The Prolific Joseph Arthur

July 12, 2008 – by Mister Bill

My old friends know that I’m “ga ga” over Joseph Arthur’s artistry. I saw him give an incredible performance last year at the High Noon Saloon with his band, the Lonely Astronauts. Were you there?

Anyhow, Joseph is in the midst of a creative flurry that I find staggering. He has just completed releasing a series of four solo EPs since Spring and is expected to release a full-length record featuring The Lonely Astronauts this September – Temporary People.

EP 1: Could We Survive began the series on March 18.
EP2: Crazy Rain was released April 15.
EP 3: Vagabond Skies came out June 10.
And the final EP: Foreign Girls was released on July 8th.

I’ve got a couple of his albums and two of these EPs thus far, and like them all. My preferred way to listen to JA is on my best sound system. . . and you know that I turn it up. I advise this for you too, because Joseph is a fine producer who puts lots of sweet layers together. (He records like he paints – lots of ideas!) Careful listening is rewarded.

Joseph Arthur’s stage setup

I bought Crazy Rain while browsing around Strictly Discs during Record Store Day. (They’ve got a good online store also!) And I subsequently got Vagabond Skies . . . I like them both so much that I’m planning to get the entire series. “It’s almost like the ’50s again when it was all about singles,” says Joseph. “I’ve always liked the EP because it has a looseness to it. I think songs work best off of each other.”

Be sure to check out the Museum of Modern Arthur. It will give you some good insight into about what he’s about. . .

Joseph also has a good online store, so you can buy his music direct at josepharthur.com/store/

Give him a listen. . . EPs are cheap!

Happy Listening, Mister Bill

JA photo by Jen Turner.