Amorica

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This article is about the Black Crowes album. For the region of Brittany, see Armorica.
Amorica
The original cover of the album.
Studio album by
The Black Crowes
ReleasedNovember 1, 1994 (1994-11)
RecordedMay–August 1994
GenreSouthern rock, blues rock, hard rock
Length54:13
LabelAmerican
ProducerJack Joseph Puig
The Black Crowes chronology
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
(1992) 		Amorica
(1994) 		Three Snakes and One Charm
(1996)
Alternative cover

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
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[3]
NME(8/10)[4]
Q[4]
Robert Christgau(dud)[5]
Rolling Stone[6]

"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.

  1. "Gone" – 5:08
  2. "A Conspiracy" – 4:46
  3. "High Head Blues" – 4:01
  4. "Cursed Diamond" – 5:56
  5. "Nonfiction" – 4:16
  6. "She Gave Good Sunflower" – 5:48
  7. "P. 25 London" – 3:38
  8. "Ballad in Urgency" – 5:39
  9. "Wiser Time" – 5:33
  10. "Downtown Money Waster" – 3:40
  11. "Descending" – 5:42

Bonus tracks

  1. "Song of the Flesh" – 3:45*
  2. "Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz" – 2:46*
  3. "Tied Up and Swallowed (Bonus Track In US Release)" - 4:16
  4. "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

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1994 Billboard 200 11[citation needed]

Singles – Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1994 "A Conspiracy" Mainstream Rock Tracks 5[citation needed]
Modern Rock Tracks 23[citation needed]
1995 "High Head Blues" Mainstream Rock Tracks 8[citation needed]
"Wiser Time" Mainstream Rock Tracks 7[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Morse, Steve (March 23, 1995). "The Black Crowes: Rock rebels take home-grown spirit on tour". The Boston Globe. p. 18. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Amorica at AllMusic
  3. ^ Eddy, Chuck (4 November 1994). "Music Review: 'Amorica' Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Black Crowes - Amorica CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Black Crowes". RobertChristgau.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Evans, Paul (3 November 1994). "Amorica". Rolling Stone.
  7. ^ Rolling Stone, November 3, 1994, p96
  8. ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

External links

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