Stripped

by Macy Gray

Overview

Recorded for Chesky as part of the label's Binaural+ series, this session, Macy Gray's ninth proper studio album, was caught by a single microphone in a Brooklyn church. Backed by a quartet featuring trumpeter Wallace Roney, drummer Ari Hoenig, bassist Daryl Johns, and guitarist Russell Malone, it's a natural direction for Gray, as she started in jazz bands, putting her unique spin on classics, and has cited jazz vocalists as influences throughout her career. Apart from two originals and as many covers, Gray revisits her own work. "I Try" and "Slowly" are transformed into quiet rumbles, while "Sweet Baby" gets a Bo Diddley beat makeover. She even goes back to Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters," guided by Johns' bass, which alternates between a stutter and a strut. Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," which Gray has been performing since Hurricane Katrina (if not earlier), gets a solemn, lullaby-like reading. The finishing touch, the lone song Gray and the band wrote together, is a lovely ballad that showcases Roney and, well, the singer's suggestive wordplay. All of this is best heard in a late-night setting. The volume of Gray's rasping voice rarely breaks above the level of an intimate conversation -- at times, she sounds a bit off in the distance -- and the group plays as if it's trying not to disturb a dozing parishioner. For all its emphasis on the past, Stripped sounds like a step forward. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	05/09/2025
Label:	Chesky Records
UPC:	4895241434341

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Macy Gray   Primary Artist,Vocals
Ari Hoenig   Drums
Daryl Johns   Bass
Russell Malone   Guitar
Wallace Roney   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Alan Nahigian   Photography,Back Cover
Ari Hoenig   Composer
Lars Ulrich   Composer
James Hetfield   Composer
Joe Solo   Composer
Victor Indrizzo   Composer
Macy Gray   Composer
Jeremy Ruzumna   Composer
Nicholas Prout   Editing,Engineer,Mastering
Phillip White   Composer
Jeff Wong   Graphic Design
Natalie Hinds   Composer
George Pajon Jr.   Composer
Mayaeni Strauss   Composer
Mor Mezrich   Second Engineer
Justin Mendal-Johnson   Composer
Jeff Bluestein   Composer
Daryl Johns   Composer
Adam Waldman   Composer
Max Steen   Assistant Engineer
Jeff Lanier   A&R
Sophie Cash   Copyist
Janelle Costa   Assistant
Norman Chesky   Producer
David Chesky   Producer
Dave Sardy   Composer
Russell Malone   Composer
Wallace Roney   Composer
David Wilder   Composer
Jared Gosselin   Composer
Giuliano Bekor   Cover Photo
Jinsoo Lim   Composer
Sam Barsh   Composer
Bob Marley   Composer