As Boden’s first solo album,
Painted Lady is known for its originality, particularly through the use of such a wide array of instruments, all played by Jon himself. The re-release also includes three previously unavailable bonus tracks, including a stripped-down interpretation of the Whitney Houston classic
I Want To Dance (With Somebody). Painted Lady (10th Anniversary Edition) was released on 30
th September 2016
PRESS
“Boden’s writing is graphic, his songs peopled with women in trench coats or leather boots and assignations by graveyards. These are the well-wrought expressions of a fraught sensibility. The music is similarly stressed: angular electric guitars, menacing bass lines[…] It’s a rich palate of sounds and he sings with a chansonnier’s theatricality, creating atmospheres as densely saturated as Tom Waits.”
Songlines (Julian May), Autumn 2016
“First released ten years ago, before Bellowhead were the phenomenon they became, 'Painted Lady' was something of a shock to those of us who had heard Jon Boden before. Of course, we hadn’t heard 'Songs From The Floodpain' then […] There is a bewildering array of styles and ideas on display. The first song, ‘Get A Little Something’, references ‘Salley Gardens’ but sets off into Tom Waits territory with that lurching bass he favours, while ‘Blue Dress’ has graveyards and leather boots and is oddly disquieting. ‘Pocketful Of Mud’ is probably the oddest thing Jon has ever done, presaging some of Bellowhead’s more outrageous arrangements […] It’s not quite the shock it was a decade ago but 'Painted Lady' is still a damned fine album.”
R2 (Dai Jeffries), Autumn 2016
“Produced with Ben Ivitski, the twelve songs feature Boden playing every instrument (fiddle, concertina, banjo, guitars, double bass, drums, Indian harmonium, glockenspiel, electric piano, Moog synthesiser and drum machine) himself. It reveals an artist perhaps still tentative about his own writing, while fearlessly confident in his musicianship […]
Traditional music is (unsurprisingly) referenced all over the place. ‘Drunken Princess’ borrows the lines from ‘Sleep On Beloved’/’I Bid You Goodnight’, in an arrangement featuring the kind of dynamic contrasts usually deployed in arms-aloft festival anthems by the likes of Coldplay, whereas ‘Lemany’ merely borrows it’s title from the Copper Family songbook.
‘Win Some Lose Some Sally’ finds our hero wrapping his tonsils round all the high notes before the contrasting True Love, a song that combines a straight-ahead country melody with a lyrical simplicity (“in Summer she’s the song the song bird sings…” “when evening comes, my true love comes to me.”) that mark it as one for anyone (this writer included) who’s ever harboured any affection for the works of John Denver. ‘Broken Things’, accompanied solely by a gorgeously understated concertina, is truly striking, as is the extraordinary, stand-out title track. […]
Unfairly derided in some quarters on its initial release for its unabashed romanticism and youthful naivety, ‘Painted Lady’ is a record that’s certainly deserving of re-appraisal, and its tenth anniversary is probably as good a time as any to do it. His next album will undoubtedly be heralded as something of “an event,” but ‘til then, this one serves as a timely reminder of just how far he’s come and is still a thoroughly enjoyable record.”
Folk & Roots Music Webzine (Stephen Hunt), 1 September 2016
“Not just an assortment of electric instruments and sounds but the opportunity to show his chops as a guitar player in a guise rarely seen. It’s not duckwalking with the low slung Gibson but more in terms of deploying the instrument to create soundscapes such as the distorted guitar effects worthy of The Edge in the avant garde noise fest ‘Pocketful Of Mud’ contrasted with some finely adept acoustic playing – the more traditional, as in ‘expected’, in ‘True Love’[...]
Maybe a slightly forgotten album which in the light of the JB solo direction might now get a more valued appraisal as the fledgling vision that offered a view of the Boden ambition.”
Louder Than War (Mike Ainscoe), 22 September 2016
“Of the three bonus songs, the reworking of the Whitney Houston classic ‘I Want To Dance With Somebody’ will raise a few eyebrows. From the chiming clocks at the start, this is a well thought out and total reworking of the original song in a folk music setting.
It is a pretty amazing feat this album considering all the instruments were played by Jon and it was recorded at the early years of Bellowhead’s musical life.”
Get Ready To Rock (Jason Ritchie), 6 September 2016