Eye of the Hunter
| Eye of the Hunter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
_cover_art.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| ||||
Eye of the Hunter 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.
Overview[edit]
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.
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| EW.com | (positive)[3] |
Critical reception to the album was generally positive.
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written 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.
Personnel[edit]
- 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)
References[edit]
- ^ Lyrics from the CD booklet (sung identically as printed).
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ EW.com review
External links[edit]
- 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
