Think of Spring
| Think of Spring | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 11, 2020 | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 37:36 | |||
| Label | Anti- | |||
| M. Ward chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100.[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| Pitchfork | 7.0/10[4] |
| Mojo | 80/100[5] |
Think of Spring, released in 2020, is the eleventh studio album by singer-songwriter M. Ward. The album is a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958 album Lady in Satin.[6][7]
Think of Spring includes all the tracks from Lady In Satin except for Glad to Be Unhappy and The End of a Love Affair and includes All The Way, which was recorded by Holiday and released on her 1959 album Last Recording.[8]
Background
[edit]Ward began listening to Holiday's music at an early age but first heard Lady in Satin at the age of 15 playing in a shopping mall.[9] Her voice sounded to him like "a beautiful perfectly distorted electric guitar—some other-world thing floating there on this strange mournful ocean of strings". He later described the experience to be dream-like.[8]
Ward had been working on a tribute to Lady in Satin for quite some time but was able to finish it in 2020 from home after his planned world tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] All the songs were recorded on a Tascam Portastudio four-track cassette recorder that he had purchased at the age of 15. The analog recording technique was intended to give the album a personal sound.[11]
Many of the songs were recording using alternate guitar tunings.[8]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Get Along Without You Very Well" | 04:02 |
| 2. | "For Heaven's Sake" | 03:32 |
| 3. | "It's Easy To Remember" | 03:21 |
| 4. | "You've Changed" | 03:23 |
| 5. | "Violets For Your Furs" | 04:39 |
| 6. | "For All We Know" | 02:57 |
| 7. | "But Beautiful" | 03:11 |
| 8. | "All The Way" | 02:47 |
| 9. | "I'm A Fool To Want You" | 04:16 |
| 10. | "I'll Be Around" | 02:25 |
| 11. | "You Don't Know What Love Is" | 03:03 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Reviews for Think of Spring by M. Ward". Metacritic. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ^ Monger, Christopher. "Think of Spring – M. Ward". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ^ Spencer, Neil (April 25, 2003). "M Ward: Think of Spring review – a spectral tribute to Billie Holiday". The Guardian. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (Dec 11, 2020). "M. Ward: Think of Spring". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ^ "M. Ward: Think of Spring". Mojo: 82. Dec 21, 2020.
- ^ Pfeiffer, Sacha (December 26, 2020). "M. Ward's New Album Offers His Take On Billie Holiday's 'Lady In Satin'". NPR. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ^ Lopez, Julyssa (December 18, 2020). "M. Ward: "Think of Spring"". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (December 11, 2020). "Think of Spring". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 11, 2026. Cite error: The named reference "auto" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Browne, David (February 1, 2021). "M. Ward on Why Billie Holiday Endures". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ^ Chiu, David (17 December 2020). "M. Ward On The Billie Holiday Record That Inspired His New LP". Forbes. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
- ^ Reed, Conner (December 3, 2020). "M. Ward on His New Billie Holiday Tribute Album Think of Spring". Portland Monthly. Retrieved May 11, 2026.