Raisins in the Sun formed as a surprise supergroup of seasoned musicians who assembled in Tucson, AZ, and issued their self-titled roots-rock-and-pop debut on Rounder Records in 2001. Chuck Prophet, already established through solo releases and his earlier tenure with Green on Red, joined forces with Jim Dickson, whose production credits include Big Star and the Replacements and whose piano work appears on the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses.” Songwriter Jules Shear, recognized for his own recordings as well as compositions that became hits for Cyndi Lauper and the Bangles, also participated; his former relationship with Aimee Mann prompted her to devote the 1993 album Whatever to him. Drummer Winston Watson and bassist Harvey Brooks supplied the rhythm section, the latter having performed on Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited and Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. Completing the lineup were Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie, whose joint productions encompass Uncle Tupelo’s No Depression and Still Feel Gone along with sessions for Hole and Radiohead. Emulating the spontaneous method heard on Dylan and the Band’s Basement Tapes, the ensemble adopted an open-ended, rule-free recording process that kept the tape rolling without prior arrangements; consequently, the entire album lists songwriting and production credits solely to the group as a whole.
