Amorica
Amorica | ||||
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The original cover of the album. | ||||
Studio album by The Black Crowes | ||||
Released | November 1, 1994 | |||
Recorded | May–August 1994 | |||
Genre | Southern rock, blues rock, hard rock | |||
Length | 54:13 | |||
Label | American | |||
Producer | Jack Joseph Puig | |||
The Black Crowes chronology | ||||
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Censored cover | ||||
Editions sold by big box retailers have a cropped image. | ||||
Amorica (styled amorica. on the album cover) is the third studio album by The Black Crowes. Spawned from their unreleased scrapped album Tall, Amorica was released in late 1994 on American Recordings and reissued in the UK in 1998 with two bonus tracks. The record notably featured an explicit cover that displayed a woman's crotch wearing a United States flag thong with pubic hair sticking out, taken from the cover of the July 1976 issue of Hustler magazine. The album was subsequently banned from chain stores like Walmart and Kmart, resulting in the cover being censored with a solid black background, displaying only the thong.[1] Amorica reached gold status in the United States, shipping 500,000 copies.
The Amorica album came as a re-recording of a previous Black Crowes project tentatively titled "Tall". The "Tall" project was produced by Chris Robinson. Rich Robinson stated, “Chris and I got into a huge fight over it because he wanted to produce it and I’m like, no, but he did it anyway because the rest of the band was sort of on his side.” Chris also stated, “Rich obviously has his head up his ass about what "Tall" was because I wanted to produce the band. I really wanted to take away the big Black Crowes sound, I mean, there were guitars there but they weren’t the main thing...I had Jellyfish singing on a lot of things with me, big harmonies...and there were French horn players on there, and lots of percussionists, different things and Amorica is more Rich's ideas from "Tall" really and my ideas were kind of scraped off there.” (Classic Rock, July 2001) The "Tall" songs were released (featuring new mixes by Paul Stacey) as part of the 2006 compilation The Lost Crowes (the original mixes of the "Tall" material circulate on bootlegs).
Other songs recorded during the Amorica sessions were "Feathers", "Tied Up and Swallowed", and "Chevrolet" (a Taj Mahal cover). These tracks were later released as b-sides, bonus tracks, or on compilation albums.
Reception
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Entertainment Weekly | B−[3] |
NME | (8/10)[4] |
Q | |
Robert Christgau | |
Rolling Stone |
"The Crowes haven't ceased their cocky pillaging of the universal jukebox – echoes of the Stones and Led Zep abound," wrote Rolling Stone's Paul Evans, who awarded the album three and a half stars. "But in joining the mix with offbeat kicks (Latino rhythms, wah-wah guitar, strange vocal treatments), they sound remarkably fresh."[7]
In July 2014, Guitar World chose Amorica as one of "50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994".[8]
Track listing
All songs written by Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson.
- "Gone" – 5:08
- "A Conspiracy" – 4:46
- "High Head Blues" – 4:01
- "Cursed Diamond" – 5:56
- "Nonfiction" – 4:16
- "She Gave Good Sunflower" – 5:48
- "P. 25 London" – 3:38
- "Ballad in Urgency" – 5:39
- "Wiser Time" – 5:33
- "Downtown Money Waster" – 3:40
- "Descending" – 5:42
Bonus tracks
- "Song of the Flesh" – 3:45*
- "Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz" – 2:46*
- "Tied Up and Swallowed (Bonus Track In US Release)" - 4:16
- "Chevrolet (Bonus Track In Japan Edition)" - 3:32
* appears as a bonus track on the Sho' Nuff version of the album, as well as the 1998 UK reissue.
Personnel
- Chris Robinson – vocals
- Rich Robinson – guitar
- Marc Ford – guitar
- Eddie Harsch – keyboards
- Johnny Colt – bass guitar
- Steve Gorman – drums
Charts
Album – Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1994 | Billboard 200 | 11 |
Singles – Billboard (North America)
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | "A Conspiracy" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 5 |
Modern Rock Tracks | 23 | ||
1995 | "High Head Blues" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 |
"Wiser Time" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
References
- ↑ Morse, Steve (March 23, 1995). "The Black Crowes: Rock rebels take home-grown spirit on tour". The Boston Globe. p. 18.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Amorica at AllMusic
- ↑ Eddy, Chuck (4 November 1994). "Music Review: 'Amorica' Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- 1 2 "Black Crowes - Amorica CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Black Crowes". RobertChristgau.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
- ↑ Evans, Paul (3 November 1994). "Amorica". Rolling Stone.
- ↑ Rolling Stone, November 3, 1994, p96
- ↑ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.