Brother (Cry of Love album)

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Brother
Studio album by
Cry of Love
Released1993
RecordedNovember 1992
StudioMuscle Shoals Sound Studio
GenreRock
LabelColumbia[1]
ProducerJohn Custer
Cry of Love chronology
Brother
(1993) 		Diamonds & Debris
(1997)

Brother is the debut album by the American rock band Cry of Love, released in 1993.[2][3]

"Peace Pipe" peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart; two other singles made the chart's top twenty.[4] "Bad Thing" peaked at No. 60 on the UK Singles Chart.[5] The album sold more than 200,000 copies.[6]

Cry of Love supported Brother by opening for Robert Plant, Aerosmith, and ZZ Top on separate North American tours.[7][6][8]

Production[edit]

The album was produced by John Custer at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, and was recorded and mixed in four weeks.[9][10][11] The majority of the album's songs were written by Cry of Love's guitar player, Audley Freed.[12] "Peace Pipe" is about the United States breaking its treaties with Native Americans.[13]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
The Charlotte Observer[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[16]

The Washington Post called the album "the usual post-Allmans compendium of blues-rock swagger, soul-man vocals and bad-love and on-the-road songs."[17] The Morning Call wrote that the songs "have a raw, naked sound built around the tough, direct playing of guitarist Audley Freed, bassist Robert Kearns and drummer Jason Peterson, plus [Kelly] Holland's soulfully sandpapered singing."[18] The Boston Herald praised the "distinct and agreeable '60s and '70s blues-rock vibe."[19]

The Journal Star determined that "the straight-ahead rock, with a blues undercurrent, brings to mind basement jam sessions or a carful of friends singing to a blaring stereo."[12] The Los Angeles Daily News labeled it "unadorned, sparsely produced Stratocaster-driven rock."[7] The Modesto Bee concluded that Brother "contains straight-ahead rock that's raw and unfiltered, catching a sound that's since been urbanized and called 'grunge.'"[20] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram considered the band "awfully derivative—sometimes annoyingly so," writing that "Bad Thing" "is nothing more than Grand Funk's 'Some Kind of Wonderful' with a little Bad Co. mixed in."[21]

AllMusic deemed the album "a near-perfect fusion of classic British hard-rock influences (read Free) and Southern rock sensibility, bringing a refreshing honesty to the dreary radio landscape of the early '90s."[14]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written by Audley Freed, except where noted.

  1. "Highway Jones" (Freed, K. Holland)
  2. "Pretty As You Please"
  3. "Bad Thing" (Holland, Freed, J. Custer)
  4. "Too Cold in the Winter" (Holland, Freed)
  5. "Hand Me Down"
  6. "Gotta Love Me" (Freed, Holland, Custer)
  7. "Carnival"
  8. "Drive It Home" (Freed, Holland, Custer)
  9. "Peace Pipe" (Freed, Holland)
  10. "Saving Grace"

Personnel[edit]

From Columbia's CK 53404 CD liner notes

  • Audley Freed - guitars
  • Kelly Holland - vocals, percussion, piano on "Carnival"
  • Robert Kearns - bass
  • Jason Patterson - drums
  • John Custer - piano on "Bad Thing"
  • Pepper Keenan - tremelo guitar on "Bad Thing"
  • Kelly, Jason, Robert, Audley, Josh, John, Kent - hand claps on "Bad Thing"

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Walker, Richard (December 3, 1993). "CRY OF LOVE: 'Brother'". The Charlotte Observer. p. 7D.
  2. ^ "Cry of Love Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Menconi, David (September 22, 2020). "Step It Up and Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music, from Blind Boy Fuller and Doc Watson to Nina Simone and Superchunk". UNC Press Books – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (January 15, 2008). "Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "CRY OF LOVE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  6. ^ a b Menconi, David (March 20, 1994). "A FAR CRY - If the road to success has a fast lane, it's not in sight on the extended rock tour". The News & Observer. p. G1.
  7. ^ a b Shuster, Fred (October 12, 1993). "CRYING OUT FOR ACCEPTANCE - BAND ACHIEVES RECOGNITION AFTER INCREASING WORD-OF-MOUTH". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L8.
  8. ^ Hill, Jack W. (April 29, 1994). "'WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET' AS CRY OF LOVE TAKES STAGE". 4. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 4.
  9. ^ Menconi, David (February 12, 1993). "CAREER MOVES". The News & Observer. p. W4.
  10. ^ Sculley, Alan (29 Apr 1994). "CRY OF LOVE: THEY MAKE THE '70S SOUND NEW". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 4H.
  11. ^ Green, Tony (August 6, 1993). "Cry of Love brings its "Peace Pipe' to town". St. Petersburg Times. Weekend. p. 19.
  12. ^ a b Timm, Lori (March 10, 1994). "RETRO-ROCK GROUP OWES FAME TO A FRIEND". Journal Star. p. C4.
  13. ^ Morse, Steve (7 Jan 1994). "Cry of Love builds future hits from an R & B past". The Boston Globe. ARTS & FILM. p. 81.
  14. ^ a b "Brother - Cry of Love | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 651.
  16. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 297.
  17. ^ Jenkins, Mark (13 Aug 1993). "The Sincere Cry Of an Allmans Love". The Washington Post. p. N16.
  18. ^ Harry, Rich (August 21, 1993). "NORTH CAROLINA'S CRY OF LOVE TREATS VINTAGE BLUES ROCK LIKE A BROTHER". The Morning Call. p. A57.
  19. ^ Johnson, Dean (January 10, 1994). "Band's got Love for '60s sound: Group members live for guitar-rock of the past". Boston Herald. A&l. p. 27.
  20. ^ Coats, Rusty (October 8, 1993). "ROCKERS CRY OF LOVE, LITA FORD HAVE AREA DATES TONIGHT". The Modesto Bee. p. H6.
  21. ^ Ferman, Dave (April 22, 1994). "Retread boogie". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. STAR TIME. p. 23.
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