Talk Memphis

• Artist: Jesse Winchester
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1981
• Total Time: 33:45
• Genre: Rock

Review

Having rushed to make Nothing but a Breeze and A Touch on the Rainy Side and getting his two least impressive albums for his trouble, Jesse Winchester spent two and a half years woodshedding before returning to the record racks with Talk Memphis. For the album, he returned to his hometown and worked with producer Willie Mitchell, best known for his Al Green records. It wasn't as unlikely a matching as might be imagined; Winchester had always had a soulful, flexible voice as ready as Green's to take off into the upper registers to express emotion. And Memphis-style R&B had always been an element, along with country, folk, pop, and gospel, in Winchester's sound. On his early albums, his lighthearted style had been in the service of an embattled vision, but gradually that darkness gave way, to the point that he began to seem lightweight. Talk Memphis put his effervescence and musicality to good use, resulting in his first Top 40 hit, the catchy "Say What," and the rest of the album was just as easy on the ears, with the title track providing a suitably gritty Memphis-soul sendoff. But that wasn't enough to break the album beyond the bottom rungs of the charts, and after seven albums in 11 years, Winchester left the world of major-label record-making. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Say What	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(3:10)
Baby Blue		Jesse Winchester	(3:26)
Leslie	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(2:47)
Hoot and Holler	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(3:38)
If Only	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(3:49)
Sure Enough	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(3:19)
I Love You No End	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(3:30)
Let Go	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(4:28)
Reckon on Me	Jesse Winchester, Cassius Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(2:48)
Talk Memphis	Jesse Winchester	Jesse Winchester	(3:12)

Credits

Jesse Winchester (Guitar), Jesse Winchester (Keyboards), Jesse Winchester (Vocals), Jesse Winchester (Vocals (Background)), Jesse Winchester (Multi Instruments), Jesse Winchester (Main Performer), Jesse Winchester (Instrumentation), Donald Brown (Keyboards), Donald Brown (Fender Rhodes), Willie Mitchell (Piano), Willie Mitchell (Keyboards), Willie Mitchell (Producer), Willie Mitchell (Engineer), Gary Burke (Drums), George Carnell (Engineer), Steve Cobb (Bass), Steve Cobb (Drums), Blair Cunningham (Drums), Colin Escott (Liner Notes), Cindy Farr (Vocals), Cindy Farr (Vocals (Background)), John Holbrook (Engineer), John Holbrook (Remixing), Bill Kipper (Mastering), Carl Marsh (Synthesizer), Mark McKenna (Assistant Engineer), Mark McKenna (Remix Assistant), Oscar Milan (Engineer), Walter Person, Jr. (Percussion), Holger Petersen (Reissue Producer), Erma Shaw (Vocals), Erma Shaw (Vocals (Background)), Elizabeth Smith (Vocals), Elizabeth Smith (Vocals (Background)), Brad Stahl (Bass), Michael Toles (Guitar), Michael Toles (Soloist), Michael Toles (Guitar Synth), Warren Wagner (Engineer), Aaron Rapoport (Photography), Christine Sauers (Art Direction), Rob Storeshaw (Design), Christine (Art Direction), Eddie Fisher (Drums), George Carswell (Engineer)