Long-time favorite Joseph Arthur has a fantastic new album out entitled The Ballad Of Boogie Christ.  Check out Arthur and bandmate Bill Dobrow immediately below performing Currency of Love, the opening track from the album.  The new album was written over a half-decade and is based on a single narrative thread:  The Ballad of Boogie Christ, described by Arthur as “a fictionalized character loosely based on my own journey.”  After the first video, check out several others from the new album.  We love what we’re hearing:  the usual brilliant songwriting and heart-rending lyrics from one of our best singer-songwriters.  For any faithers (and all others) out there wanting to hear honestly-rendered songs conveying both the struggle and ebullience to be found in one’s belief and in this world, this one’s for you. Watch/listen below and then go buy the album HERE.

Further about  the album, according to JA’s website:

“The album begins with the surprising orchestral pop of “Currency of Love”, on which Arthur unveils a passionate croon unlike any vocal performance he’s ever given. From there, Boogie Christ offers epic affirmations on overcoming addiction (the seven-minute closer “All the Old Heroes”), anthems of open-hearted solidarity (“Wait for Your Lights”, “It’s OK To Be Young/Gone”) and the kinds of slow-burning narratives (“Famous Friends Along the Coast”, “I Used To Know How to Walk on Water” and a reimagined, hymn-like version of his standout, “I Miss the Zoo”) that have won Arthur a legion of fans around the globe.

Songs like “Black Flowers”, “I Used To Know How to Walk on Water” and the title cut were recorded several years ago with help from the Band’s legendary keyboardist Garth Hudson and bassist Catherine Popper (Ryan Adams, Jack White), while newer additions to the track list such as “Currency of Love” and “Saint of Impossible Causes” were crafted in Los Angeles with assistance from Chris Seefried (Fitz & the Tantrums, Lana Del Rey). Among the other guests on Boogie Christ are Ben Harper (Arthur’s bandmate in Fistful of Mercy), session drummer extraordinaire Jim Keltner, Joan As Policewoman leader Joan Wasser and composer Paul Cantelon (Oliver Stone’s W., Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell & the Butterfly).”

Arthur is out on tour and plays LA’s Troubadour on June 20th.  Current tour dates are listed at bottom.

TOUR DATES:
06/13/13 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
06/15/13 Chicago Lincoln Hall
06/17/13 Seattle The Triple Door
06/19/13 San Francisco The Chapel
06/20/13 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
06/22/13 Austin, TX The Parish
06/25/13 Philadelphia World Cafe Live
06/26/13 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage