Dalton, Karen
In My Own Time (50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)
Karen Daltons 1971 album, In My Own Time, stands as a true masterpiece by one of musics most mysterious, enigmatic, and
enduringly influential artists. Light in the Attic is honored to celebrate the 50th anniversary of In My Own Time with
the definitive edition of this monumental classic.
Featuring Daltons interpretations of songs like "Are You Leaving for the Country," "When a Man Loves a Woman," "Katie
Cruel," and her posthumously recognized signature performance, "Something On Your Mind," will be available in a variety
of formats, including a bonus-filled, 50th anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, which expands exponentially upon Light in
the Attics 2006 reissue of the album, co-produced by Nicholas Hill.
The 50th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Edition features the newly remastered (2021) In My Own Time album, presented on three
sides of 45-RPM, 180-gram vinyl pressed at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), with the fourth side showcasing alternate takes
from the album sessions. The Super Deluxe package also includes the previously unreleased audio from her rare,
captivating performance, Live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1st, 1971. This is the first time this audio
has been made available in any physical format - presented on 180-gram 12-inch vinyl, pressed at Third Man Record
Pressing, and featuring a stunning etching of Dalton by acclaimed artist Jess Rotter on the B-Side. Accompanying the
bonus record is a replica playbill from The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, 1971, meticulously arranged and compiled
from vintage source material by Darryl Norsen. In addition to the bonus 12", the set contains a CD of all tracks
included in the package and two 7-inch singles, featuring previously-unreleased live recordings captured at Germanys
Beat Club in 1971, both pressed at Third Man Record Pressing and housed in tip-on jackets. All audio has been newly
remastered by Dave Cooley, while lacquers were cut by Phil Rodriguez at Elysian Masters. A 20-page booklet-featuring
rarely seen photos, liner notes from musician and writer Lenny Kaye, and contributions from Nick Cave and Devendra
Banhart-rounds out the package, which comes housed in a special trifold jacket, individually foil-stamped and numbered
in a strictly limited worldwide edition of 2,000 copies.
The Oklahoma-raised Karen Dalton (1937-1993) brought a range of influences to her work. As Lenny Kaye writes in the
liner notes, one can hear "the jazz of Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, the immersion of Nina Simone, the Appalachian
keen of Jean Ritchie, [and] the R&B and country that had to seep in as she made her way to New York."
Armed with a long-necked banjo and a 12-stringed guitar, Dalton set herself apart from her peers with her distinctive,
world-weary vocals. In the early 60s, she became a fixture in the Greenwich Village folk scene, interpreting traditional
material, blues standards, and the songs of her contemporaries, including Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, and Richard Tucker,
whom she later married. Bob Dylan, meanwhile, was instantly taken with her artistry. "My favorite singer in the place
was Karen Dalton," he recalled in Chronicles: Volume One (Simon & Schuster, 2004). "Karen had a voice like Billie
Holiday and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed."
Those who knew Dalton understood that she was not interested in bowing to the whims of the record industry. On stage,
she rarely interacted with audience members. In the studio, she was equally as uncomfortable with the recording process.
Her 1969 debut, Its So Hard to Tell Whos Going To Love You The Best, reissued by Light in the Attic in 2009, was
captured on the sly when Dalton assumed that she was rehearsing songs. When Woodstock co-promoter Michael Lang
approached Dalton about recording a follow-up for his new imprint, Just Sunshine, she was dubious, to say the least. The
album would have to be made on her own terms, in her own time. That turned out to be a six-month period at Bearsville
Studios in Woodstock, NY.
Producing the album was bassist Harvey Brooks, who played alongside Dalton on Its So Hard to Tell Whos Going To Love You
The Best. Brooks, who prided himself on being "simple, solid and supportive," understood Daltons process, but was also
willing to offer gentle encouragement, and challenge the artist to push her creative bounds. "I tried to present her
with a flexible situation," he told Kaye. "I left the decisions to her, to determine the tempo, feel. She was very
quiet, and I brought all of it to her; if she needed more, Id present options. Everyone was sensitive to her. She was
the leader."
Dalton, who rarely performed her own compositions, selected a range of material to interpret-from traditionals like
"Katie Cruel" and "Same Old Man" to Paul Butterfields "In My Own Dream" and Richard Tuckers "Are You Leaving For The
Country." She also expanded upon her typical repertoire, peppering in such R&B hits as "When a Man Loves a Woman" and
"How Sweet It Is." In a departure from her previous LP, Daltons new recording offered fuller, more pop-forward
arrangements, featuring a slew of talented studio musicians.
While 70s audiences may not have been ready for Daltons music, a new generation was about to discover her work. In the
decades following her death, a slew of artists would name Karen Dalton as an influence, including Lucinda Williams,
Joanna Newsom, Nick Cave, Angel Olsen, Devendra Banhart, Sharon Van Etten, Courtney Barnett, and Adele. In the recent
acclaimed film documentary Karen Dalton: In My Own Time, Cave muses on Daltons unique appeal: "Theres a sort of demand
made upon the listener," he explains. "Whether you like it or not, you have to enter her world. And its a despairing
world." Peter Walker, who also appears in the film, elaborates on this idea: "If she can feel a certain way in her music
and play it in such a way that you feel that way, then thats really the most magical thing [one] can do." He adds, "She
had a deep and profound and loving soul.you can hear it in her music."
1-10: Originally released as Just Sunshine - PAS 6008, 1971
11-13: Alternate Takes from album sessions, 1970/71
14-15: Recorded live at Beat Club, Germany, April 21, 1971
16-19: Recorded live at The Montreux Golden Rose Pop Festival, May 1, 1971
Price
Genre
Format
LP - 1 disk
Release
25-03-2022
Label
Item-nr
1295277
EAN
0000000000000
Availability
Not in stock