Dance to the Holy Man

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Dance to the Holy Man
The Silencers - Dance to the Holy Man - Cover.jpg
Studio album by
the Silencers
Released1991
Genre Rock, pop, folk-pop [1]
Label RCA
Producer John Leckie, Mark Wallis, Jimme O'Neill
The Silencers chronology
A Blues for Buddha
(1988)		Dance to the Holy Man
(1991)		Seconds of Pleasure
(1993)

Dance to the Holy Man is the third album by the Scottish band the Silencers, released in 1991. [2] [3] It peaked at No. 39 on the UK Albums Chart. [4] The first single was "Bulletproof Heart", although its release was delayed by the Gulf War and RCA's concern about the song title. [5] [6] The band supported the album with a UK tour. [7]

Contents

Production

The album was produced by John Leckie, Mark Wallis, and frontman Jimme O'Neill. [8] Its songs were written by O'Neill, who also painted the cover art. [9] [10] JJ Gilmour joined the band during the recording sessions. [11] "Bulletproof Heart", about returning to Scotland from London, is a version of a song O'Neill wrote with Fingerprintz. [10] [9] The rhythm track to "Robinson Crusoe in New York" was in part supplied from a recording of a sputtering taxi cab engine. [12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Alternative Rock 5/10 [13]
Calgary Herald B+ [14]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [15]
The Republican Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Record-Journal A− [17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]
The State Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [19]
The Times-Transcript Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [20]

The Calgary Herald said that the songs "gently evoke the search for meaning in textured harmonies and guitar-based instrumentals, occasionally breaking into soft, even Beatlesque uptempo rock." [14] The Chicago Tribune concluded, "For a hefty portion of the album ... the Silencers' honking instrumentation scuttles what might have been decent songs." [15] The Province called it "intelligent, atmospheric but often oblique pop and rock". [9]

The Kingston Whig-Standard labeled the album "a minor masterpiece" and noted that the band "take chunks of familiar sound and make it original." [21] The State said that it was better than the band's previous album, A Blues for Buddha. [19] The Bay Area Reporter considered it a blend of Dead Can Dance and the Waterboys and listed it among the best albums of 1991. [22]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Singing Ginger"1:40
2."Robinson Crusoe in New York"5:52
3."Bulletproof Heart"4:58
4."The Art of Self Deception"5:17
5."I Want You"4:05
6."Just Can't Be Bothered"4:32
7."Cameras and Colleseums"1:03
8."One Inch of Heaven"7:32
9."Hey Mr. Bank Manager"3:39
10."This Is Serious / John the Revelator"5:46
11."Afraid to Love"3:26
12."Rosanne"3:53
13."Electric Storm"5:51
14."When the Night Comes Down"3:24
15."Robinson Rap"1:01

References

  1. 1 2 Demalon, Tom. "Dance to the Holy Man Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 January 2026. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  2. ↑ The Scottish Music Guide 1994: A Comprehensive Guide to the Scottish Music Industry. Music in Scotland Trust. 1993. p. 120.
  3. ↑ The Trouser Press Record Guide (4th ed.). Collier Books. 1991. p. 597.
  4. ↑ British Hit Singles & Albums. Guinness World Records. 2005. p. 455.
  5. ↑ "Heart an ace". Daily Record. Glasgow. 1 December 1990. p. 22.
  6. ↑ Dillon, Mike (30 March 1991). "Single-minded Mike!". The Paisley Daily Express. p. 4.
  7. ↑ "Silencers' Double First". Wishaw Press and Advertiser. 29 March 1991. p. 31.
  8. ↑ Fairweather, Steve (15 March 1991). "A Silencers hit at last?". Stirling Observer. p. 9.
  9. 1 2 3 Harrison, Tom (7 August 1991). "The Silencers: Dance to the Holy Man". Entertainment. The Province. p. 53.
  10. 1 2 Kerr, Euan (8 October 1991). "Silencers Scottish Rock Folk Band". Morning Edition. NPR.
  11. ↑ Rudden, Liam (29 January 2004). "Silencers, please for JJ Gilmour". Edinburgh Evening News. p. 34.
  12. ↑ Sloan, Billy (12 January 1991). "Silencers Drum Up Some Taxi Rock!". Daily Record. Glasgow. p. 20.
  13. ↑ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Miller Freeman Books. p. 789.
  14. 1 2 Muretich, James (23 June 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. A11.
  15. 1 2 Herrmann, Brenda (25 July 1991). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7. Archived from the original on 10 January 2026.
  16. ↑ O'Hare, Kevin (28 July 1991). "Playback". The Republican. p. F10.
  17. ↑ Swift, Orla (19 July 1991). "Silencers new album energizes". Record-Journal. p. 23.
  18. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 634.
  19. 1 2 Miller, Michael (5 July 1991). "New Releases". The State. p. 10D.
  20. ↑ Keith, Arthur (10 August 1991). "What's New". Leisure Living. The Times-Transcript. p. 7.
  21. ↑ Burliuk, Greg (31 August 1991). "Rough and Gruff". Magazine. The Kingston Whig-Standard. p. 1.
  22. ↑ Fouratt, Jim (26 December 1991). "Ear Candy". Bay Area Reporter. Vol. 21, no. 52. p. 42.
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