I Wanna Go Back to Detroit City

LIMITED EDITION Deluxe LP is on 180-gram vinyl and includes digital download card.

A psychedelic soul mantra. Taken as a meditation, it stabilizes and focuses. There might be roaches in the kitchen, but there’s roaches in the ashtray, too.

Full Description

At 80 years old, Andre “Mr. Rhythm” Williams has been a singer, writer, producer, star-maker, showman, cult-hero and hustler for six decades. He’s been high, and he’s been low. He’s toured the world in snazzy suits and lived on the streets, asking for change.

For I Wanna Go Back To Detroit City, his fifth album for Bloodshot, he wanted to return to his adopted hometown – a town that’s seen peaks and valleys just like Andre.

Now, the rollercoaster journey finally brings him back around to his musical birthplace. While recording the title track, Andre noticed they were practically across the street from the former location of Fortune Records, now an empty field, where many of his early classics were recorded. The song starts with Andre’s knowing, sly chuckle and kicks into a psychedelic soul mantra. Taken as a meditation, it stabilizes and focuses. There might be roaches in the kitchen, but there’s roaches in the ashtray, too.

Andre also wanted to see his house in the old neighborhood, and, again, found only a field with overgrown grass, no houses, no people, nothing. He couldn’t imagine Detroit ending up like this so he went into the studio that day and recorded “Detroit (I’m So Glad I Stayed).” It’s an anthem of resilience, full of low-end heavy funk courtesy of guitarists Matthew Smith (Outrageous Cherry, Rodriguez) and Dan Kroha (Gories, Demolition Doll Rods) that’ll trip you back to the Mothership. “Times” is a funky, slinky, growling rumination on the rough times the city has seen, built around the rhythm section of David Shettler on drums, and the late Steve King (Eminem) on bass.

Let the sounds and vibes of I Wanna Go Back to Detroit City permeate you. Headphones, friends, headphones. Use them. Take them earbuds to the trash. Let your mind be free to wander, free to groove. Free to overcome what’s weighing you down. Go Back. With Andre.

Short Description

Everyone of ’em is a stone classic, and Williams comes across larger than life on every track, part pimp, part godfather, and all class. His newest continues the streak, with gritty, funky grooves and biting guitar providing the mojo for Williams’ words

— Ink 19
What makes Williams’ I Wanna Go Back to Detroit City so refreshing is the link between old-school sonics and old-time values. These are records about going home and recognizing how much place—a person’s home—still matters…It’s a funny, funky, grimy rock ’n’ soul record.

— Paste Magazine
Mixing low end funk, country blues, and gritty honestly, I Wanna Go Back to Detroit City is an emotional journey, both personal and universal.

— Scene Point Blank
I Wanna Go Back To Detroit City is not an album that channels abundant energy and keeps listeners jumping to a beat or rhythm section. No, this album moves its listener hip-to-hip with a significant other. Not fast, but slow enough to incite the fires of charged sensation.

— Slug Magazine
Perfectly suited to the raw garage soul crafted by co-producer Matthew Smith (Outrageous Cherry) and a corps of Motor City rockers who deftly capture the vibe and texture for a sonic personality to match Williams’ grit and grizzle.

— Oakland Press
Williams, who’s seen his fair share of misfortune, tells it like it is on this gritty, stripped-down and gleefully loose soul/R&B affair that begins with a stoned laugh and the title track’s psychedelic mantra.

— Elmore Magazine
Songs like the slimy blues of “Meet Me at the Graveyard” could have come off Tom Waits’ Heartattack and Vine.

— American Songwriter
Owes more to the city’s garage-rock legacy than to its most famous source of R&B, Motown.

— Paste Magazine
Blues, garage rock, country, pop, and of course, 1960s-style Detroit soul — this album has it all. Williams' lyrics capture the zeitgeist of contemporary Detroit after a period of reflection, reminiscing, and enjoying the present moment…This zeitgeist feeds off Williams' legacy and assists the creation of the powerful modern energy found on the album, deserving of just as much praise as his earlier work.

— Detroit Metro Times
It’s a dirty, grease and grime covered celebratory anthem that feels like the aural personification of Detroit’s rough and tumble existence.

— PopMatters
It speaks to Detroit’s resilience and features some seriously great funk riffs. If you like Funkadelic, then tune into Williams’ vibe because he’s back, baby.

— PopMatters