Eye of the Hunter

Last updated

Eye of the Hunter
Eye of the Hunter (Brendan Perry album) cover art.jpg
Studio album by
Released4 October 1999 (UK)
RecordedQuivvy Church, Ireland
Genre Folk rock, dream pop
Length42:10
Label 4AD (CAD 9015)
Producer Brendan Perry
Brendan Perry chronology
Eye of the Hunter
(1999)
Ark
(2010)

Eye of the Hunter is the debut solo album by Brendan Perry, previously the male half of the band Dead Can Dance. The album was released by 4AD on 4 October 1999 in the UK and a day later in the US.

Contents

Overview

The album's title is found in the lyrics of the album's first single "Voyage of Bran", wherein a character called Brendan says: "I live by the river where the old gods still dream of inner communion with the open sea / Through the eye of a hunter in search of a prey, neither beast nor human in my philosophy." [1]

The song "Sloth" first appeared during concerts with Dead Can Dance and appears on the band's 2001 box set Dead Can Dance (1981–1998) . "I Must Have Been Blind" is a cover of a Tim Buckley song, from his 1970 album Blue Afternoon . Perry later covered another song by Buckley, "Dream Letter," which was released the following year on the tribute album Sing a Song for You .

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
EW.com (positive) [3]

Critical reception to the album was generally positive.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brendan Perry (except where noted).

No.TitleLength
1."Saturday's Child"4:30
2."Voyage of Bran"5:33
3."Medusa"6:10
4."Sloth"3:32
5."I Must Have Been Blind" (Tim Buckley)5:07
6."The Captive Heart"4:00
7."Death Will Be My Bride"5:46
8."Archangel"7:35
Total length:42:10

Note: The title "Voyage of Bran" refers to Irish story The Voyage of Bran, and "Medusa" to the mythological Medusa.

Personnel

Musical
with
Technical
Graphical

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Can Dance</span> British-Australian music duo

Dead Can Dance are an Australian music duo first established in Melbourne. Currently composed of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group formed in 1981. They relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance's style as "constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty; African polyrhythms, Gaelic folk, Gregorian chant, Middle Eastern music, mantras, and art rock."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan of Xymox</span> Dutch rock band

Clan of Xymox, also known as simply Xymox, are a Dutch rock band from Nijmegen formed in 1981 best known as pioneers of darkwave music. Clan of Xymox featured a trio of singers and songwriters – Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert, and Pieter Nooten – and gained success in the 1980s, releasing their first two albums on 4AD, before releasing their third and fourth albums on Wing Records and scoring a hit single in the United States. Their 1980s releases included synthpop/electronic dance music. The band is still active, continuing to tour and release records with Moorings as the sole remaining original songwriter and singer.

<i>Dead Can Dance</i> (album) 1984 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance is the debut studio album by Australian musical act Dead Can Dance. It was released on 27 February 1984 on the 4AD label.

<i>Within the Realm of a Dying Sun</i> 1987 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Within the Realm of a Dying Sun is the third studio album by Australian band Dead Can Dance. It was released on 27 July 1987 by 4AD.

<i>The Serpents Egg</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Dead Can Dance

The Serpent's Egg is the fourth studio album by the Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 24 October 1988 by record label 4AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Perry</span> British singer and multi-instrumentalist (born 1959)

Brendan Michael Perry is a British singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.

<i>Toward the Within</i> 1994 live album by Dead Can Dance

Toward the Within (1994) is the first official live album of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard's group Dead Can Dance. It contains 15 songs, of which only four appeared on their previous albums, and two of which were later re-recorded and included on Lisa Gerrard's first solo album, The Mirror Pool. The others previously existed only in live performances and unofficial bootlegs, but were not officially released until Toward the Within. Along with Perry and Gerrard were a number of musicians who had performed with them on other occasions.

<i>Itll End in Tears</i> 1984 studio album by This Mortal Coil

It'll End in Tears is the first album released by 4AD collective This Mortal Coil, an umbrella title for a loose grouping of guest musicians and vocalists brought together by label boss Ivo Watts-Russell. The album was released on 1 October 1984, and reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart. It features many of the artists on the 4AD roster at the time, including Cocteau Twins, Colourbox, and Dead Can Dance; as well as key post-punk figure Howard Devoto, who sang "Holocaust", one of two covers of songs from the Third/Sister Lovers album by Big Star. The other Alex Chilton-penned track, album opener "Kangaroo", was released as a single to promote the album. Two key songs were performed by Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, including Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", which reached #66 on the UK Charts when released as This Mortal Coil's debut single a year before the album. The song remained on the UK Indie Chart for almost two years. Fraser also performed on "Another Day" by Roy Harper. 4AD would go on to release two further albums under the name of This Mortal Coil: Filigree & Shadow (1986) and Blood (1991).

<i>The Spiders Lullabye</i> 1995 studio album by King Diamond

The Spider's Lullabye is the sixth studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released in 1995. Unlike other King Diamond albums, it is not a full concept album; only half the songs form a single plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dancing in the Street</span> 1964 single performed by Martha and the Vandellas

"Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. It is one of Motown's signature songs and is the group's premier signature song. A 1966 cover by the Mamas & the Papas was a minor hit on the Hot 100 reaching No. 73. In 1982, the rock group Van Halen took their cover of "Dancing in the Street" to No. 38 on the Hot 100 chart and No. 15 in Canada on the RPM chart. A 1985 duet cover by David Bowie and Mick Jagger charted at No. 1 in the UK and reached No. 7 in the US. The song has been covered by many other artists, including The Kinks, Tages, Black Oak Arkansas, Grateful Dead, Little Richard, Myra and Karen Carpenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweet Emotion</span> 1975 single by Aerosmith

"Sweet Emotion" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith from the band's third album Toys in the Attic. It was released as a single on May 19, 1975. The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale mainstream success for the band that would continue for the remainder of the 1970s. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and bassist Tom Hamilton, produced by Jack Douglas and recorded at Record Plant studio.

<i>Into the Labyrinth</i> (Dead Can Dance album) 1993 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Into the Labyrinth is the sixth studio album by Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 13 September 1993, by 4AD. It marked a strong shift from their previous albums, putting ethnic music influences at the forefront, as would be the case in the later albums. It was their first album completed on their own without the aid of guest musicians, and their first album to have a major-label release in the US, thanks to a distribution deal that 4AD had with Warner Bros. Records. It featured the single "The Ubiquitous Mr Lovegrove". Into the Labyrinth was a major success, selling more than 500,000 copies worldwide.

<i>Dead Can Dance (1981–1998)</i> 2001 compilation album by Dead Can Dance

Dead Can Dance (1981–1998) (2001) is a four-disc box set, containing three CDs of music spanning Dead Can Dance's career and a DVD of their 1994 video release Toward the Within.

<i>Shakedown Street</i> 1978 studio album by Grateful Dead

Shakedown Street is the tenth studio album by rock band the Grateful Dead, released November 15, 1978, on Arista Records. The album came just over a year after previous studio album Terrapin Station. It was the final album for Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux, who left the band a few months after its release. The record was produced by Lowell George and John Kahn.

<i>Aion</i> (Dead Can Dance album) 1990 studio album by Dead Can Dance

Aion is the fifth studio album by the Australian band Dead Can Dance, released on 11 June 1990 by 4AD. The first album Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry wrote after the end of their romantic partnership, it was recorded at Perry's new estate, Quivvy Church in Ireland, with additional recording on "The Arrival and the Reunion" and "The End of Words" taking place at Woodbine Street Recording Studios in Leamington Spa.

"Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley to a poem by his writing partner Larry Beckett, released by Buckley on his 1970 album Starsailor. It was also later released on Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology, the album featuring a performance of the song taken from the final episode of The Monkees TV show which aired on March 25, 1968.

<i>Sing a Song for You: Tribute to Tim Buckley</i> 2000 compilation album by various artists

Sing a Song for You: Tribute to Tim Buckley is a double CD studio album performed by various artists in tribute to 1960s musician Tim Buckley. The album is named after a Buckley song of the same name which is also the first track on the first disc. Tim Buckley died of an accidental overdose in 1975.

Fulano de Tal was a north-American latin rock band, formed in 1995 in Miami, Florida. The original band members were: Elsten Torres, Brendan Buckley, Julian Adam Zimmon (Guitars), and Leo Nobre. John Michael Falcone replaced Leo in 1996. Fulano de Tal recorded two full-length albums. The name of the band is the Portuguese/Spanish variant of the American term "John Doe". The first album was called Normal and it was released in April 1997 through BMG/RCA records. At the time, Fulano was the first north-American latin rock band to be signed to a major label. The band toured extensively throughout the United States and some Latin American countries during the years of 1997 and 1999. In 2000, the band released their sophomore effort, Etc. through the independent label: Radio Vox/DLN. It was also in 2000 that the band separated. Brendan and Julian joined pop/superstar Shakira as part of her touring band. Elsten Torres released the Grammy nominated album, Individual in 2006 under the name "Fulano", but it was his first solo album although both Brendan and Julian joined in the production and performance of the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan's Death Song</span> 2012 single by Red Hot Chili Peppers

"Brendan's Death Song" is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers from their 2011 album I'm with You and was released as the album's fifth and final single on June 11, 2012 through digital download. A two-track CD single was released in Germany on August 24, 2012.

<i>Daves Picks Volume 8</i> 2013 live album by Grateful Dead

Dave's Picks Volume 8 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert from November 30, 1980, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. It was produced as a limited edition of 13,000 numbered copies, and was released on November 1, 2013.

References

  1. Lyrics from the CD booklet (sung identically as printed).
  2. AllMusic review
  3. EW.com review