01	Flyaway						03:55
	02	Dreamin about the day						03:58
	03	His eyes are a blue million miles						03:56
	04	fingerprints						04:37
	05	camels						03:49
	06	what you gonna do						04:57
	07	match burn twice						03:52
	08	billie listens						04:39
	09	wild world						04:52
	10	son of a preacher man						06:01
	11	get up jack						04:27

Collection of live recordings including "Wild World" ..excellent

Early Recordings
Artist Joan Osborne
Date of Release Nov 5, 1996
Styles Blues-Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, American Trad Rock

Combining her 1991 album Live at Delta 88 with the 1993 EP Blue Million Miles, Early Recordings isn't as revelatory as Joan Osborne fans would like. Instead of capturing an raw talent searching for her own style, it showcases a workmanlike blues-rocker, capable of turning out competent originals and unremarkable covers of both Dusty Springfield ("Son of a Preacher Man") and Captain Beefheart ("His Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles"). None of this is bad, but it is mediocre, which is almost a worse offense. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

1. Fly Away (Osborne) - 3:51
2. Dreamin' About the Day (Osborne) - 3:56
3. His Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles (Captain Beefheart) - 3:55
4. Fingerprints (Osborne) - 4:36
5. 4 Camels (Osborne) - 3:47
6. What You Gonna Do (Osborne) - 4:56
7. Match Burn Twice (Osborne) - 3:51
8. Billie Listens (To Your Heartbeat) (Osborne) - 4:39
9. Wild World (Osborne) - 4:51
10. Son of a Preacher Man (Hurley/Wilkins) - 5:59
11. Get up Jack (Osborne) - 4:21

Chris Butler - Guitar, Producer
Dave Dreiwitz - Guitar
Tom Fritze - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Mike Leslie - Bass, Dobro, Vocals (bckgr)
George Marino - Compilation
James Mussen - Drums
Shawn Pelton - Drums
Jack Petruzzelli - Organ, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Vocals (bckgr)
Kevin Trainor - Guitar
Joan Osborne - Tambourine, Vocals, Producer, Engineer
Greg Di Gesu - Assistant Engineer
Margery Greenspan - Art Direction
Amanda Homi - Vocals (bckgr)
Ray Alfasi - Photography
Yoomi Chong - Design
Gary Frazier - Bass
Wayne Isaak - Photography
Gary Schreiner - Keyboards
Sissy Siero - Vocals (bckgr)
Nick Vaccaro - Photography
Mark Shane - Second Engineer

1996 CS Mercury 534235
1996 CD Mercury 534235
1996 Mercury 534235





Joan Osborne

by Greg Prato

Singer Joan Osborne was born on July 8, 1963, in the town of Anchorage, KY, but it wasn't until relocating to New York City in the early '90s (to study at N.Y.U.'s film school) that she began to take a singing career seriously after singing Billie Holiday's classic "God Bless the Child" at a local bar's "open mic night." In addition to Holiday, Osborne looked to such legendary vocalists as Etta James and Ray Charles as role models, as the up-and-coming singer decided not to cater to major record companies and formed her own label, Womanly Hips, which resulted in such releases as 1992's in-concert Soul Show, among others. But eventually, Osborne decided to sign on with a major label, Mercury, which in turn issued the singer's next release, Relish, in March of 1995. The album proved to have a long life, as almost a year after its initial release the track "One of Us" became a massive MTV and radio smash, camping out at the number one spot on the U.S. singles chart for two weeks and Relish eventually racked up sales of three million copies. Further tracks ("Right Hand Man" and "St. Teresa") failed to match the success of Osborne's first hit, but the singer still managed to connect with a large and appreciative audience, especially during touring as part of the 1997 edition of Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour. Osborne also received numerous Grammy nominations in both 1996 and 1997.
Producing a worthy follow-up to Relish proved to be a time-consuming challenge for Osborne. Mercury tried to buy some time by issuing a compilation release, Early Recordings (which collected the early releases Live at Delta '88 and Blue Million Miles). In the meantime, Osborne focused on supporting a few groups/causes she felt strongly about, such as Rock the Vote and Planned Parenthood (eventually being named an honorary member of Planned Parenthood's Board of Advocates), in addition to covering "I'm Just a Bill" as a duet with Isaac Hayes on the 1998 Schoolhouse Rocks the Vote benefit album. She also studied briefly with late Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and performed alongside such notables as Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Taj Mahal, Luciano Pavarotti, Spearhead, Bob Dylan, and the Chieftains. September 2000 finally saw the release of Osborne's next all-new studio album, titled Righteous Love, which failed to match its predecessor's commercial success and sunk from sight shortly after release.


1991 Soul Show Womanly Hips
1995 Relish Blue
2000 Righteous Love Interscope
2000 Righteous Love Interscope
2002 How Sweet It Is Compendia