Black and White | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 12, 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1990 | |||
Studio | Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota, US | |||
Genre | Alternative | |||
Label | Slash | |||
Producer | David Z | |||
BoDeans chronology | ||||
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Black and White is the fourth studio album released by the rock band BoDeans. Released in 1991, the album peaked at number 105 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Despite the critical success and cult following generated by their first three albums, the band had yet to score a high-charting single and was prompted by their record label to work with a more mainstream producer. After taking a more stripped-down approach to Home , the band was ready to try a new direction and recruited David Z., best known for his work with Prince and Fine Young Cannibals, to produce their next record. In 1990, they traveled to Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, MN to begin tracking live on the soundstage. Rafael "Danny" Gayol, their session drummer on the Home tour, provided drums on the album and subsequently became a full member of the band. The resulting album was more synthesized and accessible than their previous releases, though it did not chart as high as expected. Nonetheless, it received mostly positive reviews and "Good Things", "True Devotion", "Paradise", and "Naked" all became staples in their live set. At the time of its release, "Good Things" received significant radio airplay and remains one of their most popular songs.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Entertainment Weekly | A [2] |
Music critic Brian Mansfield, writing for AllMusic, wrote of the album: "The band hardly sounds like the roots-oriented band of their previous efforts, and Sam Llanas and Kurt Neumann sound more ambitious as songwriters... Black and White is about using individual problems as analogies to social ones. It's also about loneliness and hardship. It also didn't sell that much better (if any) than the first albums." [1] Elysa Gardner of Entertainment Weekly , however, praised the album and wrote: "There's nothing flamboyant or ground-breaking on this fourth album from the BoDeans — just hearty, guitar-based rock & roll, fueled by hook-ridden songwriting and achingly lovely harmonies you can feel in your bones. It's a sound well suited to the lyrics on Black and White, which, though haunted by images of loneliness and desperation, are never devoid of courage or hope. [...] [T]he soulful blend of their voices — layered over instrumental arrangements that are at once tough and tender — has a wistful resonance that's probably best enjoyed in silence." [2]
All songs written by Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas
Good Stuff is the sixth studio album by American new wave band the B-52's, released in 1992 by Reprise Records. It was conceived after the band's manager urged them to quickly issue a follow-up to their highly successful album Cosmic Thing (1989) and was created without founding member Cindy Wilson, who was on a temporary hiatus. The album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and its title track peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. Good Stuff was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards.
BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin who came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to date is "Closer to Free", which was used as the theme song to the hit TV series Party of Five. The band has been described as "one of the most successful, and best known, bands to come out of the Milwaukee area". BoDeans is included in a permanent installation at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nomad is the fifth studio album by guitarist Jesse Cook. The album has guest appearances by Flora Purim and Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas of the BoDeans.
Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams is the debut studio album by the American rock band BoDeans, released on 16 April 1986 on Slash/Warner Bros. The album was produced by T Bone Burnett. The album title comes from the lyrics to the Rolling Stones song "Shattered." It reached number 115 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Robbie Robertson is the solo debut album by Canadian rock musician Robbie Robertson, released in 1987. Though Robertson had been a professional musician since the late 1950s, notably a founder of and primary songwriter for The Band, this was his first solo album. Robbie Robertson won the Juno Award for "Album of the Year", and producers Daniel Lanois and Robertson won the "Producer of the Year" Juno award, both in 1989; there were no Juno Awards in 1988.
Rafael Bernardo Gayol is an American drummer. He is best known for his work with singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, and with such diverse artists as Charlie Sexton, BoDeans, Robbie Robertson, A-ha, Shawn Colvin, Bob Schneider, Tito & Tarantula, Billy Harvey, Robert Rodriguez, Patty Griffin, David Rice, Joe Ely, Kelly Willis, Bruce Robison, Tish Hinojosa, Jon Dee Graham, The Flatlanders, Colin Gilmore, Eliza Gilkyson, Patricia Vonne, Scott Gibson, Tonio K, Bascom Hill, Mason Ruffner, Trish Murphy, Michael Thomas, Maggie Walters and Doll Congress.
Lonely Grill is the third studio album by American country music group Lonestar, released in the United States on June 1, 1999, by BNA Records. It reached number 28 on the Billboard 200 chart, and number three on the Top Country Albums chart. With sales of three million copies in the United States, it has been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA. This was Lonestar's first studio album to have a crossover-friendly country-pop sound, which was a departure from their earlier neotraditional country sound. It is also their first studio album to be recorded as a four-piece as bassist and second lead vocalist John Rich left the band the previous year in 1998. Instead of replacing him with a new member, the band hired several session bassists to play the album's bass parts.
Good Evening is a 1989 album by Marshall Crenshaw. Although critically well-received, it failed to chart.
Samuel J. Llanas is an American singer, acoustic guitarist, and songwriter in several rock and roots rock bands active from the 1980s to the 2000s, including BoDeans and Absinthe.
Blend is the BoDeans sixth studio album, and was released in 1996. It peaked at number 132 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Joe Dirt Car is a live two-CD album released in 1995 by the BoDeans. It was recorded in various places throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and California, among other places, between 1989 and 1994.
Resolution is the BoDeans' 7th full-length studio album. It was released on June 22, 2004 and was the first album of new material from the band in 8 years.
Monsters of Folk is the self-titled first and only studio album by American indie rock band Monsters of Folk, a group that consists of the artists Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward, and Mike Mogis. Originally slated for release in 2010, the album was released through Shangri-La Music and Rough Trade on September 22, 2009. "Dear God " samples Trevor Dandy's 1970 gospel song "Is There Any Love."
Mr. Sad Clown is a music album by the BoDeans, released on April 6, 2010. It peaked at number 172 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 26 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
Still is a full-length studio album by the BoDeans, released in 2008. It peaked at number 194 on the Billboard 200. It peaked at number 30 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
Kurt Robert Neumann is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is a co-founder of the roots-rock band BoDeans.
Outside Looking In is the BoDeans second studio album, and was released in 1987. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads. It reached number 86 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Home is the BoDeans' third studio album, and was released in 1989. It peaked at number 94 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Go Slow Down is the BoDeans' fifth studio album, and was released on October 12, 1993. It peaked at number 127 on the Billboard 200 chart.
"Somewhere Down the Crazy River" is a 1987 song by Robbie Robertson, initially released on Robertson's debut solo album Robbie Robertson, with Sam Llanas on backing vocals.