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Currency of Man

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Currency of Man
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1, 2015 (2015-06-01)
Studio
Genre
Length48:52
LabelDecca
ProducerLarry Klein
Melody Gardot chronology
The Absence
(2012)
Currency of Man
(2015)
Live in Europe
(2018)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.1/10[1]
Metacritic78/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Absolute Sound[3]
AllMusic[4]
American Songwriter[5]
The Arts Desk[6]
The Guardian[7]
Louder Than War8/10[8]
Louder Sound[9]
Mojo[2]
The Sydney Morning Herald[10]
Q[2]

Currency of Man is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Melody Gardot. It was released on June 1, 2015, by Decca Records and produced by Larry Klein.[11][12] In 2016, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[13]

Reception

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At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the release received an average score of 78, based on six critical reviews, indicating "Generally favourable reviews".[2] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 7.1 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[1]

Cristopher Loudon of JazzTimes stated, "...Gardot’s distinctively airy voice has undergone significant transformation, and is now muscular and freshly imbued with a deeply resonant soulfulness. Klein responds with meaty, potent arrangements-electrified, with plenty of horns and even a gospel choir-that both complement and elevate this new sound. And though Gardot has, since her late-aughts breakthrough, proven a formidable songwriter, Currency of Man‘s 10 compositions evince heightened power and authority, elevating her to the plateau of Leonard Cohen and Klein’s ex, Joni Mitchell, with shades of Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan."[14] David McGee of The Absolute Sound noted, "Currency of Man employs still more sound collages while deploying horns and strings in spare, small jazz combo atmospheres to frame Gardot’s seductive vocals that speak of societal ills in evocative, poetic terms."[3] Thom Jurek of AllMusic stated, "Vocally, Gardot is stronger than ever here, her instrument is bigger and fuller yet it retains that spectral smokiness that is her trademark. Currency of Man is a further step away from the lithe, winsome pop-jazz that garnered her notice initially, and it's a welcome one."[4]

Mattew Wright of The Arts Desk commented, "There’s something for everyone, at least. You could play the album at a family event and everyone would like at least one song. Gardot seems to have the voice to say something worthwhile, but in order to make it work, she needs to put away the toys and sing from the heart."[6] The Guardian review by Kate Hutchinson added, "On her last album she explored world music; on Currency of Man, she’s gone "conscious". It’s not quite Erykah Badu, but when you’re a Grammy-winning easy-listening artist, it’s an admirable direction."[7] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter noted, "Don’t let the jazz reference deter you from this tour de force of original tunes, all penned by Gardot. It’s a perfect combination of restrained vocal phrasing with madly creative production and a certain candidate for one of the finest albums of the year."[5]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Melody Gardot, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."It Gonna Come" 5:26
2."Preacherman"Gardot, Chuck Staab4:31
3."Morning Sun (For Ezra Richardson)" 5:06
4."Same to You" 4:59
5."Don't Misunderstand"Gardot, Jesse Harris4:15
6."Don't Talk" 4:17
7."If Ever I Recall Your Face" 6:52
8."Bad News" 4:38
9."She Don't Know" 3:59
10."Once I Was Loved" 4:49
Total length:48:52
The Artist's Cut Edition[15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Misunderstand"Gardot, Jesse Harris4:40
2."Don't Talk" 4:11
3."It Gonna Come" 5:31
4."Bad News" 4:57
5."She Don't Know" 3:55
6."Palmas Da Rua" 0:50
7."Same To You" 4:28
8."No Man's Prize" 4:49
9."March For Mingus" 1:02
10."Preacherman"Gardot, Chuck Staab6:16
11."Morning Sun" 5:05
12."If Ever I Recall Your Face" 6:51
13."Once I Was Loved" 4:50
14."After The Rain" 3:08
15."Burying My Troubles" 7:45
Total length:68:18
Japanese Edition[16]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Preacherman" (Radio Edit)Gardot, Chuck Staab3:36
Total length:71:54

Personnel

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Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Currency Of Man by Melody Gardot reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Currency of Man by Melody Gardot". Metacritic. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  3. ^ a b McGee, David (February 4, 2016). "Melody Gardot: Currency of Man". The Absolute Sound. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Jurek, Thom. "Currency of Man – Melody Gardot". AllMusic. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal (June 2, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency Of Man". American Songwriter. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Wright, Matthew (June 8, 2015). "CD: Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". The Arts Desk. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Hutchinson, Kate (May 28, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency of Man review – another new direction for an innovative soul singer". The Guardian. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  8. ^ Scott-Bates, Paul (June 13, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency Of Man – album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Frost, Matt (June 30, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency Of Man". Louder Sound. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  10. ^ Zuel, Bernard (June 8, 2015). "Album reviews: Jamie xx, Melody Gardot, Archer and Brian Campeau". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  11. ^ Paul, John (September 8, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency of Man". PopMatters. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  12. ^ Curcic, Andja. "Album Review: Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "Grammy Nominations 2016: See the Full List of Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  14. ^ Loudon, Christopher (June 17, 2015). "Melody Gardot: Currency of Man". JazzTimes. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  15. ^ "Currency of Man (The Artist's Cut) by Melody Gardot". music.apple.com. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "Currency of Man [SHM-CD] Melody Gardot CD Album". CD Japan. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Ryan, Gavin (June 6, 2020). "ARIA Albums: Florence + The Machine Debuts At No 1". Noise11. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "ARIA Jazz & Blues Albums – Week Commencing 8th June 2015" (PDF). The ARIA Report (1319): 23. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  22. ^ "The Killers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  23. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  25. ^ "Lescharts.com – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  27. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 24/2015)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  28. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Melody Gardot". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  29. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  30. ^ カレンシー・オブ・マン~出逢いの記憶~ | メロディ・ガルドー [Currency of Man | Melody Gardot] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  31. ^ "Charts.nz – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  32. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  33. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  34. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  35. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  36. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  37. ^ "Veckolista Jazz, vecka 23, 2015" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  38. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Melody Gardot – Currency of Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  39. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  40. ^ "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  41. ^ "Melody Gardot Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  42. ^ "Melody Gardot Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  43. ^ "Melody Gardot Chart History (Traditional Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  44. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Jazz & Blues Albums 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  45. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2015 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  46. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2015 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  47. ^ "Tops de L'Année | Top Albums – 2015" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  48. ^ "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
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