Eye of the Hunter
| Eye of the Hunter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Brendan Perry | ||||
| Released | 4 October 1999 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | Quivvy Church, Ireland | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, dream pop | |||
| Length | 42:10 | |||
| Label | 4AD (CAD 9015) | |||
| Producer | Brendan Perry | |||
| Brendan Perry chronology | ||||
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Eye of the Hunter (1999) is the debut solo album by Brendan Perry, previously the male half of the band Dead Can Dance. The album was released by 4AD on 4 October 1999 in the UK and a day later in the US.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The album's title is found in the lyrics of the album's first single "Voyage of Bran", wherein a character called Brendan says: "I live by the river where the old gods still dream of inner communion with the open sea / Through the eye of a hunter in search of a prey, neither beast nor human in my philosophy."[1]
The song "Sloth" first appeared during concerts with Dead Can Dance and appears on the band's 2001 box set Dead Can Dance (1981–1998). "I Must Have Been Blind" is a cover of a Tim Buckley song, from his 1970 album Blue Afternoon. Perry later covered another song by Buckley, "Dream Letter," which was released the following year on the tribute album Sing a Song for You.
[edit] Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| EW.com | (positive)[3] |
| Scaruffi | (7.5/10)[4] |
Critical reception to the album was generally positive. Music historian Piero Scaruffi summarized Eye of the Hunter as "an intensely personal statement arranged for (synthesized) orchestra and a plethora of acoustic instruments, but more reminiscent of Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen than his old band."[5] He also ranked it among the "Best Rock Albums of 1999"[6] and the "Best Rock Albums of the 1990s."[7]
[edit] Track listing
All songs written and composed by Brendan Perry (except where noted).
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Saturday's Child" | 4:30 |
| 2. | "Voyage of Bran" | 5:33 |
| 3. | "Medusa" | 6:10 |
| 4. | "Sloth" | 3:32 |
| 5. | "I Must Have Been Blind" (Tim Buckley) | 5:07 |
| 6. | "The Captive Heart" | 4:00 |
| 7. | "Death Will Be My Bride" | 5:46 |
| 8. | "Archangel" | 7:35 |
|
Total length:
|
42:10 | |
Note: The title "Voyage of Bran" refers to Irish story The Voyage of Bran, and "Medusa" to the mythological Medusa.
[edit] Personnel
- Musical
- Brendan Perry – vocals, 12-string guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, keyboards
- with
- Glen Garrett – electric bass guitar, upright bass guitar
- Liam Bradley – drums
- Martin Quinn – pedal steel guitar
- Michael Brunnock – backing vocals on "Saturday's Child"
- Technical
- Mastered by Walter Coelho at Masterpiece
- Graphical
- Art direction by Brendan Perry
- Design by Chris Bigg
- Back cover photograph by Dennis Di Cicco
- Textures by v23 (Vaughan Oliver)
[edit] References
- ^ Lyrics from the CD booklet (sung identically as printed).
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ EW.com review
- ^ Scaruffi review
- ^ Scaruffi (Piero), A History of Rock Music: 1951-2000 (2003), iUniverse (ISBN 0-595-29565-7), p. 516 (of 566); now also on Scaruffi.com
- ^ Scaruffi (Piero),"Best Rock Albums of 1999"
- ^ Scaruffi (Piero), "Best Rock Albums of the 1990s"
[edit] External links
- Eye of the Hunter at 4AD: with audio samples
- Eye of the Hunter at Discogs (list of releases): with links to artists works
- Eye of the Hunter at Dead-can-dance.com: with a Perry quote
- Eye of the Hunter lyrics (official) at DCD Within: with some typos
- Eye of the Hunter lyrics (fansite) at Dead-can-dance.com
