Summer of Sorcery is the seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Little Steven, released under the name Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul.[7] It was released on May 3, 2019 under Universal Music Enterprises.[8] It is Little Steven's first album of new material since 1999's Born Again Savage.[9] The album consists of 10 new songs plus a reworking of "Education" from his 1989 Revolution album, and the outtake "Suddenly You" from the Lilyhammer score.[10]

Summer of Sorcery
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 3, 2019 (2019-05-03)
RecordedSeptember–October 2018
StudioRenegade Studio, New York City
Length59:53
Label
Producer
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul chronology
Soulfire Live!
(2017)
Summer of Sorcery
(2019)
The Early Work
(2019)
Singles from Summer of Sorcery
  1. "Superfly Terraplane"
    Released: March 8, 2019
  2. "Communion"
    Released: April 5, 2019
  3. "A World of Our Own"
    Released: April 12, 2019
  4. "Love Again"
    Released: April 26, 2019
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
American Songwriter[3]
Classic Rock[4]
Maximum Volume Music9.5/10[5]
The Spill Magazine[6]

Critical reception

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According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Summer of Sorcery received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 71 out of 100 from 6 critic scores.[1]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Steven Van Zandt

No.TitleLength
1."Communion"6:02
2."Party Mambo!"4:33
3."Love Again"4:35
4."Vortex"4:47
5."A World of Our Own"4:37
6."Gravity"5:26
7."Soul Power Twist"4:38
8."Superfly Terraplane"4:32
9."Education"4:51
10."Suddenly You"3:05
11."I Visit the Blues"4:38
12."Summer of Sorcery"8:09

Personnel

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Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul
  • Steven Van Zandt – vocals, guitar, arranger
  • Marc Ribler – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, music director
  • Andy Burton – B3 Hammond organ, piano, synthesizer
  • Lowell "Banana" Levinger – piano, Wurlitzer electric piano
  • Jack Daley – bass
  • Rich Mercurio – drums
  • Anthony Almonte – percussion
  • Eddie Manion – baritone saxophone, horn director
  • Stan Harrison – tenor saxophone, flute
  • Clark Gayton – trombone
  • Ravi Best – trumpet
  • Ron Tooley – trumpet
  • Jessie Wagner – backing vocals
  • Sara Devine – backing vocals
  • Tania Jones – backing vocals
  • The Disciples of Soul – additional backing vocals, handclaps
Additional musicians
  • Yeissonn Villamar – piano, backing vocals (track 2)
  • Jorge González – bongos, cowbell, backing vocals (track 2)
  • Juan Gerena – guiro, backing vocals (track 2)
  • Luisito Quintero – timbales, backing vocals (track 2)
  • Ryan Celli – backing vocals (track 2)
  • Jonathan Dinklage – violin, viola (tracks 3-5, 12)
  • Anja Wood – cello (tracks 3-5, 12)
  • Joel Feitzinger – synth programming, vibraslap (track 4)
  • Gary Trew – backing vocals, handclaps (track 8)
  • Michael Wolf – keyboards (track 10)
  • Matt McDonald – trombone (track 11)
  • Duane Eddy – guitar (track 12)
  • Sergio Ruelas Jr. – guitar (track 12)
Technical
  • Steven Van Zandt – producer
  • Geoff Sanoff – co-producer
  • Marc Ribler – co-producer
  • Joel Feitzinger – assistant co-producer
  • Bob Clearmountain – mixing
  • Sergio Ruelas Jr. – mixing assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Louis Arzonico – art direction, design
  • Carlo Massarini – sleeve photography
  • Jeff Ross – back cover photography
  • Ryan Celli – gatefold photography

Charts

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Chart Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 131
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 200
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 39
Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] 18
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[15] 94
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 94

References

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  1. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  3. ^ Horowitz, Hal (May 1, 2019). "American Songwriter Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  4. ^ Needs, Kris (May 2, 2019). "Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul: Summer Of Sorcery album review". Classic Rock. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Thorley, Andy (June 2, 2019). "Review: Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul – Summer Of Sorcery (2019)". Maximum Volume Music. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Badgley, Aaron. "Spill Album Review: Little Steven and The Disciples Of Soul – Summer Of Sorcery". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  7. ^ "Steven Van Zandt on His New Album & Staying as Nonpartisan as I Can During the Current Political Landscape". Billboard. May 20, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  8. ^ Browne, David (March 8, 2019). "Inside Steven Van Zandt's New Album "Summer of Sorcery"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "Press release: Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul To Celebrate 'Summer Of Sorcery'". PR Newswire. March 8, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  10. ^ "Press release: Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul's Highly Anticipated New Album 'Summer of Sorcery' Out Today Via Wicked Cool/UMe". PR Newswire. May 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  13. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  14. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  15. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul – Summer of Sorcery". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  17. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2019.