| Amorica | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The original cover of the album. | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | May–August 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:13 | |||
| Label | American | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| The Black Crowes chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Censored cover | ||||
| Editions sold by big box retailers have a cropped image. | ||||
Amorica is the third studio album by American rock band The Black Crowes. The album was released on November 1, 1994 by American Recordings. Amorica reached gold status in the United States, shipping 500,000 copies. It reached no. 11 on the Billboard albums chart in the United States and made the charts in several other countries as well. [2]
After touring behind their 1992 album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion , the Black Crowes began developing a new album in 1993 to be titled Tall, but dissatisfaction with the early recordings resulted in the band reconceptualizing the album and re-recording several songs in a more relaxed style, [3] resulting in the Amorica album that was released the following year. [4]
The album cover notably featured a close-up photo of the pelvic region of a woman wearing a United States flag bikini bottom with pubic hair showing at the top. The photo was taken from the cover of the July 1976 issue of Hustler magazine. The album with this cover was subsequently banned from chain stores like Walmart and Kmart, resulting in the cover being censored with a solid black background displaying only the garment. [5]
Other songs recorded during the Amorica sessions were "Feathers," "Tied Up and Swallowed" and "Chevrolet" (a Taj Mahal cover), which were later released as B-sides, bonus tracks or on compilation albums.[ citation needed ] Those tracks and others were compiled in a 2025 reissue of the album, which includes songs from the aborted Tall album plus additional studio outakes and live recordings from the period. [2] [6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B− [9] |
| Kerrang! | 5/5 [10] |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| NME | 8/10 [12] |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Select | 4/5 [15] |
| Uncut | 9/10 [16] |
The album received generally positive reviews upon its release. "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." [17] AllMusic noted the change in sound from the band's first two hit albums, with Amorica displaying more jam band-like experimentation when the band could have followed their career trajectory into more mainstream sounds. [18]
In July 2014, Guitar World chose Amorica as one of "50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994", placing it at 50th place. [19]
All tracks are written by Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Tied Up and Swallowed" | 4:16 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Chevrolet" | 3:32 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Song of the Flesh" | 3:45 |
| 13. | "Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz" | 2:46 |
The Black Crowes
Additional personnel [20]
Production
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [21] | 11 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [22] | 13 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [23] | 17 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [24] | 17 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [25] | 40 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [26] | 39 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [27] | 7 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [28] | 25 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [29] | 35 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [30] | 8 |
| US Billboard 200 [31] | 11 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [32] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [33] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||