A Weapon Called the Word | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1990 | |||
Recorded | 1990 | |||
Studio | Loco Studios, Wales | |||
Genre | Folk rock | |||
Length | 56:58 | |||
Label | Musidisc | |||
Producer | Phil Tennant | |||
Levellers chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
A Weapon Called the Word is the debut album by English folk rock band the Levellers, released in 1990. [2] [3] The album contains re-recorded tracks from the band's first two E.P. recordings: Carry Me E.P. (upon which the tracks "Carry Me" and "England My Home" were originally released) and Outside/Inside E.P. (which contained "Outside/Inside", "Barrel of the Gun" and "I Have No Answers"). The band did not re-record the track "The Last Days of Winter" from the Carry Me E.P. despite the fact the album's title A Weapon Called the Word is taken from that song.
Two versions of the album exist: the original 1990 release which has 12 tracks and a 1996 re-release by Musidisc which added two live recordings of the band's guitarist/vocalists Mark Chadwick and Simon Friend plus a remix of the track "Three Friends" to the end of the album.
This album is noteworthy in the Levellers' catalogue for being the only full-length album to feature the musical input of Alan Miles, who played guitar, harmonica and mandolin and supplied backing vocals as well as contributing musical arrangements. He was subsequently replaced by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Simon Friend.
The 1996 re-release credits Simon Friend in the liner notes despite him not being a band member at the time of recording. This is due to the added live tracks "Social Insecurity" and "Cardboard Box City" being written and sung by Friend.
A Weapon Called the Word has achieved gold status, [4] despite never having appeared in the album charts, a rare feat reflecting steady and consistent sales rather than strong initial sales. Only "World Freakshow" was released as a single, as Musidisc's alleged mismanagement of the promotion and pressing of the single led the Levellers to part company with the label shortly after release.
1996 re-release bonus tracks
Vigilantes of Love was an American rock band fronted by Bill Mallonee, with many secondary players drawn from the musician pool in and around Athens, Georgia, United States. In its later manifestations in the later 1990s and early 2000s, Mallonee usually sang, played lead and rhythm guitar and harmonica, although in earlier bands he played drums.
Levellers are an English folk rock and anarcho-punk band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 1988, consisting of Mark Chadwick, Jeremy Cunningham, Charlie Heather (drums), Jon Sevink (violin), Simon Friend, Matt Savage (keyboards) and Dan Donnelly. Taking their name from the Levellers political movement, the band released their first EP in 1989 and LP in 1990, with international success following upon signing to China Records and the release of their second album Levelling the Land. The band were among the most popular indie bands in Britain in the early 1990s, and performed at the Glastonbury Festival, first in 1992, then in 1994, where they performed as the headline act on The Pyramid Stage to a record crowd of 300,000 people. They continue to record and tour.
Hem is a musical group from Brooklyn, New York. Band members include Sally Ellyson (vocals), Dan Messé, Gary Maurer, Steve Curtis, George Rush, Mark Brotter (drums), Bob Hoffnar, and Heather Zimmerman (violin). The group sometimes expands to include other musicians and orchestral accompaniments.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken is the seventh studio album by American country music group The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, released in November 1972, through United Artists Records. The album was a collaboration with many famous bluegrass and country-and-western players, including Roy Acuff, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Merle Travis, Pete "Oswald" Kirby, Norman Blake, Jimmy Martin, and others. It also introduced fiddler Vassar Clements to a wider audience.
Victor "Vic" Ruggiero, is a musician, songwriter and producer from New York City who has played in reggae, blues, ska and rocksteady bands since the early 1990s, including The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars, SKAndalous All Stars, Crazy Baldhead and The Silencers. He has also performed with punk rock band Rancid, both live and in the studio. He has released four solo acoustic albums and continues to tour and record worldwide. Ruggiero is known primarily as a singer and organist, although he also plays piano, bass, banjo, cigar box guitar, guitar, harmonica and percussion.
Sphinctour is a live CD/DVD/VHS release by the industrial metal band Ministry released in 2002. It contains various tracks recorded on their 1996 world tour in support of the album Filth Pig. The album title is a play on the word sphincter.
Dingly Dell is a 1972 album by English rock band Lindisfarne.
Zeitgeist is the fourth album by the Levellers. It was released in August 1995 and reached No. 1 in the UK album charts, making it the band's most successful album. Two singles were released from the album – "Hope St.", which reached No. 12 in the UK single charts, and "Fantasy", which reached 16. Additionally, a re-recorded version of "Just the One" featuring Joe Strummer was released, reaching No. 12, as well as a live version of "Exodus" from the later Headlights, White Lines, Black Tar Rivers album the next year, which reached No. 24.
One Way of Life is a "Best of" compilation by the Levellers, released in 1998 on China Records.
Levelling the Land is the second full-length album by the Brighton folk-punk group, The Levellers, released in 1991. The album reached number 14 in the UK album charts and has since gained platinum status through ongoing sales. The original album pressing contained ten tracks but following the success of the single "Fifteen Years", which peaked at #11 on the UK charts in May 1992, the song was added as track three to later pressings.
Levellers is the third full-length release by Brighton-based folk punk band the Levellers. The record charted at number two in the British album charts. It contains the singles "Belaruse," "This Garden," and "Julie."
Green Blade Rising is the seventh studio album by the Levellers, released in 2002.
Cheap Seats is the fifteenth studio album by the American country music band Alabama, released in 1993 by RCA Records. It produced the singles "Reckless", "T.L.C. A.S.A.P." and the title track. Of these, "Reckless" was the band's final Number One hit on the Billboard country charts until 2011's "Old Alabama", and "The Cheap Seats" was the band's first single in fourteen years to miss Top Ten of the charts. Alabama produced the album along with Josh Leo and Larry Michael Lee, except for "Angels Among Us", which bassist Teddy Gentry produced.
The Newcranes are a British folk punk band, formed in Derby, England. They are frequently compared to the Levellers and other contemporary folk-rock groups such as The Men They Couldn't Hang. The Newcranes quickly became a popular band on the early 1990s touring circuit. They signed with French label Musidisc Records and recorded their debut album, Frontline, which garnered critical acclaim and won the band many followers. They subsequently supported The Mission, Stiff Little Fingers, Bob Dylan and The Saw Doctors, and went on to release several more EPs. The band disbanded in 1996 after several line-up changes. In 2018, the principal songwriter Mark Simpson, along with bass player Bob Rushton and drummer Marcus Carter decided to reignite the band after a campaign by fans. They recruited Jonny Wallis and Julian Butt and, in March 2019, they played a well-received reunion show at The Venue in Derby. The band have gone on to play festivals throughout the UK including Bearded Theory, Wickham Festival and Boomtown.
In 2022 Marcus Carter decided to leave the band to concentrate on other projects, Giles Henshaw took his place as the master of the beat.
The Coal Porters were a British-American bluegrass band headquartered in London and led by Sid Griffin and Neil Robert Herd. The group disbanded in July 2018. The other members were Kerenza Peacock, Paul Fitzgerald and Andrew Stafford. Griffin formed the group in Los Angeles in 1989 and then reorganised the band after moving to London.
Hello Pig is the sixth studio album by the Levellers, released in 2000 on China Records. The album was the first by the band to feature Matt Savage.
Letters from the Underground is the ninth studio album by folk-punk rock band the Levellers. It includes the single "Burn America Burn", which is a social commentary on the recurrence of school shootings in the US.
Static on the Airwaves is the tenth studio album by folk-punk rock band the Levellers.
We the Collective is the eleventh studio album by folk-punk rock band the Levellers. The album entered the British album charts at number 12, the band's highest-charting entry in over 21 years. The 10-track album features acoustic re-recordings of many of the band's greatest hits, with two new songs "Shame" and "Drug Bust McGee".
Peace is the twelfth studio album by folk-punk rock band the Levellers. The album entered the British album charts at #8, the band's highest charting entry since 1997's Mouth to Mouth reached #5, and improving on previous release We the Collective's #12 position. The 11-track album followed 2018's We the Collective, but is the band's first album composed entirely of new material since 2012's Static on the Airwaves. Peace was recorded at the band's personal recording studio Metway Studios, and released on their label On the Fiddle Recordings Three singles were released in the months leading up to the album, "Food Roof Family", "Calling Out" and "Generation Fear".