Cruel Sun

Cruel Sun
Studio album by Rusted Root
Released	1992
Studio	Audiomation, Pittsburgh
Genre	Rock, bluegrass
Length	57:42
Label	Blue Duck [1] Ignition [2]
Producer	Rusted Root [1] Dave Brown [3]
Rusted Root chronology
Cruel Sun (1992) When I Woke (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[3]

Cruel Sun is the debut album by the band Rusted Root, released in 1992. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

The album sold over 100,000 copies, which led to the band's major label recording contract. ^[2]

Album cover

The album cover depicts a stylized image of the disc of Mictlantecuhtli, a Teotihuacan monolith, currently housed at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

• 
  Disc of Mictlantecuhtli

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that "despite the assistance of assorted sprites and faeries, Rusted Root’s rhythmic world music-influenced drivel is better suited for a Pringles commercial than a tribal gathering." ^[1] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide called the album "an incredibly well-realized indie debut." ^[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Michael Glabicki except where noted.

1. "Primal Scream" (Bendin, Berlin, Glabicki) - 5:10
2. "Send Me on My Way" - 4:57
3. "Tree" (Berlin, Gablicki, Wertz) - 8:00
4. "Won't Be Long" - 3:13
5. "!@#*" - 0:40
6. "Cat Turned Blue" - 4:03
7. "Artificial Winter" - 3:37
8. "Where She Runs" - 9:21
9. "Martyr" - 5:19
10. "Back to the Earth" (Buynak, Wertz, Glabicki) - 5:48
11. "Scattered" - 4:34

Personnel

• Liz Berlin – Percussion, Drums, Vocals, Hand Drums
• John Buynak – Percussion, Drums, Vocals, Wind Instruments, Hand Drums
• Jim Donovan – Percussion, Drums, Hand Drums
• Michael Glabicki – Guitar, Vocals, Mixing
• Patrick Norman – Percussion, Bass Guitar, Sitar, Vocals
• Jenn Wertz – Percussion, Vocals

Production

• Dave Brown – Producer, Mixing
• Lara Lampenfield – Photography, Sleeve Photo
• Mike Michalski – Producer
• Randy Rhodes – Engineer
• Mark McNeely – Assistant Engineer
• Rusted Root – Writer, Producer

Recorded at Audiomation Studios in Pittsburgh, PA

References

1. "Rusted Root". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
2. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 204.
3. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 968.
4. Keefner, Kurt. Cruel Sun at AllMusic
5. "Rusted Root | Biography & History". AllMusic.
6. "Revamped Rusted Root returns with a more electric vibe". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
7. Budnick, Dean (January 4, 2003). Jambands: The Complete Guide to the Players, Music, & Scene. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN   9780879307455 – via Google Books.