United States

Come To Where I’m From

Released 05 April 2000

In The Sun
Ashes Everywhere
Chemical
History
Invisible Hands
Cockroach
Exhausted
Eyes On My Back
Tattoo
The Real You
Creation Or A Stain
Speed Of Light

Liner notes

In its pursuit of unearthing previously unheard music from the planet’s four corners, Real World has never ignored Western rock and pop. No-one’s disqualified. And in Akron, Ohio, the label (or, rather Peter Gabriel himself) found Joseph Arthur, a singer-songwriter with high-proof creative juices oozing out of every pore.

2000’s Come To Where I’m From was his second album for the label. Co-produced by the mighty T-Bone Burnett, it’s a dense, attractively claustrophobic record, full of delightful contradictions: unnerving and reassuring, raw and yet meticulously compiled.

The official video for 'In The Sun'

"I wanted to get the songs down in a way that was true to them and true to myself. I really wanted them to have humanity in them. I wanted an element of a gamble in it. I think too much music sounds too contained. I wanted it to sound like it could go out of control at any minute. I didn't want it produced to death." Joseph Arthur

Photo credit: Anton corbijn.

Not content to limit himself to guitar, harmonica and sampling wizardry, Joseph is also a writer, sculptor and painter. His drawings and paintings feature in this album’s artwork, which Joseph co-designed and art directed with Zachary Larner. 1999’s Vacany EP had gained Joseph and Zachary a Grammy nomination for the Best Recording Package.

Anniversary Edition

On 12 June 2020, Joseph Arthur released an expanded digital version of the album to mark the 20th anniversary of its release. This version included two bonus discs: the first, Heavy Bullets, was a collection of previously unheard and unavailable tracks lifted from the 1999 album sessions, and the second was a recording of an acoustic gig from 2000, Live at the Gypsy Tea Room.

Listen

Reviews

Arthur made his debut three years back; this record is far more accomplished, thanks in great part to the inventive settings conjured up by producer T-Bone Burnett, which switch easily from, for example, the swooning Byrds harmonies and full-on guitars of 'Chemical' to the sparse, dreamy sound of 'Invisible Hands'. His influences are plain enough - Dylan, Waits, Cobain - but by the end of the record, he sounds like nobody but himself; dark, lovelorn and clever. The Observer (UK)
Come To Where I'm From is as tastefully ravaged as its lyrics a scorched landscape of murky atmospherics, unshaven guitars, and surprise delicately affecting melodies. #1 Album of 2000, Entertainment Weekly (USA)
T-Bone Burnett, Rick Will, and Arthur himself each take co-producer titles, and what results is a raw, endearing sound that blends each instrument perfectly while remaining crisp as a bell. Pitchfork
Put simply, Joe's sickeningly talented. The Independent (UK)
This beautiful record is further proof that the singer-songwriter is alive and inspired. Mojo (UK)
Beautifully produced (T-Bone Burnett, take a bow) and boasting a subtle, imaginative stylistic mix, Joseph Arthur is an American original and headnshoulders above the likes of Beck. Uncut (UK)

Further Listening

Redemption’s Son

Joseph Arthur

Released 09 June 2002

Joseph Arthur’s third album is a consistently inspired, occasionally frazzled, and often startlingly beautiful album. It's the kind of record with which you can build a slow, sustainable love affair. Its rich textures, vulnerability, and acute, poetic lyrics are guaranteed to slacken jaws and raise goose bumps.
Big City Secrets

Joseph Arthur

Released 22 June 1997

On this, Arthur’s 1997 debut, the Ohio singer introduced his experimental folk-rock style and diverse instrumentation, adorning his songs with instruments as varied as hurdy gurdy, corn horn, Venetian xylophone, caxixi, and birimbau.

Come To Where I’m From

Further reading

The Blind Boys of Alabama to receive Lifetime Achievement Award from Americana Music Association

Mari Kalkun releases animation film for ‘Mother Earth’ in collaboration with Brian Eno’s EarthPercent charity

Swaken Lyrics

Track of the day: ‘Too Many Have Gone’ by The Breath