b "Amazon.com: The First Minute of a New Day: Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson: Music". Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ "Billboard.com - Discography - Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - The First Minute of a New Day". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
References
- Winter in America album liner notes by Gil Scott-Heron. Ruma-Gia Ltd./TVT Records, 23 E. 4th Street, New York, NY 10003. 1998.
- v
- t
- e
- Pieces of a Man (1971)
- Free Will (1972)
- The Mind of Gil Scott-Heron (1978)
- Real Eyes (1980)
- Reflections (1981)
- Moving Target (1982)
- Spirits (1994)
- I'm New Here (2010)
- Nothing New (2014)
Co-billed with Brian Jackson |
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with Jamie xx |
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with Makaya McCraven |
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- Small Talk at 125th and Lenox (1970)
- It's Your World (1976; with Jackson)
- Minister of Information: Live (1994)
- Tour de Force (Live) (2004)
- The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1974)
- The Best of Gil Scott-Heron (Arista) (1984)
- Tales of Gil Scott-Heron (1990)
- Glory: The Gil Scott-Heron Collection (1990)
- Ghetto Style (1998)
- The Gil Scott-Heron Collection: Sampler 1974-1975 (1998)
- Evolution (And Flashback): The Very Best of Gil Scott-Heron (1999)
- Save the Children (2004)
- Anthology: Messages (2005)
- The Revolution Begins: The Flying Dutchman Masters (2011)
- "Home Is Where the Hatred Is"
- "The Bottle"
- "Johannesburg"
- "B-Movie"
- "Superman"
- "Hello Sunday! Hello Road!"
- "Storm Music"
- "Re-Ron"
- "Winter in America"
- "Space Shuttle"
- "Don't Give Up"
- "The Klan"
- "Me and the Devil"
- Discography
- Brian Jackson
- Perpis-Fall Music, Inc.
- Flying Dutchman Records
- Strata-East Records
- Proto-rap
- Orange Man