Relish (album)

Relish
Studio album by Joan Osborne
Released	September 8, 1995
Recorded	1994-1995 at The Crawlspace (Philadelphia, PA); additional recording at Big Blue (Katonah, NY) & at PIE Studios (Glen Cove, NY)
Genre	Rock
Length	61:06
Label	Blue Gorilla Records/Mercury
Producer	Rick Chertoff
Joan Osborne chronology
Soul Show: Live at Delta 88 (1991) Relish (1995) Early Recordings (1996)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	(A-) (March 1995)
NME	(7/10) (March 1996)
Q	(January 1996)
Robert Christgau
Rolling Stone

Relish is the second album by Joan Osborne, released on September 8, 1995. It is her first studio album. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 38th Grammys.

Background

Relish is a mixture of raw styles of contemporary folk, rock, and sometimes pop-rock sounds.

Its biggest hit single, "One of Us", was used as the theme to the 2003-2005 television series Joan of Arcadia, although the show used a re-recorded version rather than the original version. The album and the song were both nominated for multiple Grammies in 1996. The song was written by the album's producer, Eric Bazilian, noted for his Christian Pop contributions to the Hooters. The song was not originally intended to be recorded but is reported to have been offered by Bazilian as filler material.

"St. Teresa" and "Spider Web" were also nominated for Grammies. "St. Teresa" was denounced by the Catholic League as typical of an attitude that included Osborne advising fans to volunteer at Planned Parenthood, seen as pro-choice.

"Right Hand Man" is based around the opening guitar riff from "Clear Spot", a song by Captain Beefheart on the 1972 album of the same name, and so is credited in part to him.

"Man in the Long Black Coat" is a cover of the Bob Dylan song from his 1989 album Oh Mercy.

The final track, "Lumina", was used on the first episode of the HBO's hit show The Sopranos.

Track listing

All songs written by Joan Osborne, Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman and Rick Chertoff unless otherwise indicated.

1. "St. Teresa" – 5:20
2. "Man in the Long Black Coat" (Bob Dylan) – 4:49
3. "Right Hand Man" (Osborne, Bazilian, Hyman, Chertoff, Don Van Vliet) – 4:57
4. "Pensacola" – 4:32
5. "Dracula Moon" – 6:32
6. "One of Us" (Bazilian) – 5:21
7. "Ladder" – 4:11
8. "Spider Web" (Osborne, Chertoff, Gary Lucas, Sammy Merendino, Chris Palmaro) – 5:34
9. "Let's Just Get Naked" (Osborne, Bazilian) – 5:08
10. "Help Me" (Sonny Boy Williamson II, Ralph Bass) – 5:14
11. "Crazy Baby" (Osborne) – 6:31
12. "Lumina" (Osborne, Bazilian) – 3:08

• "One of Us" contains an introduction of "The Airplane Ride," a spiritual written by J. S. McConnel and sung by Nell Hampton, under license from Alan Lomax. Used by permission.
• "Ladder" contains a sample from "Mambo Sun," written by Marc Bolan under license from Straight Ahead Productions Ltd. TRO/Essex Music International (ASCAP) as recorded by T. Rex. Used by permission.

Personnel

• Joan Osborne – vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar
• Eric Bazilian – guitar, mandolin, chant, saxophone, harmonica, electric piano
• Mark Egan – bass
• Rob Hyman – piano, organ, synthesizer, Mellotron, backing vocals, drums on 6
• Andy Kravitz – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Rick DiFonzo – acoustic guitar on 2 8
• Sammy Merendino – drums on 2 9, rhythm collage on 7 8
• Chris Palmaro – electric piano on 2 8, organ on 7, virtual fiddle on 8, Mellotron on 8 9
• William Wittman – electric guitar on 2, guitar on 7
• Rick Chertoff – percussion on 3 5
• Leo Osborne – backing vocals on 3
• Lee Campbell – actual fiddle on 8
• Omar Hakim – drums on 8
• Gary Lucas – guitar on 8 9
• Wade Schurman – harmonica on 8 9
• Catherine Russell – backing vocals on 8

Production

• Produced By Rick Chertoff
• Tracks 1-11 Recorded & Mixed By William Wittman; Track 12 Recorded & Mixed By Rob Hyman
• Assistant Recording Engineer at Big Blue: Mark Mason
• Additional Recording & Mix Engineering At PIE Studios By Rob Polhemus
• Mastered By George Marino at Sterling Sound (NYC)

Charts

Album

Chart (1995–1996)	Peak position
Swedish Albums Chart	6
UK Albums Chart	5
U.S. Billboard 200	9
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers	1

Single

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1995	"One of Us"	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	7
		Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	26
		Billboard Adult Top 40	16
		Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	2
		Billboard Hot 100	4
		Billboard Adult Top 40 Recurrents	7
		Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	14

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – USA	Gold	November 20, 1995
	Platinum	January 16, 1996
	Double Platinum	March 22, 1996
	Triple Platinum	July 16, 1996