Joan Osborne has refined her songwriting technique over the years, but it is still informed by a couple of core principles in which she believes.
First that music is a unique way of bringing people together for a communal experience, and secondly that she wants to create music that elevates and leaves audiences feeling better than they were before.
Those themes still make Osborne one of the most compelling performers in rock, and they’re obvious throughout her latest album, “ Nobody Owns You ,” released just last fall. Perhaps no song better encapsulates Osborne’s approach than the first single, “ I Should’ve Danced More ,” which is equal parts haunting and uplifting, which notes “it’s not too late, no time to wait ....”
Osborne will be headlining the Narrows Center in Fall River on Saturday night. (The Narrows Center is located at 16 Anawan St. in Fall River, near Battleship Cove, and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $53 in advance, or $56 on day of show, and there are VIP Meet and Greet Packages available. Check narrowscenter.org or call 508-324-1926 for more information.)
Osborne is a Kentucky native who came to New York City to study film at New York University . But before long her forays into the city’s music rooms had her reconsidering careers. She’s best known for her 1995 album “ Relish ,” which contained the massive hit (penned by Eric Bazilian) “ One of Us ,” and the later, nearly-as-big hit “ Saint Teresa .” Since then, she’s sung and collaborated with a long list of the music world’s greatest stars, toured with the post-Jerry Garcia Grateful Dead, and spent 2015 co-headlining a national tour with gospel and R&B legend Mavis Staples . She was also part of the supergroup Trigger Hippy , with Jackie Greene and Steve Gorman, from 2014-18.
Osborne was inspired by Bob Dylan's style
Several years back, she devoted an entire album to her re-interpretations of Bob Dylan songs. When we talked in early 2023 , she noted that she’d always admired Dylan and studied the way he could tackle complex topical issues in song, yet avoid being too preachy, by using metaphor and poetic imagery, something she strived to do herself. We noted then that her biggest hit, with its unforgettable chorus “What if God were one of us ...,” exemplified that concept, since its gritty, surreal format delivered its message that too many modern people ignore some basic religious tenets like the Golden Rule, while not being overbearing or didactic about it.
Osborne produced two albums by the Holmes Brothers, in 2001 and again in 2010. That acoustic trio of gospel-influenced soulmen – Sherman and Wendell Holmes and longtime friend Popsy Dixon – made music that was both exciting and uplifting, suffused with an infectious sense of joy derived from simply doing the right thing, and living with kindness and acceptance of your fellow man. The Holmes Brothers were not getting into political ideas, and despite their heavy gospel influence, they were not religious in their music. But it was spiritual in the kind of transcendent way it elevated your mood and gave you hope for tomorrow. In other words, just what Osborne wants to do.
I’d always wanted to ask Osborne about that, and if she ever realized what an honor it was to have the well-traveled Holmes Brothers choose her, a white woman, to produce their albums “ Speaking in Tongues ” (2001) and “ Feed My Soul ” (2010), as well as having her guest on their 2007 record “ State of Grace .” They’d all become friends on the New York music scene in the 1990s, she noted. (Wendell Holmes and Dixon both died in 2015).
Working with Holmes Brothers was an honor
“The Holmes Brothers brought such a warm feeling, similar to what I felt on the road with Mavis Staples,” said Osborne. “You just took away such a joyful presence, and feeling that everyone was welcome. Mavis has her opinions, like everyone else, but what you felt in the moment was just her love and joy at bringing this music to you. That’s what the Holmes Brothers were also all about, and it’s always what I’m trying to work for: Can’t we all get along, and come together?”
“I’m actually working on something right now to try and understand what an honor it was for me to work with the Holmes Brothers,” Osborne added. “A friend and I are trying to put together a documentary about them. They were mentors and good friends to me, early on when I was starting out, and they are not as well known as they should be. They were always really accommodating and encouraging of me, and I’m very happy to get a chance to put this film together. And of course, I was very happy at the time to produce those albums for them, because they’d helped me so much. Sherman is the last man standing, and this is a project very close to my heart.”
There are some indelible songs on the latest album, from that first single to the title cut, “ Nobody Owns You ,” a country-tinged number with poignant lap steel guitar enhancing its mood as the singer intones “nobody owns you, but the ones you love ….”
“I love that sound,” said Osborne,” and that’s Cindy Cashdollar on the steel, who has worked with Bob Dylan, most notably on his ‘ Time Out of Mind ’ album. When I brought her into the studio, my producer, Ben Rice, was stunned, because he knows her music so well and she’s an incredible musician. She’s on a couple other tunes also, and it was wonderful having her on this record.”
There could be hit potential for “ Woman’s Work ,” a simmering rocker whose smart lyrics (“We do it all, then we do some more ...”) are delivered just a bit tongue-in-cheek.
“That song is a good example, because I’m certainly not trying to alienate or lecture anyone,” said Osborne. “I had just seen some research where the division of labor within households today, even if the woman works outside the home, is still skewed heavily towards the woman. I don’t think men even realize that in many cases, and talking about that with (producer) Ben Rice kind of led to the creation of that song, which, as you say, is a little bit tongue-in-cheek.”
Does Osborne create many of her songs like that, in the recording studio as she goes along?
“There are some songs I do write in the studio, but most are in the process of being written before that,” she replied. “I write when I’m home or travelling, and I think I’ve developed a process like a magpie now. If I think of a lyric, or hear a snippet of conversation that might work as a lyric, I’ll write it down and save it. That way, when I sit down to write, I’m not just facing an empty page, and can try and figure out if this goes with that and so on. I look at it like kids playing with blocks, putting them together to build something, so a lot of these new songs happened that way.”
Changes filling Osborne's life
When we’d talked in early 2023, Osborne had mentioned the transitions in her life, as her mother descended into dementia, and her daughter prepared to leave for college. On the latest record, there are songs dealing with those issues, as the acoustic ballad “ Secret Wine ” is a tribute to her mother, while “ The Smallest Trees ” is an easy-flowing country-rocker about being a parent.
“Well, my mom’s dementia is progressing, and I try to be there for her when I can,” said Osborne of her 93-year-old mother. “She repeats stories and has a sort of child-like feeling, that is sometimes beautiful. My daughter (20) has gone off to college – she’s home now for the summer and has a job. But it’s not the same as when she was little, and I guess I’m still in a grieving process for that, although you know it is what happens, and you know your kids need their own identity. As a parent, there comes a time when you need to step away, but it is still painful.”
Two songs are especially remarkable for the way they synthesize Osborne’s outlook on life. “ Lifeline ” is a bright rocker urging people to reach out and connect, with lines like “just a single shaft of sunshine ... put it in the world ….” And then “ Great American Cities ” is a rockin’ ode to the life force in our urban centers, an image of the many different voices heard in the city crafting its own kind of soundtrack.
“I object to this recent narrative that American cities are horrible places,” said Osborne, who lives now in Brooklyn. “People saying that don’t live in our cities, but I do. There’s a constant vibrant energy that makes our cities great, that constant variety of voices and people that is like a music of its own.
“Lifeline’ is something I composed while driving my daughter home from school,” Osborne said. “I had this idea, this notion of one person having an impact by reaching out one person to another, and it can even be random, but it can be very meaningful. The chorus came to me and I pulled the car over and sang it into my phone. My daughter had her earphones on, and just accepted that I do this sort of thing. I drove on, and then pulled over again for some more lines. That song just landed on me in that way, and then I refined it to make it as simple as possible, so as many people as possible can relate to it.”
Osborne's music still delivers a good time, even as it makes you think, and hope for a better world.
“We’ve been opening our shows with ‘I Should’ve Danced More,’“ Osborne noted. “And it seems like a good one for that. Last night we played an outdoor show, and we had people up and out of their lawn chairs right away.”
The South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset welcomes Needtobreathe on Wednesday night (July 24), as the band led by brothers Bear and Bo Rinehart continues to promote last fall’s fine “ Caves ” album. Needtobreathe’s sound falls squarely between Southern rock and Tom Petty-style heartland rock, and they’ve even won the Christian music 2009 Dove Award for their tune “ Washed by the Water ” as best rock song of the year. But as we noted in previous reviews, the band doesn’t make their spiritual views overbearing, and it's a very generalized outlook. Fans may recall Bear Rinehart played football as a split end at Furman University.
Despite a recent lease battle, Paddy Barry’s is still open on Hancock Street in downtown Quincy, with solos/duos/trios performing every weekend. The cozy pub and its tiny stage have been graced by area stars like Jay Psaros , Suzanne McNeil , Jesse Ahern , Colm O’Brien and the trio Rud Eile among many others over the years, and it’s a Quincy institution. It’s also a place where you can get an expertly poured pint of Guinness if you’re so inclined.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Singer of 90s hit song back with new album. Here's the local spot where she's playing
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