Amethyst Rock Star | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 8, 2001 | |||
Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
Length | 58:26 | |||
Label | American Recordings | |||
Producer | Rick Rubin, Musa Bailey, Krust, Saul Williams | |||
Saul Williams chronology | ||||
|
Amethyst Rock Star is the debut solo studio album by Saul Williams. It was released by American Recordings in 2001. It peaked at number 135 on the French Albums Chart. [1]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Robert Christgau | [3] |
Drowned in Sound | 9/10 [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [5] |
NME | [6] |
Pitchfork | 8.1/10 [7] |
RapReviews.com | 8/10 [8] |
Steve Kurutz of AllMusic gave the album 1.5 stars out of 5, saying: "Some of the language is downright laughable (see the trite themes of 'Fearless' for example) in any context, and the rest is mediocre at best." [2] Kitty Empire of NME gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, calling it "an ambitious collision of rock, hip-hop and spoken word, all united by a refusal to conform to the conventions of any of them." [6]
All tracks are written by Saul Williams, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Lalala" | 2:40 | |
2. | "Penny for a Thought" | Williams, Musa Bailey | 4:34 |
3. | "Robeson" | 4:21 | |
4. | "Tao of Now" | Williams, Musa Bailey | 4:19 |
5. | "Fearless" | Williams, Thom Bahler | 3:12 |
6. | "Untimely Meditations" | 3:55 | |
7. | "Om Nia Merican" | 3:06 | |
8. | "1987" | 5:21 | |
9. | "Coded Language" | Williams, Krust | 8:48 |
10. | "Our Father" | 7:06 | |
11. | "Wine / Do You Know (hidden track)" | 11:04 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Brown Bags" | 3:16 |
Credits adapted from liner notes.
Musicians
Technical personnel
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
French Albums (SNEP) [1] | 135 |
Nothing's Shocking is the debut studio album by American rock band Jane's Addiction, released on August 23, 1988 through Warner Bros. Records. Nothing's Shocking was well received by critics and peaked at number 103 on the Billboard 200. The single "Jane Says" reached number six on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in 1988. Rolling Stone ranked Nothing's Shocking at number 312 on its "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". It received a nomination for the 31st Grammy Awards in the controversial category for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental.
Journeyman is the eleventh solo studio album by Eric Clapton. Heralded as a return to form for Clapton, who had struggled with alcohol addiction and recently found sobriety, the album has a 1980s electronic sound, but it also includes blues songs like "Before You Accuse Me", "Running on Faith", and "Hard Times." "Bad Love" was released as a single, reaching the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart in the United States, and being awarded a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1990. "Pretending" had also reached the No. 1 position on the Album Rock Chart the previous year, remaining at the top for five weeks.
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on June 30, 1998, by Mercury Records. The album was recorded and co-produced by Williams in Nashville, Tennessee and Canoga Park, California, and features guest appearances by Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris.
Minute by Minute is the eighth studio album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released on December 1, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. It was their last album to include members John Hartman and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.
Bricks Are Heavy is the third studio album by American rock band L7, released on April 14, 1992, by Slash Records. The album peaked at number 160 on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Heatseekers Albums chart. As of June 2000, Bricks Are Heavy has sold 327,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Ben Folds Five is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, released on August 8, 1995. A non-traditional rock album, it featured an innovative indie-pop sound, and excluded lead guitars completely. The album was released on the small independent label Passenger Records, owned by Caroline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin/EMI. Ben Folds Five received positive reviews, and spawned five singles. The record failed to chart, but sparked an intense bidding war eventually won by Sony Music. Several live versions of songs originally released on Ben Folds Five reappeared later as b-sides or on compilations.
Saul Stacey Williams is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film Slam and the 2013 jukebox musical Holler If Ya Hear Me.
Saul Williams is the second solo studio album by Saul Williams. It was released by Fader Label in 2004. It features contributions from Serj Tankian, Zack de la Rocha, and Isaiah "Ikey" Owens.
Psyence Fiction is the debut studio album by English electronic music act Unkle, released on 24 August 1998 by Mo' Wax. The album was produced by Unkle, at the time consisting of James Lavelle and DJ Shadow. The music on Psyence Fiction was primarily composed by DJ Shadow. Lavelle recruited numerous guest musicians to contribute to the album's recording.
The World Won't End is the second studio album by American indie rock band Pernice Brothers. It was released by Ashmont Records on June 19, 2001. It peaked at number 26 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
This Girl's in Love with You is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on January 15, 1970 by Atlantic Records. It reached Billboard's Top 20 and was reissued on compact disc through Rhino Records in 1993. Her version of The Beatles' "Let It Be" was the first recording of the song to be commercially issued. Songwriter Paul McCartney sent Franklin and Atlantic Records a demo of the song as a guide.
"Death Valley '69" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth and featuring Lydia Lunch. The song was written and sung by Thurston Moore and fellow New York musician Lunch, and recorded by Martin Bisi in 1984. A demo version of the song was released in December 1984 on Iridescence Records. A re-recorded version was released in EP format with different artwork in June 1985; this version was featured on their second studio album, Bad Moon Rising.
Greed is the second album by Ambitious Lovers, released in 1988 through Virgin Records. Naná Vasconcelos and John Zorn were among the album's many guest musicians.
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! is the third solo studio album by Saul Williams. It was released in 2007. It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as number 89 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album is entirely produced by Trent Reznor. The title of the album is a reference to David Bowie's 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Aretha is the thirty-first studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, originally released on October 27, 1986, by Arista Records. It is the third album with the Aretha title to be released by Franklin, following her 1961 album and 1980 album.
Aretha is the twenty-sixth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released on September 30, 1980, by Arista Records. This is Franklin's second eponymous album, and her first for Arista Records after a 12-year tenure with Atlantic Records.
Spirit in the Dark is the seventeenth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on August 24, 1970, by Atlantic Records. It received critical acclaim, but was met with middling sales, despite having two hit singles, "Don't Play That Song ", which peaked at #1 R&B, #11 on the Hot 100, and "Spirit in the Dark", peaking at #3 R&B and #23 Hot 100, in Billboard magazine. It was Aretha's first Atlantic album to fall short of Billboard's Top 20, but it is now considered to be one of Aretha's classic Atlantic LPs.
What a Wonderful World is an album by Canadian artist Anne Murray. It was released by StraightWay Records on EMI Music Canada's behalf in October 1999. The album hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart, her only No. 1 on any American album chart. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA, her highest selling album since 1981's Christmas Wishes.
Them Changes is an album by American artist Buddy Miles, released in June 1970. It reached number 8 on the 1970 Jazz Albums chart, number 35 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 on the 1971 R&B albums charts.
Antisocialites is the second studio album by Canadian indie pop band Alvvays, released on September 8, 2017, through Polyvinyl, Royal Mountain, Transgressive and Inertia.