Amorica

Last updated

Amorica
BlackCrowesAmoricaalbumcover.jpg
The original cover of the album.
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 1, 1994 (1994-11-01)
RecordedMay–August 1994
Genre
Length54:13
Label American
Producer
The Black Crowes chronology
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
(1992)
Amorica
(1994)
Three Snakes and One Charm
(1996)
Censored cover
Amorica censored cover.jpeg
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]

Contents

Description

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]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Entertainment Weekly B− [9]
Kerrang! 5/5 [10]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
NME 8/10 [12]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
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]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson.

Amorica track listing
No.TitleLength
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
UK bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Tied Up and Swallowed"4:16
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Chevrolet"3:32
1998 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Song of the Flesh"3:45
13."Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz"2:46

Personnel

The Black Crowes

Additional personnel [20]

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Amorica
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

Certifications

Certifications for Amorica
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [32] Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA) [33] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Kemp, Mark (2004). "The Black Crowes". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 75–76. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  2. 1 2 Rolli, Bryan (September 10, 2025). "'Amorica' Returns! The Black Crowes Announce Sprawling Reissue of 1994 Album". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  3. The Lost Crowes - The Black Crowes | Album | AllMusic , retrieved November 24, 2025
  4. Sendra, Tim. "The Black Crowes Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio &..." AllMusic. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  5. Morse, Steve (March 23, 1995). "The Black Crowes: Rock rebels take home-grown spirit on tour". The Boston Globe . p. 18.
  6. Blabbermouth (September 12, 2025). "THE BLACK CROWES Announce Deluxe Reissue Of 'Amorica'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  7. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Amorica – The Black Crowes". AllMusic . Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  8. Kot, Greg (November 10, 1994). "Black Crowes: Amorica (American)". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  9. Eddy, Chuck (November 4, 1994). "Amorica". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  10. Elliott, Paul (November 5, 1994). "Amorican Dream!". Kerrang! . No. 519. pp. 42–43.
  11. Crisafulli, Chuck (October 30, 1994). "The Black Crowes 'Amorica' American". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  12. Patterson, Sylvia (October 29, 1994). "Get Your Rooks Off!". NME . p. 46.
  13. Gill, Andy (December 1994). "Draining". Q . No. 99. p. 128.
  14. Evans, Paul (November 3, 1994). "Amorica". Rolling Stone . Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  15. Collis, Clark (December 1994). "Southern def cult!". Select . No. 54. p. 88.
  16. Deusner, Stephen (2023). "High Flyers". Uncut . No. 320, Review of the Year 2023. p. 36.
  17. Evans, Paul (November 3, 1994). "The Black Crowes: Amorica". Rolling Stone . No. 694. pp. 95–96.
  18. Amorica - The Black Crowes | Album | AllMusic , retrieved November 24, 2025
  19. "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com . July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  20. "The Black Crowes - Amorica". Discogs. October 31, 1994. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  21. "Australiancharts.com – The Black Crowes – Amorica.". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  22. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2654". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Black Crowes – Amorica." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  24. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  25. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Black Crowes – Amorica." (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  26. "Charts.nz – The Black Crowes – Amorica.". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  28. "Swedishcharts.com – The Black Crowes – Amorica.". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  29. "Swisscharts.com – The Black Crowes – Amorica.". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  31. "The Black Crowes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  32. "British album certifications – Black Crowes". British Phonographic Industry.
  33. "American album certifications – The Black Crowes – Amorica". Recording Industry Association of America.

Further reading