2023 reissue, this time on single LP - Mayer Hawthorne's debut album A Strange Arrangement grew out of a childhood steeped in Detroit soul. Raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, he vividly remembers driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul, deep funk and swinging jazz the region provided. As he grew up, and his obsession with soul records grew into a passion, Hawthorne discovered that sweet soul existed on both sides of the commercial divide. He discovered the same beauty in the polished sound of Issac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield as he did in the deeper, darker grit of the obscure Symphonic Four and Detroit-cult soul slingers The New Holidays.
His album draws from the inspiration of Leroy Hutson, Smokey Robinson, and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland Jr. At the same time that it revels in the raw sounds of those independent musicians who aspired to achieve a level of success akin to their famous peers. A Strange Arrangement is an album full of original compositions and one cover (he had to give The New Holidays "Maybe So, Maybe No" a whirl) that underlies a heartfelt nostalgia to the sweet soul of yesteryear with a clear desire to show that his Strange Arrangement is no passing fancy. "It's old soul," Hawthorne explains, without an ounce of irony. "But it's new."
